Alcheringa (festival)

Alcheringa, IIT Guwahati
Genre Cultural festival
Venue Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati
Location(s) Guwahati, India
Inaugurated 1996 (1996)
Attendance More than 70000 (in 2016)
Organised by Student-Run, Non-Profit Organisation
Website
http://www.alcheringa.in

Alcheringa, popularly known as "Alcher", is the annual cultural festival of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati. Started in 1996 by a group of students of IIT Guwahati, Alcheringa has quickly established itself as one of the biggest college level cultural events in Asia.[1][2] Spread over 3 days and 4 nights, Alcheringa is conducted towards the end of January every year. With its spectacular events and competitions, Alcheringa attracts people from all over the world. The twentieth edition held from 28th to the 31st January,[3][4] witnessed more than 70 events. Students from about 400 colleges from all over the country participated and a footfall of more than 70,000 people[5] was estimated.[1][2][6]

The four night cultural extravaganza also features many shows and performances by artists from all over the world. It also boasts of one of India’s most popular rock music contests: Rock-o-Phonix[1][2][7][8][9] among other popular competitions.

History

Alcheringa, derives its etymology from an Australian aboriginal mythology and translates to “The Eternal Dream-time”. It was started back in 1996 and has grown bigger and better every year since.

Shankar Ehsaan Loy at Alcheringa 2010
Sonu Nigam performing at Alcheringa 2009

In 2002, ‘Alcheringa: Yin and Yang’ the concept of four pro-nites was first introduced. ‘Alcheringa: Navras’ in 2006, hosted the festival’s first international act.[10] In 2011, Alcheringa’s landmark social initiative ‘Udaan - Giving flights to hope’[5] was started. 'Alcheringa: Gamescape' (2016) was the twentieth edition of the cultural festival.

Year Theme Headlining Performances
2008 Revel in Retro Shaan[10] performed at Crescendo and Juggernaut had Pin Drop Violence. Raghu Dixit Project[10] also performed.
2009 Around The World In 3 Days Sonu Nigam[2][10] performed at Crescendo.
2010 Xtreme Shankar Ehsaan Loy[2] at Crescendo and Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie[2][11] at Juggernaut
2011 Lights.Camera.Action RDB performed at Blitzkreig, Crescendo had KK and fusion band Advaita at Saaz.
2012 Urban Odyssey Saaz had Anoushka Shankar,[2][12][13][14] Crescendo had Javed Ali[14] and Juggernaut had the Israeli death metal band Orphaned Land.[9][11][12][14][15]
2013 Parallel Paradise Mohit Chauhan[16] performed at Crescendo Blitzkreig had Sunburn Live and Juggernaut had Irish rock band Frantic Jack.[17]
2014 Atlantis Juggernaut had Michael Angelo Batio,[2][7][18][19] Saaz had the Mexican Villalobos brothers,[8][16][20] Crescendo had Shilpa Rao[7][8][16] and Blitzkreig had Undying Inc on the Redbull Tour Bus.[8][16]
2015 Magnum Opus Crescendo had Lucky Ali, Juggernaut had the Australian death metal band Ne Obliviscaris[2] and Saaz had Ustaad Shujaat Khan.
2016 Gamescape Crescendo had Mika Singh[1][3][21] and Juggernaut had the Finnish folk metal band Korpikilaani.[1][3][4][21] Saaz had Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan[1][3][4][21] along with The Indian Jam Project.

