While the Smart City Coimbatore is undergoing transformation in terms of infrastructure, technology and cultural change, there has also been a drastic change in the minds of people and the city in adopting to its new makeover. Nevertheless, the region has got its very own identity reminding us of the bygone history of Coimbatore and PSG & Sons’ Charities, in associating with ‘Coimbatore Vizha’, recreated and symbolized on a grand scale the rich celebration of the culture, traditions and social spirit of the people of Coimbatore. The celebration started on Jan 5th and ended on Jan 12th, 2018 at PSG Institutions.
The 10th edition had events like Treasure hunt, Short film festival, Quiz, Cooking competition, Music fest, Sports and Entertainment as the PSG Group contributed by decorating the venue following the age old traditions and customs.
PSG Heritage
The exhibition about the Heritage of PSG was designed with a miniature replica of PSG Industrial Institute building on how P S Govindasamy Naidu, the Visionary built the great institution, information regarding the concept of the Fifth Brother, Coimbatore’s first telephone that was installed in PSG, and National Anthem Jana Gana Mana which was first sung at PSG Sarvajana High School, took us back to the old days.
Rural Sports
On the peak of the current digital era where kids these days spend more time on mobile and computer games, students of PSG Schools were encouraged to play rural games such as Gilli Danda, Dhaayam, Pallanguli, Kabbadi, Kho Kho, Saaku Race, Nongu Vandi, Cycle Tyre Race, Snake and Ladder etc., which brought the school children to the outdoor reliving the golden days of village life. The evening was memorable bringing a rustic atmosphere to the whole event.
Pongal Celebrations
As a part of jollifications, the students of PSG Institute of Management celebrated Pongal, the Tamil harvest festival wearing the traditional Dhoti and Saree. The celebrations started with the cooking of Pongal in a clay pot that was decorated with coloured patterns and Kolam.
“Hailing from Chennai, I used to celebrate Pongal with my parents. But, this time I got an amazing experience to celebrate the harvest festival with my friends. Starting from Thara Thappatai Dance, Karagattam and photo shoots with the bullock cart, we thoroughly enjoyed the day,” said Kathik, a first year PGDM student of PSGIM.
Treasure Hunt
Who would not want to find treasures in reality? We all grew watching movies where the hero and his team would hunt for treasures. The Treasure Hunt was a game designed in such a way that it pushed the contestants’ logic to the extreme limits covering a vast radius of 25 kms starting from PSGIM and traversing through Puliyakulam Vinayagar Temple, Delite Theatre, Presentation Convent and Puttuvikki Bridge. It was fun for the exploring contestants to crack every clue and track the treasure racing against time.
PSG Quiz
In keeping with the rich tradition of the festival, a quiz was organized testing the knowledge of the participating students about the City’s heritage, customs, traditions, diversity and history. The open quiz challenge had some breath-taking rounds where three per team participated. The mind game had versatile people of all age group who participated with a lot of enthusiasm.
Healthy Cooking Fest
Nowadays, when junk food has become a very common problem, the healthy cooking fest transported the contestants back to the good old days when grannies, rather than moms, displayed their culinary skills. Gen X, the Rural Cooking Fest, in association with Covai Vizha, witnessed both masters and amateurs frantically at work to bring out different dishes, using a variety of millets, like Ulunthan Kanji, Kambu Paal and Ulunhan Klai and so on.
Kadambari Music Fest
Music is something that acts as a stress buster for many. As the trend had changed to western and rap, the Carnatic Vocal of TM Krishna and Sathyaprakash, Playback Singer allured the people of Covai to the mesmerizing music. On the side line, the performance by Dr. Divyatha Arun, Bharathanatyam Dancer who is also an alumnus of PSG IMSR gripped the audience. She was presented with ‘Yuva Kala Ratna Award’ by the PSG & Sons’ Charities for her contribution to Bharathanatyam.
Short Film Contest
Short films are the under-appreciated cousins of feature films. With the given theme ‘Coimbatore’, the budding artists of PSG Institutions rolled their cameras and captured the insights of Covai that depicted the history of the city in few minutes.
Coimbatore Vizha Logo Formation
As a part of ‘Coimbatore Vizha’, nearly 460 students of PSG Public schools formed the human logo on the PSG Institute of Management Ground to commemorate the grand event.