New Delhi: It was music, music and music in the air at Sirifort Auditorium where four music bands formed by talented students from various colleges of Delhi fought to win ‘Synesthesia 2013 – Battle Of The Bands’, at Pearl Utsav, an annual fest of Pearl Academy, India’s design and fashion education institute. More than 30 bands auditioned for the fest out of which Dementia India, Ebinox, Heisenberg and Kraken made it to the final rounds and performed at the fest. And, there was Delhi’s own rockband ‘Nasha’ casting a million spells on the music lovers with its enchanting Sufiana performance along with the captivating musical presentation ‘Aladin’ by the students of Pearl Academy, New Delhi. The fest witnessed a gathering of around 2000 students from over 30 colleges across Delhi NCR.

As a tradition at Pearl Academy, it was the annual fest ‘Pearl Utsav’ that took place at Sirifort Auditorium. With its new theme ‘Synesthesia 2013 – Battle Of The Bands’, the fest saw some of the most fiery performances by the rock

bands. Students from over 30 reputed education institutions such as Lady Sriram College, Jesus And Mary College, Bhagat Singh College, Miranda House, Amity University and Apeejay College among many others auditioned for the battle. The top finalist bands showcased their talent at the fest. The battle was judged by Mr. Keshav Dhar, famous guitarist and producer, best known for his work with the progressive metal band Skyharbor; and Mr. Rohit Kulkarni, renowned guitarist and vocalist with leading bands Think Floyd, The Mob, Nasha and Solo Setup.

Mr. Sharad Mehra, CEO, Pearl Academy, said, “We wanted Pearl Utsav to be more fun-filled, enjoyable and musical this time for our students. What else could have been a better theme than ‘Battle Of The Bands’ to which our youth connects to very easily. The enthralling performances were no less than any of the rock shows. Kudos to our students as well to that of other colleges who participated in the fest and made Pearl Utsav a huge success!”

To grace the fest with his presence, Mr. Uday Benegal, renowned musician, writer and filmmaker, best known as the dynamic front-man of the pioneering Indian rock band ‘Indus Creed’, was present as the Chief Guest at Synesthesia 2013. Alongside his various musical pursuits, Mr. Benegal has written for a number of reputed publications, including The Village Voice, Rolling Stone magazine and Mid-Day. At the fest, Mr. Benegal awarded the winners and applauded their talent. It was a tie between Dementia India and Ebonix bands. Both of them shared the award on the stage.

Members of the participating bands are Saurabh Roy, Rangarajan Venkatraman, Ramanan Venkatraman, and Raghav Prabhakar from Dementia India; Vaibhav Chawla, Dhruv Malik, Karan Rampal, Antriksh Bali and Nishant Nagar from Ebinox; Aishwary Uniyal, Siddhant Sharma, Yatin Gera, Dipan Das and Akshay Nangia from Heisenberg; and Rudraksh Banerjie,Moses Koul, Gavin George and Reet Mukherjee from Kraken.

Students from over 30 colleges across Delhi NCR region inclusive of St. Stephens College, Bhagat Singh College, Hindu college, JIMS, Symbiosis Institute of Design, Nottingham University, Amity University, ITM University, GPMCE, Daulat Ram College and Jesus and Mary College among others attended Pearl Utsav. Every soul rejoiced the musical performances at the fest and swayed to the tunes of these budding bands.