Three-day cultural festival features inter-faculty competitions in music, dance, anchoring and fashion
Solan, October 12
The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences won the overall trophy at Shoolini University’s annual inter-departmental cultural festival, Manchtantra 2026. The Faculty of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology finished as runner-up.
The three-day festival began with a flash mob on October 7 and brought together students and faculty members for competitions in music, dance, anchoring, fashion and other cultural activities.
The Faculty of Media and Liberal Arts, Faculty of Legal Sciences and Yogananda School of Spirituality and Happiness secured first place in the flash mob competition, followed by Pharmaceutical Sciences. Applied Sciences and Biotechnology and Bioengineering received an Award of Appreciation.
The Faculty of Basic Sciences and Agriculture won the anchoring competition, with Pharmaceutical Sciences as runner-up. Pharmaceutical Sciences also won the Western duet singing competition, followed by the Faculty of Engineering.
In semi-classical duet dance, Basic Sciences and Agriculture secured first place, followed by Media and Liberal Arts, Legal Sciences and Yogananda School of Spirituality and Happiness. Pharmaceutical Sciences won ‘The Missing Tatva’, while Liberal Arts and Legal Sciences shared the runner-up position with Basic Sciences and Agriculture.
Engineering won the Bollywood medley song competition, with Applied Sciences and Biotechnology and Bioengineering finishing second. The Faculty of Management Sciences won both the group folk dance and theme-based fashion show competitions. Biotechnology was runner-up in group folk dance, while Media and Liberal Arts, Legal Sciences and Yogananda School of Spirituality and Happiness finished second in the fashion show.
Pharmaceutical Sciences also secured first place in faculty participation, followed by Media and Liberal Arts, Legal Sciences and Yogananda School of Spirituality and Happiness.
The judging panel for Manchtantra 2026 comprised professionals from the fields of singing, fashion and dance. Shweta Thakur, winner of Miss Queen of Himalaya and Miss Pahadan, and recipient of the Miss Himachal Best Ramp Walk Model title, brought her experience in modelling and pageantry to the fashion show category. Harsh Sandhu judged the singing competitions, while Naveen Paul Johny, a Solan-based dancer and co-founder of SJ Dancing Zone academy, evaluated the dance performances.
Mrs Poonam Nanda, Director of Sustainability and Community Engagement, Shoolini University, congratulated the winners and participants. “Manchtantra gives students space to express themselves, build confidence and work as a team. It also brings students from different faculties together to learn from one another through healthy competition. Congratulations to everyone who contributed to this year’s festival,” she said.