Events

Mohit Chauhan performs at Alcheringa 2013

Pronites

Mika Singh performing at Alcheringa 2016

Alcheringa features 4 enthralling pronites that encompass every genre and set the stage on fire every night of the festival:

Meta Stasis performing at Alcheringa 2016
Korpikilaani performing at Alcheringa 2016

Some notable Indian artists who have earlier performed in Alcheringa are Mika Singh,[1][3][21] Lucky Ali, Sonu Nigam,[2] Shaan, Shankar Ehsaan Loy,[2] K.K,[10] Mohit Chauhan, Shilpa Rao, Javed Ali, Anoushka Shankar, Vir Das, Kalki Koechlin, Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan, The Indian Jam Project, Grammy winners Ustaad Shujaat Khan and Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt,[2][10][22] Undying Inc, RDB, Remo Fernandes,[10] Raghu Dixit,[10] Euphoria,[10][22] Indian Ocean,[22] Vaayu,[22] Motherjane[9][11]Parikrama[10][22] just to name a few.

Alcheringa has also seen many awe inspiring performances from foreign artists. Korpikilaani, Eluveitie, Ne Obliviscaris, The Villalobos Brothers, Frantic Jack, Tiny Fingers, N-Sonic, Michael Angelo Batio and Orphaned Land have performed at the festival.

Competitions

A performance during the finals of Electric Heels at Alcheringa 2016

Competitions at Alcheringa are a massive attraction for the youth all across the nation.[23] Alcheringa hosts over 70 competitions. With huge prize money at stake, these competitions saw an overall participation of over 4000 people in Alcheringa 2016. The competitions are divided into eight modules each concerning a certain genre of art.

Some of the landmark competitions held at Alcheringa every year are Electric Heels,[1] the group dance competition, Voice of Alcheringa, the solo singing competition, Halla Bol, the street play competition, Rock-o-Phonix,[1][2][8] the rock band competition, Mr. and Ms. Alcheringa,[1] the personality contest, Crossfade, the scratching competition and Haute Couture,[1] the team based fashion event.

These competitions have been associated with well-known artists and organisations from across the nation. The famous personality contest, Mr. and Ms. Alcheringa of 2016 was judged by Sahil Khattar and Ayushman Gupta from the Being Indian team. The competition has provided a platform to many talented models like the Miss India 2015 Contestant Praniti Rai Prakash, who got her initial success by being the first runner up in Ms. Alcheringa.

NBA Jam at Alcheringa 2016

The Campus Princess is another beauty pageant of Alcheringa which started in its 20th edition, was conducted in association with the Miss India Organisation.[24] The Auditions for Campus Princess were judged by Miss Asia Pacific World 2013 Ms. Srishti Rana. Mute, the Mime competition was judged by Mr Moinul Haque, the esteemed winner of the Sangeet Natak Academy Award.

For the sports enthusiasts, the 3 on 3 basketball event was conducted in association with NBA Jam in 2016. Sports module was filled with people participating in 5 on 5 football, Gully Cricket and Arm-wrestling.

There were various events for the people proficient at speaking and expressing their views like Parliamentary Debate and Zephyr. The Quiz Fest of Alcheringa,IIT Guwahati featured quizzes from various domains like India Quiz, MELA, Literature Quiz,etc.

During the performance of Algeria Dance Company at Alcheringa 2015

World Carnival

Israeli psychedelic rock band Ouzo Bazooka perform at the World Carnival, Alcheringa 2016.

World Carnival is an initiative by Alcheringa to promote cultures from across the world here in the North-Eastern part of the country. Alcheringa has had artists like Ciorras and Fastest feet in Rhythm from the USA, Ne Obliviscaris and poet Omar Musa from Australia,[3][21] Fasta Duo and Murray Molloy from Ireland,[4] beatboxer Rizumik from Portugal, rock bands Ouzo Bazooka,[3] Tiny Fingers and Orphaned Land from Israel.

