Festivals in Europe

September:

OKTOBERFEST 

Salient Features:

·         World’s biggest Beer festival

·         Local breweries unveil seasonal specialties most importantly the special Oktoberfest special Beer which is a delight !

What you get ?

To taste more than 150 Belgian Christmas and winter Beers !

When and Where ?

Last week of September to First week of October, 2014 @ Munich, Germany

Where to refer for more details ?

http://www.oktoberfest.de/en/article/About+the+Oktoberfest/About+the+Oktoberfest/Oktoberfest-Calender+2014/2698/

THE VENICE HISTORICAL REGATTA

Salient Features:

·         Biggest Annual Boating Event

·         One of the most colorful and enthralling events in Venice, the City of Canals

What you get ?

A chance to enjoy the boating event which is one of the best in the world !

When and Where ?

7^th September, 2014, 2014 @ Venice

Where to refer for more details ?

http://venicexplorer.net/tradizione/storica.php

MALTA INTERNATIONAL AIRSHOW

Salient Features:

• Spectacular annual event that features exhibitions of historic aircraft and displays by some of the best air force aeronautic teams in the world
• Aircrafts include F-16, US F-14, EA-6B, S-3, F-18, Tornados, B-52, B-1B, Spitfire and Hurricane

What you get ?

To see a diverse fleet of sophisticated aircrafts from around the world

When and Where ?

27^th-28^th September, 2014, 2014 @ Malta

Where to refer for more details ?

www.maltairshow.com

October:

MIDDLE SEA RACE

Salient Features:

•  Truly challenging yacht race because of changeable and demanding conditions
•   Most beautiful and scenic race course in the world

When and Where ?

Mid October, 2014 @ Malta

Where to refer for more details ?

http://www.rolexmiddlesearace.com/race

FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR

Salient Features:

• World's biggest Book and Media trade fair
• Draws big publishing houses, independent book-sellers and avid book browsers

What you get ?

It is a paradise for Book-Lovers

When and Where ?

8^th-12^th October, 2014@ Frankfurt, Germany

Where to refer for more details ?

http://www.buchmesse.de/en/

PALAU 100 CONCERT SEASON

Salient Features:

• Kicks off at the Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, one of the world’s top concert halls
• The concert season features a long and impressive line-up of conductors and orchestras

·         It attracts famous musicians from all over the world

When and Where ?

Early October, 2014@ Barcelona, Spain

Where to refer for more details ?

http://www.visitluxembourg.com/en/place/specialevents

November:

BERLIN JAZZ-FEST

Salient Features:

·         It is Germany's pre-eminent Jazz festival. Meet World's finest Jazz musicians

·         Celebrating 50^th Exciting Years this year !

What you get ?

An opportunity to see

When and Where ?

30th Oct- 2nd Nov, 2014 @ Berlin, Germany

Where to refer for more details ?

http://www.berlinerfestspiele.de/en/aktuell/festivals/jazzfest/ueber_festival_jazz/aktuell_jazz/start.php

INTERNATIONAL MARATHON

Salient Features:

·         Run on the footsteps of ancient GODS and HEROES

·         Retraces the original marathon route taken by a young warrior in 490 BC to announce the Athenian Victory over the Persian

What you get ?

An opportunity to see the world’s oldest racing track

When and Where ?

9^th November, 2014 @ Athens, Greece

Where to refer for more details ?

https://athensmarathon.com/marathon/index.php

INTERNATIONAL SKI COUNTDOWN

Salient Features:

·         Skiing and Snowboarding in the Alpines

·         Thrilling experience of skiing with the professionals

What you get ?

An opportunity to ski on one of the finest tracks of the world

When and Where ?

November, 2014 @ Obertauern , Austria

Where to refer for more details ?

http://www.zaptravel.com/event/international-ski-countdown/28-Nov-2013-to-7-Dec-2013

International Film & Television Festival (Geneva)

Salient Features:

• World renowned Film Festival. Includes Children’s Day, Film previews and Film Market
• New Digital trends and an amalgamation of all genres of movies

When and Where ?

