Carpe Diem, the Annual National-level Cultural Festival of IIM Calcutta organized in association with Axe was held from 19th to 21st of December 2008. Those were three days of music, theatre and dance. Three days of fashion, style and photography. Three days of adventure sports, gaming and a lot of mauj-masti. Not to mention a killer rock show to top it off! Joining the joyride were IIT Kharagpur and Guwahati, NIFT, Presidency College and St. Xavier’s College, to name a few.

The festival kick-started with a grand opening followed by performances of the Choreography and Dramatics Cell of IIM Calcutta. The hard work put in by them over the months was clearly visible by the level of expertise showcased.

Razzmatazz, the highly anticipated fashion show, was the biggest highlight of the second day. The event was judged by former Miss India Earth, Jyoti Brahmin, who added onto the glamour quotient of the evening. INR 75,000 was given away in prize money for the event wherein participants were judged on their designing skills, clothing and panache. After two grueling rounds, Marine Engineering & Research Institute walked away with the first prize, with IIM Calcutta coming in a close second.”It was fantastic, fabulous and great!! And the crowd rocked… Keep it up, guys, keep up the spirit, IIM Calcutta rocks,” said Jyoti Brahmin, Miss India Earth, at the end of the show.

Armageddon, which saw participation from Rock Bands from all over the country, was one of the major highlights of the festival. The prelims began on the night before and went on till the wee hours of morning. After great difficulty, the judges selected few bands to play for the finals and compete for the Best Rock Band Trophy and Prize Money of INR 125,000. The evening chill could not hamper the spirits of rock enthusiasts who turned up in great numbers to witness the finals. ‘Kaivalyaa’ which is a Calcutta-based band, was declared the winner after a hard fought competition.

 The Calcutta Open Quiz, which saw participation from the entire quizzing circuit of Kolkata, was won by the much famed Jayshree Mohanka and team. Also participating was Gautam Bose, the quiz master of Kolkata, who is the CEO of the award winning company, Grey Cells Pvt. Ltd.

Theatre aficionados had their share of delight with the highly acclaimed National School of Drama performing a play named ‘Ram Naam Satya Hai’.

The festival included Cyber Warz, an all-night network gaming competition with prize money of INR 60,000. Workshops on Bar-Tending, Theatre and Photography were also carried out over these three days of revelry. The Photography Workshop was conducted by Kushal Mukherjee, a member of the state wildlife advisory board of West Bengal.

“IIM Calcutta not only has managers but they also have spark and light to produce style,” commented Jyoti Brahmin, Miss India Earth 2004.