Pearl is the annual national cultural fest of BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus. Initially introduced in 2009 as an intra-college festival, a year after the foundation of BITS Pilani, Hyderabad, the fest grew into a national level college cultural fest with participation from more than 50 colleges across

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

with footfall around 8000. Pearl hosts a variety of cultural events and competitions which include

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

literary Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

and

quizzing A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which players attempt to answer questions correctly on one or several specific topics. Quizzes can be used as a brief Educational assessment, assessment in education and similar fields to measure growth ...

. The fest also hosts talks and pro-shows with celebrities and bands of national and international renown appearing and/or performing during the fest in the 9 years since its inception.

History

The idea of a college fest for BITS-Pilani Hyderabad was initially conceived by its students in the first academic year of the campus, 2008–09. It was named Pearl in reference to the popularity of

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

for its

pearls A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living animal shell, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pea ...

. Initially envisioned as a cultural-cum-technical fest of the campus, the first edition of Pearl was organized in 2009 as a conglomeration of intra-college competitions. The following year, it turned into an inter-college festival with participants from 50 colleges across

attending it. Since inception, the organization of Pearl has been solely the responsibility of the students of BITS-Pilani Hyderabad. For the first four years, i.e. 2009–2012, Pearl consisted of both technical and cultural events. In 2013, however, the technical events were separated and began being organized as the technical fest of the campus, ATMOS. Over the 9 years since its first edition, the fest grew into one of the biggest fests in the states of

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

and

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and a widely known college fest across

. National and international artists and bands including Farhan Akhtar,

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-winning Wolfmother, Vishal–Shekhar,

Strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

, Xandria, and

Dark Tranquility Dark Tranquillity is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg. They are considered one of the pioneering acts of the Gothenburg metal scene, which also includes bands such as In Flames and At the Gates. Dark Tranquillity is regarded a ...

have performed during the pro-shows of the fest. In each edition of Pearl since 2010, the organizing body has based the events and shows of the fest on a theme. The themes of the editions so far are: Pearl 2020, which was scheduled to be conducted from March 20 to 22, was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic that was threatening the people all over the world.

Events

All the cultural clubs of BITS-Pilani Hyderabad Campus, organize online and offline competitions in the weeks leading up to and during Pearl. The nature of events and the clubs organizing them are following: *

Art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

(Shades Club) *

Dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

(Dance Club) *

Design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

(Designers Anonymous) *

Dramatics Theatre studies (sometimes referred to as theatrology or dramatics) is the study of theatrical performance in relation to its literary, physical, psychobiological, sociological, and historical contexts. It is an interdisciplinary field which also e ...

(Dramatics Club) * Hindi literary (Tarang) * Journalistic (Journal Club) *

Literary Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

(English Language Activities' Society) *

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

(Music Club) *

Photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

(Photog Club) *

Quizzing A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which players attempt to answer questions correctly on one or several specific topics. Quizzes can be used as a brief Educational assessment, assessment in education and similar fields to measure growth ...

(Quiz Club) *

Vfx Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...

(VFx Club) * Foreign languages (Sanskrit and Foreign Language Association) *

Cooking Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to Outline of food preparation, prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric ...

(Cooking Club) *

Fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

(fashion society) Each of the above clubs organizes multiple competitions in their domain. Popular among them include Till Deaf Do We Part (

), Terpsicore (

), Abhivyaktha ( Indian Classical Dance), Soul'O ( solo dance) Photog Fest (

), Sherlocked (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

), and Q: Quiz Fest (

). The Photg Fest also includes an exhibition of as many as 500 photographs taken by the members of the club during the fest. Many of these competitions have regional rounds in metropolitan cities including

Kolkota Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. The winners of these regional rounds compete during Pearl for the final prize. The fest organizing body also organizes Culinary Factory ( food festival), Glitterati ( fashion show), Catharsis ( film festival), Crimson Curtain (

dramatics Theatre studies (sometimes referred to as theatrology or dramatics) is the study of theatrical performance in relation to its literary, physical, psychobiological, sociological, and historical contexts. It is an interdisciplinary field which also e ...

competitions) and Miss Diva (

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

contest). Apart from the above, informal events like

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

quiz,

Treasure Hunt Treasure hunt generally refers to: * Treasure hunting, the physical search for treasure, typically by finding sunken shipwrecks or buried ancient cultural sites * Treasure hunt (game), a game simulating a hunt for treasure Treasure Hunt may refer ...

