INCIDENT, NITK Surathkal

The National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) was founded on the western shores of the Indian peninsula close to the city of Mangalore in the year 1960, and since then it has been galvanizing the countless curious minds that have passed through its gates. Since its inception its spreading the message of cultural heritage by means a vibrant cultural festival called as “Cultural Week” in the premises which attracted a huge response from the nearby districts of Dakshina Kannada. To its credit events like State Level Kannada Drama competition and many other cultural exchange programmes were also a part of it. It was the only institute at that time to invite talented students and to showcase their talents in and around the districts.

It was in the year 1980 that these brilliant minds came up with and successfully staged NITK’s first cultural festival - Incident. And over the years, it has grown in leaps and bounds to become what it is today - a spectacle which enthrals everyone who experiences it.

Incident is the second largest cultural festival of South India. It is now a permanent mark on the calendar, during the months of February - March and attracts over 25000 footfalls every year. This huge ingress is justified, as Incident or 'Inci' is replete with a mind-boggling array of things to do and see. It has featured amazing performances by artistes of calibre likef KK, Kunal Ganjawala, Sunidhi Chauhan, Javed Ali and Salim-Sulaiman, as well as bands such as Indian Ocean, Motherjane, Swarathma and Led Zeppelica. International performing artistes like Roy Zaltsman and The Turbans have also performed at incident in the World Fest, held for the first time in 2014.

There are events to participate in - Haute Couture, Promenade, Slam Dunk, Centre Stage, Bandish... to name a few. There are workshops for those who want to learn, quizzes for those who already know it all and Crossfade -the DJ night- for the party freaks. And of course, there is always the beach inviting you to relax or frolic with friends or even go parasailing, if you are adventurous. Now that's something you don't find everywhere.  Incident is a terrific carnival, something no one would want to miss, because when it comes to Incident, there is something in it for everybody.

Organisation

Incident is a non-profit organisation managed entirely by the Students of NITK Surathkal. The Dean(Students’ Welfare) is the Chairman of the fest. The organising team consists of Incident Core, Committee Co-Coordinators and Executive Members. The Incident Convener and Treasurer and a part of the Incident Core and are directly elected by the Students as a part of the Student Council of NITK. The rest of the core team is appointed by the Incident Convener, and the Committee Co-ordinators are appointed around 4 months before the actual event.

Events and workshops

Incident hosts a variety of events and workshops.

Amateur singers get an opportunity to showcase their talent in events like solo singing, Bandish (eastern classical music completion) and Pulse (western heavy metal competition). Similar dance events include solo dance, duet, street dance, Tandav and Promenade (western group dance).

NITK's private beach hosts beach volleyball, beach football and Sandemonium events. Other sporting events include the basketball event "Slam Dunk" and a Marathon run. The 2012 edition also included adventure sports like zorbing, rappelling and parasailing. Video game events are also held, including DOTA, NFS, FIFA 11 and Counter-Strike.

The literature programme includes quizzes, word games, spelling bee and short story contests, held in English, Kannada and Hindi. Quiz events include general quiz, India quiz, lone wolf (individual quiz event), potpourri, sports quiz and entertainment quiz. Antakshari, debates, Dumb Charades are a part of Kannada and Hindi events. 

Workshops include subjects such as juggling, B-boying, Bhangra, martial arts, theatre, balloon modelling, HDR photography and portraiture in 2012. Previous editions included workshops on kite flying, Salsa, Jive, chocolate making, tai chi, kick boxing, wildlife photography and animation.

The 2012 event included a vintage auto expo for the first time, including more than thirty vintage cars, motorcycles and mopeds.

Proshows

The festival's Pro-Nite event features top Indian singers and bands such as Parikrama in 2005, Euphoria in 2006, Raghu Dixit and Kunal Ganjawala in 2009, Motherjane in 2010, Sunidhi Chauhan in 2011, Javed Ali in March 2013, Salim Sulaiman,in March 2014.

Sponsors

The 2012 title sponsor was Namma Metro, and associate sponsors were NICE. The 2014 Title Sponsor was Reliance. Other companies that have been sponsoring Incident are Zappstore.com, Himalaya Herbals, Quest, Syndicate Bank,Flipkart.com, KPCL, Tata Tea, KSFC, T.I.M.E, 98.3 Radio Mirchi, City Center, Channel [V], ONGC MRPL, AIRCEL, Chevrolet, Cocacola and The Ocean Pearl. The Hindu was the media partner in 2011.