Chandigarh, India
Department of Communication Design, Chitkara Design School (CDS), Chitkara University, Punjab organised a two-day festival “Never Ending Story (NES) 2023”. The aim of the festival was to honour and boost the diverse art of storytelling and provide a place for creativity, design and technology to come together.
On the first day, the opening ceremony was led by Prof. Manpal Setia, Dean of Chitkara Design School and lamp lighting by Mr. Iqbal Cheema, MD – Punjab Film City. This was followed by enthralling performances by Neha Bahuguna and Kahani Ki Dukaan. Manish Saini’s film “Giddh” soared as the inaugural film at the Never Ending Story Film Festival, a national level film festival that received entries from all parts of the country. Moreover, the festival provided writers Neha Bahuguna and Roopal Kewalya the opportunity to unveil their books.
On the other hand, the National Symposium on AI which featured esteemed speakers such as Sachendra Yadav, Global head of UX, Visionet Systems; Jaya Kanwar, Experience Designer at Accenture; and Kapil Joshi, Head of Experience Design Practice – Capgemini Financial Services SBU; shed light on AI’s collaborative role in design. Day 1 concluded with a comic session that included engaging discussions by Sanjay Gupta, Founder of Raj comics, and Karanvir Arora, CEO, Vimanika Comics, and the inauguration of a dedicated comic section in the Chitkara Design School library.
On the second day of the festival, an array of immersive workshops and screenings were held. Manpal Setia conducted a thought-provoking FDP on innovative pedagogy tools and experiments in design education. Workshops ranging from story writing, theatre and binna-making were organised by Kahani ki Dukaan; to big art and stop motion animation by Gaurav Juyal, game design by Saishradhha Malage, dance by Gurpreet Singh, and story writing as journaling by Neha Bahuguna. Gagandeep Singh’s captivating calligraphy performance added a touch of artistic finesse.
Apart from this, the festival showcased stalls with exceptional student works, products by renowned brands like Sony and Wacom, products from Chitkara University startup, Earthy Tales by Prof. Manpal Setia, publications from Raj Comics and Vimanika Comics, and Chitkara Design School student initiatives: WeChitr and The Conscious Community.
Furthermore, film ‘Gandhi and Co.’ by Manish Saini was also showcased, which had recently bagged the National Award for the best Children Film Category.
On the concluding day of the event, an award ceremony was held for National Level Character Design Competition, wherein Haripriya Dabbiru of NID, Ahemdabad, bagged the first place, followed by Devanshi Bansal and Arunima Gupta of Chitkara University in the second and third place, respectively. In the National Level Digital Illustration Design Competition, Ariba Fatima of Chitkara University stood first, Ritika Mangal of Poornima University came second, and Harshit Girdhar of Chitkara University stood third.
On the occasion, Dr. Madhu Chitkara, Pro Chancellor, Chitkara University, said, “Platforms like these give like-minded people an opportunity to come together and share their insights and visions. It is wonderful to see all the enlightened minds assembled here, talk about various subjects and showcase their innovations.”
In the NES Film Festival, Ajay Singh Yadav of NID Ahemdabad won Gold NES and Iniya Vasanthan of NID Ahemdabad won Silver NES in Fiction Category. In the category of Animation, Gaurav Pati of NID Ahemdabad won Gold NES and Vatsal Bucha of NID Haryana won Silver NES. In the category of Non-Fiction, Animesh Gautam of NID Ahemdabad won Gold NES and Dilu Maliackal of NID Bhopal won Silver NES. Sanju Kadu of NID Ahemdabad got a Special Mention in Design School Films category.