, and

Crossword A crossword is a word puzzle that usually takes the form of a square or a rectangular grid of white- and black-shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to the answ ...

are also conducted. The total prize money of the events during Pearl is usually about Rs.15 laksh.

Aspire Talks

Apart from the events, the Centre for Entrepruniaural Leadership (CEL) and the BITS Embryo of the BITS-Pilani Hyderabad organize the Aspire Talks, wherein people of various walks of life who have distinguished themselves in their professions interact with students and share their life stories.

Pro-Shows and Celebrities

Pearl has hosted many celebrities of vernacular, national and international renown over years since its inception. Each of the three days of the festival ends with a performance by a celebrity performer or band. The people/bands that performed during Pearl are Farhan Akhtar, Vishal–Shekhar,

-winning Wolfmother,

(the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

metal band), Xandria (the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

metal band), Thaikkudam Bridge (Indian rock band),

, Bharat Jain, Javed Ali, Benny Dayal, Thurisaz (the Belgian metal band),

Parikrama Parikrama or Pradakshina is clockwise circumambulation of sacred entities, and the path along which this is performed, as practiced in the Indic religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. In Buddhism, it refers only to the path along ...

, Ganesh and Kumaresh, Karthik, DJ Nucleya,

Amplifier (band) Amplifier are an English rock music, rock band originating from Manchester. The band has released six albums and four EPs since its inception in 1999. Their music has been described as "Soundgarden, Tool (band), Tool, Black Sabbath, Oceansize ...

( British psychedelic prog rock band),

Kryptos (band) Kryptos is an Indian heavy metal band from Bangalore, India, formed in 1998 by Nolan Lewis (vocals/guitars) and Ganesh K. (bassist). They are one of the pioneers of the modern Indian heavy metal movement. Since their inception the band has rel ...

, the Ghatam Brothers, and the Indian JAM Project. Apart from pro-shows, Pearl also hosted celebrities promoting films. Pearl 2015 hosted

Varun Dhawan Varun Dhawan (; born 24 April 1987) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. One of India's highest-paid actors, he has been featured in ''Forbes India'' Celebrity 100 list since 2014. He has starred in 11 consecutive box-office successes b ...

and

Yami Gautam Yami Gautam Dhar (born 28 November 1988) is an Indian actress known predominantly for her work in Bollywood, Hindi films. She sprang into prominence after doing some commercials for Glow & Lovely and began her acting career in television shows ...

for the promotion of film

Badlapur Badlapur (Pronunciation: əd̪lapuːɾ is a city in Thane district, Maharashtra state, India. It is a part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Matheran Range The Matheran Range starts at Haji Malang in the north-north-west, continues to Ta ...

. The winner of

MasterChef India ''MasterChef India'' is an Indian competitive cooking game show franchise based on the Australian show ''MasterChef Australia'', which itself is based on the original British ''MasterChef''. MasterChef India Season 1-4 and Junior Masterchef Swaa ...

Pankaj Bhadouria Pankaj Bhadouria is the winner of ''MasterChef India'' Season 1 (2010). She was a school teacher who quit a 16-year-old job to participate in the first season of MasterChef India. She has hosted the TV shows Chef Pankaj Ka Zayka ( StarPlus), K ...

attended the food festival during Pearl 2016. Telugu actors Nani and Vijay Deverakonda visited the campus during Pearl 2015 for the promotion of their film

Yevade Subramanyam ''Yevade Subramanyam'' () is a 2015 Indian Telugu-language coming-of-age philosophical drama film written and directed by debutant Nag Ashwin. Produced by Priyanka Dutt, and Swapna Dutt, the film stars Nani, Malavika Nair, Vijay Deverakonda, a ...

. Comedian Abish Matthew performed during the comedy night of Peal 2016.

External links

References