6^th to 13^th November, 2014 @ Cinéma Tout Ecran, Maison des Arts du Gruetli, Geneva, Switzerland

Where to refer for more details ?

http://www.tous-ecrans.com/2013/en/home

BEAUJOLAIS NOUVEAU LAUNCH

Salient Features:

• Launch of Beaujolais Nouveau – the “New” wine from the rich, fertile grape fields and wineries of Beaujolais Region
• Lavish meal and Special events in club and bars follow.

What you get ?

To taste the French NEW wine and the French cuisine

When and Where ?

20^th November, 2014 @ Beaujolai, France

Where to refer for more details ?

http://www.beaujolaisnouveauday.com/

INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Salient Features:

·         Many independent and international films are screened during this week-long event, designed to put some of Eastern Europe’s best filmmakers on display

What you get ?

To meet world celebrities and who’s who of the movie world.

When and Where ?

7^th to 15^th November, 2014 @ Bratislava, Slovakia

Where to refer for more details ?

http://www.iffbratislava.com/

December:

OBER Christmas Beer Festival

Salient Features:

·         The Beer list is regarded as one of the best in the world, with several scoops and interesting gems combined with world classics.

·         This year they will serve about 150-170 different bottled beers to taste, including 18 or 20 on draught.

What you get ?

To taste more than 150 Belgian Christmas and winter Beers !

When and Where ?

20th and 21st December, 2014 @ Essen, Belgium

Where to refer for more details ?

www.kerstbierfestival.be

MIDNIGHT MASS: A Chance to meet the POPE !

Salient Features:

·         Midnight Mass is held at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican City, where thousands of pilgrims turn out every year to receive the blessings of the pope.

What you get ?

An opportunity to see the Pope of the Roman Catholic church

When and Where ?

25^th December, 2014 @ St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Where to refer for more details ?

http://www.papalaudience.org/papal-mass

WINTER LIGHTS FESTIVAL

Salient Features:

·         Festival of lights and animation that plunges the heart of the millenary city of Luxembourg in a magical, wonderful and romantic décor

·         Known for its big wheel, carousels, Advent circus, street animations, processions and parades, exhibitions, shows and concerts.

What you get ?

An opportunity to see the Pope of the Roman Catholic church

When and Where ?

December last week, 2014 @ Luxembourg City

Where to refer for more details ?

http://www.visitluxembourg.com/en/place/specialevents

September 9th , 2014 | Debananda Patra

Independence Day

Independence Day. A day when people from all walks of life shed tags like state borders, culture and language to come together and celebrate the feeling of freedom that the day brings out. From politicians giving speeches to school kids buying flags to attach to their cycles, it’s difficult not to get caught up in the feeling of patriotism that the day is filled with.

Life in a B-school on the other hand doesn’t allow for the time to sit back on introspect on the whole idea of freedom owing to the hectic nature of the course. Independence Day is seen as just another holiday to unwind. But that’s the beauty of XIMB. It always reinforces the feeling of being part of a huge family and Independence Day was no less.

On the eve of 15^th August, a crowd of students, armed with the tricolour painted on their cheeks and foreheads, made their way to the area just in front of the hostel where the Social Responsibility Cell of XIMB organized a small event as a prologue to the celebrations for the next day. As you stood there in the middle of the crowd, you began to appreciate just how diverse a crowd you really are studying with. Each person is different from the next whether it’s their accent, their background or even nativity, yet here we were, standing together, sharing the same love for our country. And this feeling was shared by every individual present as they connected with the songs their friends sang for the occasion. Even the Mess Bhainas, who have been an integral part of every celebration, gave a beautiful speech and performance regarding the importance of freedom.

As the crowd made its way for the candle light march, people broke into conversations on how they celebrated the day back in their home town. Each person had their own experience to share in a part of the country unknown to us and these interactions gave a greater sense of appreciation of just how large and diverse our country really is. And just how special XIMB is in bringing all of it under one roof cohesively.

