By Chetan Swain:
Xpressions, the annual Management-Cultural fest of Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, is the pride of the Institute, not only because it’s the biggest fest of Eastern India, but also because the students of the institute take this opportunity to include the less fortunate in their celebrations. This is done through various social initiatives conducted as part of the fest, ranging over a course of time. These include events like X-Pallavan, Swachh Bharat, X-Athon, Spardha and Aaghaz.
X-Pallavan was a sapling plantation and donation drive organized on 23rd August, 2015 by the students of XIMB. The main objective of this event was to make Bhubaneswar greener. The drive was supported by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Odisha State Forest Department, apart from HDFC Bank. Students planted saplings in a patch of waste land identified by the BMC with the intention of maintaining this land in the future. Later, they distributed saplings to the public at six different locations across the city. The initiative will go a long way in making Bhubaneswar greener and more beautiful.
The next social initiative taken was the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan on Gandhi Jayanti this year. The students decided to lead by example in an attempt to clean up the city. While the students cleaned up the area near their institute, they hope that others will follow suit and that this initiative will help keep the city they love clean and hygienic.
One of the most awaited pre-events of Xpressions ’15 was X-Athon, the annual marathon organized by XIMB. This is a one of a kind flagship event that was organized on the 11th of October this year and was greeted with great enthusiasm by the residents of the city. The aim of the organizers is not just to promote fitness and healthy activities among the citizens of Bhubaneswar, but also to raise funds for social causes through this event. This year X-Athon tied up with CRY (Child Rights and You), to help under-privileged girls across India. It gave participants great satisfaction in knowing that while they ran, not only did they make themselves fitter, but they also helped brighten the life of a young girl who needed help.
Apart from these pre-events, the main event of Xpressions ’15 also had two events with a social angle- Spardha and Aaghaz. Spardha is a social entrepreneurship business plan competition with the objective of inculcating the ideals of conscious capitalism and social awareness among participants. It gave participants the opportunity to explore life in the rural hinterlands of Odisha and is a Mega Event of Xpressions.
Aaghaz is the street play or nukkad natak competition, which intends to raise awareness among the youth about social causes in a fun and intriguing manner. The aim of Aaghaz is to highlight issues of social relevance while bringing out the talent and creativity of the participants. As a prelude to Aaghaz, the organizing committee performed a Nukkad Natak at Xavier University Bhubaneswar on August 15th and on World Humanitarian Day (August 19th) it performed another street play on the theme ‘Women Empowerment’. The theme of Aaghaz this year is “Lead the Change” with the sub-themes ‘Drug abuse and its effect on a family’, ‘Women Empowerment’, and ‘Reservation and Quota System’. These events were organized in the hope that they can positively influence the indifferent mindset of the youth of our nation, even if it is in a small way.
[envoke_twitter_link]Xpressions is a lot more than just a Management-Cultural event[/envoke_twitter_link]. [envoke_twitter_link]It is an avenue for the students to give back to the society and the city they belong to[/envoke_twitter_link]. It is a celebration of life and humanity.
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