For the first time ever, Incident, the annual cultural festival of NITK Surathkal conducted outreach programmes called ‘Spotlight’ in Hyderabad, Kochi, Manipal and Bangalore. Spotlight was a great stage for participants to showcase their varied talents and also stand a chance to take part in the fest and win grand prizes. The winners of the various shows availed free travel and accommodation to visit the fest as well.

Incident 2020 stretched its arms to various parts of South India through Spotlight, making it an even more spectacular affair. 

We spoke to Mechanical 4th year, Srikanth Dasari, one of the core organizers of Incident’20. He talked to us about the thought behind Spotlight and why it is important to Incident,

“This year’s theme was to bring back the best of Incident from the past. Multicity auditions were held till 2015 but were then discontinued. We decided to take it to bigger stages and we realised the importance of a show like Spotlight to improve Incident’s standing on a pan-India level. We are after all the second largest fest in South India and we need to live up to that.”


Hyderabad 

The Hyderabad edition of Spotlight was held on 2nd February in the form of a dance workshop held by Yashwanth Master, an acclaimed dance master who works in the Indian Film Industry and has won many renowned dance competitions. The workshop was an informative event filled with Yashwant Master’s insights, and the enthusiastic audience keenly participated in the fun-filled, intense dance session. The participants learnt a lot from him and benefited a lot from the workshop. It was attended by over 30 college students and dance enthusiasts. The 2 hour session went on smoothly and Incident gave away goodies and other prizes for the top performers at the end. It was a unique way of advertising Incident in another state and it helped in promoting the fest. 

Srikant Dasari, one of the organizers of Hyderabad edition of Spotlight expressed his views about the workshop,

“IIT-M had its fest Saarang a few weeks before the Hyderabad edition and they had already conducted auditions in Hyderabad. We really wanted to reach out to all parts of South India and conducting such a workshop in Hyderabad was a really good way for us to match other renowned college fests. The workshop went as planned and we were happy about that. ”

Manipal

An Open Mic as part of Spotlight was conducted in Hashtag, Manipal by the Literary, Stage and Debate Society (LSD) on the 15th of February. The stage invited a plethora of talent in the form of spoken word, rap, Shayari, karaoke, music, standup comedy and so on.  Hashtag had a pleasant atmosphere and a crowd of around 50 people attended. The audience was enthusiastic and very lively. The show was well managed and conducted by the hosts Nikhil Varghese and Jiffina James Patrick. The participants showcased their best works and entertained everyone present there. The musicians had the crowd drumming their fingers and humming in sync. Overall, it was an evening very well spent.

We reached out to Amal Mohan, the Ex-Convener of LSD and heard to what he had to say about the Open Mic,

“As far as literary events were concerned, this Incident for us was about trying out new things. Open Mic was one of the shows we conducted and it was a great learning experience. We did organize one on campus last year, but this was a step up for us. We were happy with the turnout and the performances. It was an excellent learning opportunity for all those who were involved. Whoever takes it on from here can make it a better experience in the future.” 

Kochi

The Kochi edition of Spotlight was held on the 21st of February in collaboration with Dhishna’20, the 4-day Annual Technical Festival of School of Engineering, CUSAT. Auditions for the Solo singing competition, Ragarhapsody, the group dance competition, Promenade and the solo dance competition, Step Up Solo, were held there. The turnout was amazing with a huge number of participants trying to grab their spot at Incident’20. Kochi edition of Spotlight was a great success and the team that qualified through the auditions even came as runners up in the finals of Promenade. 

We heard from Abin Vargheese, mechanical 4th year, one of the organizers of Spotlight who worked closely with the organizers of Dhishna and he had this to say about the Kochi Edition, 

“Since Kochi(edition) was held along with another college fest, the reception was great. Since Spotlight was first of its kind, we never expected a large number of participants, but the turnout was pretty good. It indeed took the competitions to a different level.”

Bangalore 

Bangalore Edition of Spotlight was held in Enerjuvate Studio and Cafe on the 23rd of February. It was an Open Mic and the last Spotlight show before the main fest. There were a good number of participants consisting mainly of singers, rappers, guitarists and stand up comedians. The show went into the evening and the participants captivated the audience of nearly forty in strength with their extraordinary skills and talents. They were presented goodies and prizes at the end of the show. 

Pavan, a metallurgy final year who organized the Open Mic in Bangalore shared his experience,

“I think we did a good job in Bangalore. We had some constraints and did not have much time to prepare for it, but a decent crowd showed up and it was well-received as well. Any mistakes that we made can be a lesson for others in future.”

The Bangalore edition was a fitting end to what was a great show in all the cities. Spotlight was organized keeping in mind that the fest had to return to its full glory and this show ensured that Incident’2020 would not be forgotten easily.