The candle light march

 A potpourri of different cultures, languages, ideologies and religions, yet the feeling of being part of one prevails throughout and that in itself is such a learning experience. Every place and every culture has its own unique story to tell and it is overwhelming just how much you can learn about these places and cultures by being part of one campus. In essence that is true freedom- to be able to share, connect and discuss opinions, thoughts and ideologies without inhibitions or being confined to borders or languages.

Borders are just lines on a map

So many different views, so many different customs, so many different opinions and so many contradictions, all held together by an invisible thread of unity- being an XIMBian and being an Indian.

August 19th , 2014 | Akash Mohanty

Shadow Diaries #1 - Valhalla 2014
August 10th , 2014 | Shashank Shekhar Katyayan

Valhalla – one of the biggest B-School fests of India. I was there for the 3 days of awesomeness. Or more like 6 days because we didn’t sleep at all for the 3 nights. Running on adrenaline for 72 hours! It was an experience of a lifetime.  

I had never been to an inter college sports and cultural meet of such a grand scale before. Walking into XLRI’s well trimmed lawns, surrounded by huge trees and old legendary buildings, wearing the blue XIMB jersey really made me proud.  I saw all the other colleges such as IIM C and NMIMS arriving. It really started making my competitive side rise up. We were here for XIMB. We were here to win! 

The 1^st day had an unbelievable performance by Ability Unlimited where I saw how a wheel chair was a symbol of power and not being handicapped. We had deaf and handicapped dancers dancing totally in sync, which left me awestruck. When you have a desire to do something nothing can stop you. And they proved it. The 2^nd day all the events started. We were at war with all other colleges.  The theme for the next 2 days was that whenever, wherever XIMB was competing I was there to cheer my team. I supported the XIMB team and booed the opposition. Every sport/cultural was a do or die. It was intense. We won some. We lost some. But in the end we always congratulated the opposition team. Win or lose, what’s important is to do it in the right spirit. But in the heat of competition the real side of anybody comes out esp. the culture. I saw the B-School culture that everybody talks about. Each of the 8 B-Schools had their own culture. Everybody had their own way of doing things. Some are flamboyant, some are fierce competitors and some extremely chilled out. Most were amazing competitors and a few were not. But each of them were definitely unique!

XL Bed Rock the battle of bands - It was what I was here for. Representing XIMB as its drummer. When the competition started I saw that it was intense. We had great bands playing. We were the third on the list. Our turn was coming up and my heartbeat started to become loud and fast. New Band. More than 2 years since I was on stage! Alchemyx, Our band’s name was announced. I went onto the stage and sat on the drum throne. I raised my head and saw the crowd. It was blue in colour. The colour of XIMB jerseys.  Our entire contingent was out to support us. This really lifted me up and I forgot everything else. We were here to win and I played my heart out. It was an amazing show. Everybody enjoyed it and appreciated us even though we did not win.

Next day, which was the last, we had the finals for all the culturals and sports. The same theme continued of madly supporting XIMB teams and cheering them so much that most of us had sore throats. In the evening we had the street play competition which I was also a part of, and we won the 1^st prize. This was the 1^st time I was a part of the street play and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Along with this we also won in other cultural events and sports events. Overall XIMB came 2^nd and we were thrilled with this.

What was the take away from these three days? The three days whizzed pass like a blinding light – check. New friends - check. New experiences - both highs and lows - check.

B-Schoolers are definitely a competitive lot. We believe in being the best at whatever we do. The performance in some of the sports and culturals were nearly professional level. We had people of every variety - whacky, eccentrics, maniacs, intellectuals... you name it. But what I do know is that XIMBians are a talented lot and we blaze it wherever we go! Signing Off... See you at Valhalla again next year.

