Felicity Festival
Encyclopedia
'Felicity' is the annual cultural and technical festival of International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad
(IIIT-H). It is held in February for three days at IIIT-H in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India.
From the year 2004 onwards technical events were included in the festival under the banner of Threads. Thus it expanded from merely being a cultural festival to a cultural as well as technical festival. Over the years Felicity has grown in presence and stature, witnessing performances by major artists, hosting talks by eminent personalities, and drawing participation from all over the country.
and TopCoder
take part in the online programming contests set by leading programmers of institute(which are also ACM-ICPC finalists). From coding competitions like CodeCraft, Time Limit Exceeded (TLE) to events like online treasure hunt CacheIn threads witnesses huge and enthusiastic participation from not only in the country but all over the world. Other onsite events consist of programming, gadget design, robots soccer. In 2010, Threads witnessed participation from more than 4500 students from across 57 nations.
contests, et al. albeit with a different style.
and various other contests. Its a major draw to all the creative minds on campus and beyond.
Inaugral Night usually witnesses performances by the college students showcasing their talent. These performances are followed by fusion bands, hasya-kavis and other entertainment artists of the sort. In the past artists like Jayawanth Naidu and his troop have played Hawaian guitar, Kumar Vishwas has enthralled the audience with his comic poems on this night.
The Rock Night is one of the major highlights of Felicity. The event is preceded by the rock band competition Riders on The Storm. It attracts rock lovers from all over the city and beyond. It is one of the biggest rock gigs in Hyderabad. Mainstream rock
bands of national fame like Motherjane
, Demonic Resurrection
and Sledge have previously performed as a part of the event.
On the last night, a well-known artist is invited by IIIT-H to perform in the campus grounds. Past celebrity night performers include the famous fusion band Indian Ocean
, Euphoria and playback singer
Mohit Chauhan
. College crowds from all over Hyderabad flock to the IIIT-H campus to be a part of this event.This is followed by the War of the DJs. competing DJs ply their trade while people scorch the dance floor to their music beats. The event is judged by a professional DJ and is one of the most hi-octane events of Felicity.
. Apart from students and faculty members of IIIT-H, students from the NIFT
and HCU as well as few famous personalities took part in it. Similarly, in 2008 there was a rally on World peace
.
, Sitaram Yechury
, CEOs and leading engineers from various firms have enlightened the students about their life, views and works. Many workshops also take place during Felicity. They cater to both technical interests and current trends amongst youth.
third-year students, each and every member contributes to some aspect of it. It provides the students a jovial break from their academic oriented schedule and is eagerly awaited by them. The enthusiasm shown by the participants from various parts of India has made it one of the leading college festivals.
No festival is complete without the inclusion of each and every member of the community. With this spirit on the prior to the first day of Felicity, a performance of celebration called Joy de Verve is organised for all the people who make IIIT-H function and work all day behind the scenes.
International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad
International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad is an autonomous university in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1998 with seed support from the Government of Andhra Pradesh...
(IIIT-H). It is held in February for three days at IIIT-H in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India.
History
The idea of Felicity was first conceived in 2001 and it has been organised successfully every year in February. Felicity was conceived to be: "A time of enjoyment, reveling, appreciation of privilege, freedom and comfort given to us, sense of celebration, the feeling and hope that everything is all right with the world. A feeling that we will make the world a better place than we found it."From the year 2004 onwards technical events were included in the festival under the banner of Threads. Thus it expanded from merely being a cultural festival to a cultural as well as technical festival. Over the years Felicity has grown in presence and stature, witnessing performances by major artists, hosting talks by eminent personalities, and drawing participation from all over the country.
Events
The events, which span a multitude of genres, can be broadly classified into Threads (Technical), Cultural Colosseum, Literary Cafe, Kalakshetra and Zombie Zone.Threads
'Threads' is the official name for the technical events held at Felicity. The technical events are highly acclaimed and attract participants from all around the world. Leading coders of forums like SPOJSPOJ
SPOJ is an online judge system with over 100,000 registered users and over 10000 problems. The solution to problems can be submitted in over 40 languages including C, C++, Java, Python, C#, Go, Haskell, Ocaml, and F#...
and TopCoder
TopCoder
TopCoder is a company which administers contests in computer programming. TopCoder hosts fortnightly online algorithm competitions — known as SRMs or "single round matches" — as well as weekly competitions in design and development. The work in design and development produces useful software...
take part in the online programming contests set by leading programmers of institute(which are also ACM-ICPC finalists). From coding competitions like CodeCraft, Time Limit Exceeded (TLE) to events like online treasure hunt CacheIn threads witnesses huge and enthusiastic participation from not only in the country but all over the world. Other onsite events consist of programming, gadget design, robots soccer. In 2010, Threads witnessed participation from more than 4500 students from across 57 nations.
Cultural Colosseum
Cultural Colosseum span a broad spectrum of events - from the traditional dance, singing and drama competitions to antakshari, movie-related events and of course, the cap on Felicity's frivolity quotient - informals. After all, a fest is all about having fun and the Lukhagiri Lounge (informals) offers a respite from the usual competitive events.Literary Cafe
Literary Cafe at Felicity include the usual mix of quizzes, debates, group discussions, creative writingCreative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
contests, et al. albeit with a different style.
