07/11/2021
I know I’d be bragging a bit - but Vividha 2018 was actually where the whole fest was streamlined. Everything was systematized, work was delegated and departments were set up. We had marketing, PR, Decor, Editorial, Curation and the likes. Our collective motivation was to breathe life into our theme - Handicrafts and the department’s scope. In Xavier’s, AIHCA is not the most sought after department. This is because the students limit their idea about AIHCA to the typical stereotypes of Indian Culture. But the dept. and Indian culture per se is so much more than that! That’s where Vividha provided a wonderful opportunity - We decided to become the change we wanted to see. As our theme was heavily based on artefacts and art, we had a diverse range of setups. Anita ma’am came to our rescue when it came to sourcing artefacts. Apart from that, we had opened up Vividha for the first time to student-run businesses. This not only helped us showcase Indian handicrafts, but also gave the small businesses an entrepreneurial platform to market themselves. You see, this is the first step where we broke the Ice about us being limited to the Ancient. These stalls and sale of handmade products put forth the idea of Indian handicrafts being ancient as well as contemporary,in the best way plausible. I remember us installing our mascot - the handicraft maharaja. He was basically a man welcoming the audience at the entrance of the foyer, inspired by the Maharaja of Air India.
Experiences like these now make me realise that the Vividha we put up had equal and more effort from the students and the professor’s sides. What kept us together throughout this journey of 2 months was clear communication. The assertion that is now encouraged in communication - we were practising it a long time before the awareness came into vogue. If there was a conflict, or if something did not feel right, it was spoken out and expressed then and there. Our ground rule was to not leave for home without a solution for the conflict. This practice not only helped us but it became something our juniors took ahead with them. Now, here’s a story that will melt your hearts. We had a family who had set up shop at Vividha. Initially, we had taken sponsorship funds from them, but as we opened up to students free of charge, we decided to return their money. Guess what - the family refused to take back the money! Not just that, every morning on both days, the parents walked around the whole exhibition with their tiny tots, showing them around and explaining the artefacts and handicrafts. Since we had everything ranging from textiles to paintings, to diaries, toys and whatever we could think of, the exhibition saw a good footfall. Vividha had become more accessible to the students at Xavier’s. It is moments like these that not only define your efforts but act as a reminder and consolation as to why you put the efforts in the first place. More than anything else, the sole obstacle that the department is yet to overcome is similar to what the subject itself experiences - outreach. Ancient Indian Culture does not limit itself to just the Indus Valley Civilization or to the walls of St. Xavier’s - it’s so much more than that. The sad truth is that only students who move forward with it are able to recognize the subject’s true beauty and potential. If AIHCA can reach out to people, make the knowledge more relevant to potential students, I think we’ll be going ahead towards a very long road of bright prospects.
We’re really excited to see how Vividha 2022 manages the audience - keeping it engaged throughout the exhibition in times where even attending a webinar can turn into a sleep fest! More than anything else, it’s so heartwarming to know that the department reached out to us alumni, not just for reminiscing old memories and having a sentimental laugh, but also for taking suggestions, feedback and lessons that we learnt on our journeys of Vividha.
The Department of AIHCA and Team Vividha would like to especially thank Pallavi Gambre, and the entire batch of 2014 for having joined us for this conversation and sharing their experiences about Vividha.