 

Valhalla 2014

Starting the 3 day Journey

There are various activities and events that take the centre stage of life at XIMB. One such event is Valhalla- Sports and cultural fest hosted every year by XLRI. This year 8 prestigious B schools from all over India got together in this three day event and competed with each other with an unmatched spirit and zeal. The event started on the 25^th of July, 2014.  XIMB had the largest contingent with 104 students, all full of energy, passion and a mission to bring back laurels to their institute. Enthusiastic XIMBians reached on the Friday morning and were welcomed by an amazing weather and friendly faces all around. The massive campus of XLRI was awe inspiring, there was festivity in the air and the preparations for the event were on full swing. Right at the entrance of the campus was the administration desk that took care of almost everything right from the food for the guests to managing and scheduling the events. On the first day all the participants were settling down and warming up for their respective sports events that were to start the next day. The day was concluded by ‘Ability unlimited’- a grand and mesmerising show put up by differently abled people.

Rock band of XIMB

Day 2 was the day when the months of practice and effort was to be put to test. The campus was full of life and activity. Wherever one stepped there was a sports competition going on- students shouting at top of their voices cheering their teams up. The happy voices that will resound at the very thought of Valhalla. On one side of the campus there were football, volleyball, throw ball and basketball arenas and on the other side were the indoor sports such as Table Tennis, badminton and chess. The day kicked off with football match between boys from XIMB and IIM C. XIMB was leading 1-0 till IIMC scored in the last second leading the match to the extra time and penalties and making it all the more exciting. However hard luck for XIMB that despite the exceptionally good game played by them they lost in the shootouts. Simultaneously the women of XIMB were giving a tough competition to XLRI in volleyball but couldn’t make it to the next round. The men’s volleyball team and the men’s table tennis team had a similar story as they lost to their opponents. The same day XIMB’s women’s Table Tennis team, the men’s badminton team and the men’s basketball team sailed through into the semi finals with an easy victory over their opponents. In the evening all the participants from XIMB were invited for a high-tea with the faculty and administration of XLRI.Although the dusk was setting in, a lot of exciting events were eagerly awaited. The solo singing and the rock band competitions in the night revived the energy. Vandana Hebbar left the audience awestruck with her exceptional performance. She won the solo singing competition for XIMB. It was a long and exciting day but only to be followed by yet another day full of all the more excitement.

The basketball team of XIMB

Day 3 started off with women’s table tennis semi finals in which XIMB had a smooth victory over NMIMS. Immediately after the table tennis match, was the men’s basketball semi finals and men’s badminton semi finals. In both the matches XIMB made itself proud by reaching the finals and raising the hopes and spirits of their fellow participants. XIMB also gave a superb performance in women’s throw ball and women's basketball winning the finals and getting yet more trophies back home. But the third day was not just about sports. A lot of cultural events such as fashion show, street play, drama and dance added to the exuberance of the day. XIMB bagged the first position in street play and group dance and runners up in kala samrat( classical eastern solo). Yamini, a first year student of XIMB also won the marathon .. Finally towards the end of the day, men from XIMB gave a very tough competition to XLRI in badminton and ended up in second position. The day concluded with a prize distribution ceremony and overall XIMB held 2^nd position among the 8 colleges.

That was how the three day Valhalla came to an end with all the participants proud , happy and tired at the same time. It indeed is a one of a kind experience and has geared up the students for the next big sports and cultural event- Athlos to be hosted by XIMB.

Proud XIMBians returning home

Parichay 2014
July 21 , 2014 | Yash Singh Chauhan and Kasturi Nayak , XUB

Parichay 2014 - Classical Dances- Courtesy : Naved Alam

Parichay is one of the many events that form an integral part of the glorious tradition that Xavier University takes pride in. As the name suggests, the event is designed to break the ice between the existing batch and the new batch of Xavier University. In this event, the seniors take the onus of welcoming the juniors to the campus  by exposing them to the XU culture-full right up to the brim with unparalleled fun and entertainment. But it is not just another fresher party. Parichay acts as a window for the new batch to get a feel of the vibrancy and fun that awaits them in the coming two years.