Alcheringa has also had the jazz band Tropic Green from Singapore,[4] the Portuguese horn player Mickael Faustino,[4] the Algeria Dance Company from Malta, Hungarian flutist David Simon and pianist Janos Palojtay, the German Classical jazz performer Mito, alternate pop music band BETTY[7] from the USA[8] and English hypnotist Andrew Newton and extreme technical metal band Meta Stasis.[3][4][21]

Campaigns

Udaan

Udaan is a social initiative by Alcheringa[21] wherein the students of IIT Guwahati visit underprivileged children in various corners of India and light up a spark of hope within their innocent hearts. For the past five years since its inception in 2011, students of IIT Guwahati have reached out to various under-privileged children in villages, orphanages, slums, special care homes. Udaan reached 52 cities in 2016.[5][25][26]

North East Unveiled

The underlying idea of the campaign North-East Unveiled is to promote a shared identity of this part of the country with the rest other parts of the nation while promoting its tourism, food, general practices and removing any stereotypes about North East India. This was done by releasing a series of videos highlighting the above. The North East Social Entrepreneurship Summit and The North East Townhall Discussions were held during Alcheringa 2016.[3][21]

Sponsors and Past Associates

Alcheringa has attracted sponsors diverse sectors. With the heavy footfall it attracts association with Alcheringa is a matter of prestige. Alcheringa has in the past associated with Wipro,[3] Hero, State Bank of India, Indian Oil, Maruti Suzuki, Ola, FastTrack, Daikin, Viber, Coca Cola, KitKat and Baskin Robbins just to name a few.

In the media sector Alcheringa has been associated with the RED FM, The Telegraph, The Assam Tribune, Business India, North East Today, Metalbase India etc.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "IIT Guwahati celebrates 20th edition of Alcheringa - PaGaLGuY". www.pagalguy.com. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Alcheriga 2016 from January 28 | Assam Times". www.assamtimes.org. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "IITG mega event Alcheringa starts from Jan 28 | Assam Times". www.assamtimes.org. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "IIT-G to hold annual fest from January 28 - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  5. 1 2 3 "Udaan: IIT Guwahati's social initiative to educate underprivileged children - PaGaLGuY". www.pagalguy.com. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  6. ↑ "IIT Guwahati- Home to Alcher - PaGaLGuY". www.pagalguy.com. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Model United Nations at IIT-G fest - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Alcheringa 2014 draws huge participation of cultural enthusiasts". The Hindu. 2014-02-03. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  9. 1 2 3 "Orphaned Land rocks IIT-Guwahati - The Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "The Assam Tribune Online". www.assamtribune.com. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  11. 1 2 3 "Orphaned Land to perform at IIT Guwahati's Alcheringa 2012 | MetalIndia Magazine". www.metalindiamagazine.com. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  12. 1 2 "Anoushka Shankar Wright Fest Alcheringa". India.com. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  13. ↑ "Saaz | WhatsTheScene?". Whatsthescene. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  14. 1 2 3 "Anoushka Shankar, Others to Play IIT Guwahati's Alcheringa 2012 › NH7 | Discover new music and explore alternative culture from India and around the world". NH7. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  15. ↑ Pravin. "Anoushka Shankar To Perform At IIT-Guwahati Festival(2012)". www.indianmusicrevolution.com. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Alcheringa, The Annual Cultural Festival, IIT Guwahati - University Express". University Express. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  17. ↑ "Frantic Jack Soar to new Heights". Jennifer Ormsby Freelance Journalist. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  18. ↑ "Michael Angelo Batio blazes through Alcheringa 2014 – IndianMusicMug". indianmusicmug.com. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  19. ↑ "Michael Angelo Batio live at Alcheringa, IIT Guwahati | WhatsTheScene?". Whatsthescene. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  20. ↑ "Alcheringa 2014 Festival". Villalobos Brothers. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Alcheringa IIT Guwahati is back with a bang for its 20th Edition 2016". www.e-pao.net. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Telegraph - Calcutta : Guwahati". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  23. ↑ "Band apposite - Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  24. ↑ "IIT-Guwahati readies for annual festival - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  25. ↑ "FP NEWS SERVICE Ujjain | Freepress Journal". www.freepressjournal.in. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  26. ↑ "IITians mentor needy kids - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2016-04-12.

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