‘The Streets Are Calling’ – Xavier School of Management, recently hosted its Annual Sports & Cultural Festival “VALHALLA 2016”

8th August, 2016: XLRI – Xavier School of Management, recently hosted its Annual Sports & Cultural Festival “VALHALLA 2016” from 29th to 31st July, 2016 at XLRI Campus. The theme this year’s event was: ‘The Streets Are Calling’.

In its 5th Edition, the three-day extravaganza included a mélange of events ranging from dance, drama and debate to various sporting spectacles of gladiatorial proportions and were participated by students from other leading B-Schools in the country including the IIMs NMIMS Mumbai, BIT Mesra, XIM Bhubaneswar along with the home school.

The formal inauguration of VALHALLA 2016 was held on 29th July.

However, the celebrations had kick-started much before with the theme launch of the event earlier in the month on 6th July. The pre-launch event witnessed students participating in various games such as Tug of War, Sumo Wrestling, Hunt for Hidden Treasure and many more. Staying true to its theme – ‘The Streets Are Calling’, around 60 XLRI students performed flash mob on the roads of Jamshedpur on 24th July. The students also organized a Cleanliness Drive undertaken by SIGMA-oikos. The students cleaned the streets and surrounding walls and painted the walls near Tax Office and MGM Hospital in Jamshedpur as part of their initiative of spreading the messages of: giving back to the streets, keeping it clean and spreading social messages by means of wall paintings. There was also a street play by the students of XLRI to promote road safety awareness as part of their efforts to make the streets a safer place for all.

The Day 1 of ‘Valhalla 2016’ on July 29th witnessed a gamut of cultural and sports events ranging from theme based quiz to press conference, street art to king’s speech, table tennis to basketball. Events like laser tag, group dance, cricket, volleyball and many more saw an overwhelming and enthusiastic participation. Performance by Stand-up comedian Zakir Khan, the latest addition to AIB entertained the audience with his wit and humour. The day ended on a powerful note with the prelims of the Battle of Bands which saw high voltage, electrifying performances by bands from across the country.

The second day of the event saw participants speeding down the racing tracks in campus as they zip-zap-zoomed down the fast-lane in the Go-Karting event. Participants of ‘Laasya’-the solo classical dance competition and ‘Raagalay’- the solo classical singing cum instrumental music competition enthralled the audience with their mesmerising performances. There was also a Movie Debate, a General Quiz and fiercely fought sporting events like Volleyball and Basketball. The Street Play deserves special mention for the brilliant scripts, amazing acting and powerful portrayal of the vices in society. The food stalls did brisk business as students queued up to sample the delectable fare on offer. Stalls were put up by students that sold tribal handicraft items and food for visitors. “SIGMA dosa”, an initiative by SIGMA-oikos was out up to raise funds for charity, where the earnings were donated to Jharkhand Tribal Foundation. The highlight of the day was performance by renowned playback singer – ‘Coke Studio presents Nikhil D’Souza’ who enthralled audience with his mellifluous voice and soulful music.