Ragam 2014, the three-day annual cultural fete of National Institute of Technology, Calicut (NIT-C), will be kicked off on the NIT-C campus at Chathamangalam, here, on March 14.
Hundreds of students from various colleges in South India would take part in over 50 different competition events, including music, dance and debates, the organisers said at a press conference here on Thursday.
Amaljeev T R, convener of Ragam, said that from the present year, the best male and female singers would get the Rajan Memorial Music Awards in Ragam, the inter-college cultural fest in remembrance of Rajan, a student with the then Regional Engineering College, who was taken into police custody during the Emergency period and who allegedly died in custody in 1976.
"This year, Ragam offers lucrative prizes worth `12 lakh," he said.
One of the key attractions of the event will be the presence of director-actor-producer and screenwriter Farhan Akhtar, performances by playback singer Benny Dayal and folk sensation Lagori.
‘Take One,' South India's biggest short film competition, is another attraction. Directors Jayaraj, Arun Kumar Aravind, Joy Mathew and scriptwriters Bobby-Sanjay and Murali Gopi will be the juries of the short film competition.
Sneharagam 2014, a cultural festival for differently-abled children, will be organised as part of the social initiative of Ragam 2014. The sole mandate of this venture is to instill confidence among the children and provide them with opportunities to lead full and active lives.
Games, workshops, literary contests and competitions in dance, drama, music, fine arts, quiz and a range of interactive sessions will also be organised as part of the festival.
Rampant Services, in association with Krav Maga Global, will conduct self-defence training for women.
The workshop, which is for a period of 3-4 hours, has been designed to train the participants to protect themselves physically, mentally and practically from crimes against them.
Ragam 2014 will present a series of adventure events too, along with a basketball tournament, HOOPS. The festival will conclude on March 16.
Log on to www.ragam.org.in for details.