An engineering college with one of the highest intake capacities for students in India has finally taken an initiative to break the humdrum of the engineering grind that students go through. Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), unlike many of the premier engineering institutes, has just two fests- one technical, and one sports event – throughout their academic year. But for over 20,000 students initiating LIVE- Life In VIT Exists from this academic year, was a welcome relief.

LIVE is the brain child of Akhil Chirimar, a fourth year student of mechanical engineering, along with a batch mate Mayank Kumar from the civil engineering department. “We have so many talented students around who have a penchant for the performing arts like dance, beat boxing, music and so on. LIVE is a concert themed initiative, unlike college fests, which is aimed at cheering up the atmosphere and breaking monotony,” says Akhil. LIVE is hosted thrice every semester.

LIVE kickstarted this academic year, but it is not just about bringing out talent. In a city like Vellore, which is pretty much a distant place to live in, this could well be one of the only forms of entertainment available to the students. The city in fact has just one movie theatre, which is a 45 minute drive from the campus. LIVE has seen footfalls of roughly two thousand students as audience per event.

The number of participants too has been growing ever since it was started for the first time in April. From a handful of hopeful participants to 330 registrations in just the 3rd instalment, the students also seem to be warming up to the idea of LIVE. “We now conduct auditions, which are judged by a panel of 15 students, who are the heads of various cultural bodies,” Akhil adds. The criterion is that the performers should be entertaining if they want a chance to perform for the crowds. About 13 to 15 students are selected to perform in the ‘concert’, which goes on for 3 hours. There are no trophies and prizes to take home, but an evening of memories and maybe an opportunity to showcase one’s creative side.

This is not a sponsored event yet. Though the students are will to stretch that extra mile for funding from outside college, the management is ready to shell out money from its own pocket. And this, the management says, is purely to encourage students until they have a firm ground. This initiative to have a concert themed fest to lighten the atmosphere seems to be gaining popularity in a short span of time.