Neerav Saluja and Paarkhi Mehrotra - Courtesy:Naved Alam

This year’s Parichay was held at Xavier University’s iconic old campus. It is the first year of the institution as a university, with two campuses to boot, so the event was bigger and better than it ever was. Roughly 600 students of the new batch from all the streams – Business Management, Human Resource Management and Rural Management, along with the seniors attended the event with great enthusiasm.

The event was also graced by two of the eminent faculty members of XU- Bani Kant Mishra and Anshuman Tripathy.

The event kicked off with a solo song by Mayank Srivastava who showcased his singing ability as well as  an unequalled  ease at playing a guitar. The performance set the mood for the night. It was followed by a group song by Varchasva– the homegrown band of XIMB. The band with its excellent guitar and tabla performance and the soulful voice of Shubhra Acharya added to the charm of the act. The highlight of the performance was the stupendous tabla act by Xavier’s very own Zakir  Hussain ,Anurag  Satpathy. The new batch was enthralled with these performances and was eagerly looking forward to the night, and all the performances it had to offer.

Vandana Hebbar on stage - Courtesy :Naved Alam

The seniors took the best leaf out of last year’s Xpressions with the heart touching, finely choreographed dance performance by Neerav Saluja and Paarkhi Mehrotra. On popular demand, Paarkhi  also showcased her skills as a belly dancer was awarded with a fair share of applause.

Amit Mishra’s solo singing of “Papa kehte hain” struck a chord and the spectators  roared with great joy and amusement. Following it was a very special performance by the most hardworking people of Xavier, the mess Bhainas.The audience clapped and hooted at every beat. Their performance gave a whole new meaning to the phrase - work hard, party harder.

Mess Bhainas showing  their moves - Courtesy :Naved Alam

The night continued with the many performances that were lined up.The girls mesmerized the audience with their classical and western dance moves and another dance group lifted the audiences’ spirit with their Bollywood act which was all the more special as the General Secretary AbhinabMitra and the Cultural Secretary Satyashiva Das were a part of it. However the best kept secret of the show was yet to come.

Vandana Hebbar – one of the finest voices on campus – did more than justice to the ‘Rolling in the deep’ by Adele. She roared like a lioness and her bold voice captured one and all. Not surprisingly, she earned a standing ovation at end of her magical performance and the crowd asked for an encore.

Varun Pandey entertaining everyone-Courtesy :Naved Alam

In the follow up was a group dance by Rural Management and Human Resource Management seniors which was equally enjoyed by the crowd. The latter was made special by a very energetic performance by the HRM Secretary Shilpa Saxena. Between these two was a mimicry stand up by Varun Pandey  that added an element of humor to the evening and left everyone in a laughing fit.

The surprises didn’t just end there. The juniors got the chance to witness a live performance by Digant& Co.  that had Vandana and Anurag in the vocals and Digant playing the guitar. It was certainly the most enthralling performance of the evening as everyone was breathing to the tunes of Digant and his associates.

Digant & Co. - Courtesy :Naved Alam

Then, the time for certain energetic performances had arrived. The dances, back to back , by Section A – Bhangra team and the grand finale by the very talented Vishwanath Jha made the audience rise up and show some moves of their own. The event ended with a big roar as everyone was high with joy and thrill.

The event ended aptly with a dinner thrown by the seniors where the students from both the campuses got the chance to interact with each other. Laughs, crazy group pics, selfies were in the frame of the dining hall. The food prepared by the mess bhainas left everyone licking their fingers.

Soon enough it was hugs and byes that marked the end of a memorable night, which would generate nostalgia for years to come. The spirit of XIMB connected the students and it was more visible than ever on this occasion.

As the tradition goes, Parichay would be followed by Sambandh , an event where juniors throw a similar event for seniors reciprocating the love received. Everyone is counting on it given the huge success of this year’s Parichay.