Kuttikkanam: Marian College here witnessed a unique competition that stood out for its name, duration, motive and the way of organisation. It was a talent contest named, 'Midukki,' exclusively for girls and remarkably not a piece of paper was used from its conception to planning stage.
"The main objectives of Midukki were to provide a platform for girls to portray their talents and to develop competitiveness among them," Athira Unnikrishnan, the Undergraduate Lady Representative of the Marian College Students Council (MCSC). told Onmanorama.
Five rounds were conducted to find out the Midukki from the entire girl students, who comprise 59% of the total strength of the college.
As a starter cycle, an online test comprising of current issues, intelligent thinking and character-based enquiries was conducted for the 150 chosen candidates. For the next selected 50, an RJ Hunt which tested the speaking skills was conducted next.
In the Talent round, contestants were asked to showcase any of the talents they had. It was followed by an Adventure round, where river crossing and tree climbing measured the willingness of the contestants to undertake risky missions.
Eight contestants were selected for the final round, where, voting, ramp walk and stress interview took place.
Honey Rose Peter (Hospitality and Tourism Department) won the title of 'Marian Midukki.' Gowri S Kumar (Social Work) and Riya Benny (Commerce) became the first and second runner-ups respectively.
"Midukki was a great platform for contesting against each other with the unique qualities that everyone have. In my opinion, each contestant is a Midukki in one way or another," Riya remarked. ('Midukki' means a capable woman or girl in Malayalam.)
In his address, during the prize-giving ceremony, Fr Dr Roy Abraham P, Principal of Marian College, stressed the importance of conducting competitions. "As elimination is an inevitable factor of every competition, it helps contestants to adjust with failures and give a strong motive to rise from those failures," he noted.
Another thing to be noted about Midukki is that it was a paperless competition. "We are proud to say that all the correspondences for the Midukki contest were through the official website of the college union. No paper was used right from the planning to the prize-giving ceremony," said Justin Jacob, General Secretary of Marian College Students Council.
The contest was organised by the Students Council of autonomous college.