Kalashetra
The literal meaning of Kalakshetra is “Temple of Arts” and in keeping with its name, it hosts painting, face Painting, bag design, graffiti, advertisement making, RangoliRangoli
Rangoli is a traditional decorative folk art from India. These are decorative designs made on floors of living rooms and courtyards during Hindu festivals and are meant as sacred welcoming areas for the Hindu deities. The ancient symbols have been passed on through the ages, from each generation to...
and various other contests. Its a major draw to all the creative minds on campus and beyond.
Major nights
The major nights are the main attraction of Felicity. These comprise three nights of rocking, high intensity entertainment. The events that make up the major nights are Inaugral Night, Rock Night and War of the DJs.Inaugral Night usually witnesses performances by the college students showcasing their talent. These performances are followed by fusion bands, hasya-kavis and other entertainment artists of the sort. In the past artists like Jayawanth Naidu and his troop have played Hawaian guitar, Kumar Vishwas has enthralled the audience with his comic poems on this night.
The Rock Night is one of the major highlights of Felicity. The event is preceded by the rock band competition Riders on The Storm. It attracts rock lovers from all over the city and beyond. It is one of the biggest rock gigs in Hyderabad. Mainstream rock
Mainstream rock
Mainstream rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.-Format background:...
bands of national fame like Motherjane
Motherjane
Motherjane is an Indian rock band from Kochi, India, formed in 1996. The band consists of Suraj Mani , John Thomas , Clyde Rozario , Deepu Sasidharan and Santosh Chandran . They have released a total of two studio albums, and three singles...
, Demonic Resurrection
Demonic Resurrection
Demonic Resurrection is a melodic blackened death metal band from Mumbai, India formed in the year 2000. Demonic Resurrection's current line-up consists of Sahil "The Demonstealer" Makhija on vocals and rhythm guitars, Daniel Rego on lead guitars, Husain Bandukwala on bass, Virendra "Viru" Kaith on...
and Sledge have previously performed as a part of the event.
On the last night, a well-known artist is invited by IIIT-H to perform in the campus grounds. Past celebrity night performers include the famous fusion band Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean (band)
Indian Ocean are an Indian rock band formed in New Delhi in 1990. They are considered to be the pioneers of fusion rock genre in India. Susmit Sen, Asheem Chakravarty, Rahul Ram and Amit Kilam formed the most stable and successful line-up in the band's timeline. This line-up lasted till Asheem's...
, Euphoria and playback singer
Playback singer
A playback singer is a singer whose singing is prerecorded for use in movies. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras, while the actual singer does not appear on screen.-South Asia:...
Mohit Chauhan
Mohit Chauhan
Mohit Chauhan is an Indian pop and playback singer, most known for his romantic ballads. He started his career singing Indian pop songs with the band Silk Route, which released two albums, Boondein and Pehchan. The song "Dooba Dooba" became a rave in the Indipop music scene. However, the band...
. College crowds from all over Hyderabad flock to the IIIT-H campus to be a part of this event.This is followed by the War of the DJs. competing DJs ply their trade while people scorch the dance floor to their music beats. The event is judged by a professional DJ and is one of the most hi-octane events of Felicity.
Rallies
At IIIT-H, Felicity is a platform which is used to give back to the society and spread awareness about various causes. As part of Felicity, rallies are organized which concentrate on some pertinent global issues. In 2007 there was a rally on Global WarmingGlobal warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
. Apart from students and faculty members of IIIT-H, students from the NIFT
National Institute of Fashion Technology
National Institute of Fashion Technology is a prestigious fashion institute in India. It was set up in 1986 under the aegis of the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India and is a premier institution in design, management and technology, developing professionals leadership positions in the...
and HCU as well as few famous personalities took part in it. Similarly, in 2008 there was a rally on World peace
World peace
World Peace is an ideal of freedom, peace, and happiness among and within all nations and/or people. World peace is an idea of planetary non-violence by which nations willingly cooperate, either voluntarily or by virtue of a system of governance that prevents warfare. The term is sometimes used to...
.
Talks and workshops
Eminent personalities from various walks of life are invited to give talks during Felicity. Famous personalities like Pullela GopichandPullela Gopichand
Pullela Gopichand is an Indian Badminton player.He won the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001 defeating Chen Hong of China in the finals by 15-12,15-6. He became the second Indian to achieve this feat after Prakash Padukone, who won it in 1980...
, Sitaram Yechury
Sitaram Yechury
Sitaram Yechury is an Indian politician and one of the most prominent communist leaders in the country. He is a senior member of the politburo of the Communist Party of India and the party's Parliamentary group leader....
, CEOs and leading engineers from various firms have enlightened the students about their life, views and works. Many workshops also take place during Felicity. They cater to both technical interests and current trends amongst youth.
Impact on IIIT-Hyderabad
Felicity is a period of joy for each and every member of the IIIT-H community. Though traditionally the lead in organization is taken up by B-TechBachelor of Technology
The Bachelor of Technology is an undergraduate academic degree conferred after completion of a three or four year program of studies at an accredited university or accredited university-level institution...
third-year students, each and every member contributes to some aspect of it. It provides the students a jovial break from their academic oriented schedule and is eagerly awaited by them. The enthusiasm shown by the participants from various parts of India has made it one of the leading college festivals.
No festival is complete without the inclusion of each and every member of the community. With this spirit on the prior to the first day of Felicity, a performance of celebration called Joy de Verve is organised for all the people who make IIIT-H function and work all day behind the scenes.