# Verba Maximus

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**Verba Maximus** (abbreviated **VM**) is the annual literary festival of [BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus](/source/BITS_Pilani,_Hyderabad_Campus). It is one of the 4 fests conducted in the college, the other 3 being Atmos, Pearl and Arena. It is a national event, held usually in the last weeks of January or the first week of February. Regional rounds, preceding the main fest in Hyderabad, are generally conducted in [major metropolitan cities](/source/List_of_metropolitan_areas_in_India) like Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, [Vijayawada](/source/Vijayawada) and [Visakhapatnam](/source/Visakhapatnam) and feature events like [Just a Minute](/source/Just_a_Minute) (JAM), [spell bee](/source/Spelling_bee), and [debate](/source/Debate).[1][2]

## History

Eight editions of the fest have been conducted over the years, the latest of which was held over 19–21 January 2018. The multi-lingual fest is organised by the **E**nglish **L**anguage **A**ctivities **S**ociety (**ELAS**), Journal Club and Hindi Tarang, which are student organisations at [BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus](/source/BITS_Pilani_Hyderabad_Campus).[3] The first edition of the fest took place in 2011, less than three years after the campus became fully operational.[4]

### Verba Maximus 2016

Verba Maximus 2016 (VM16) was held on 30 and 31 January 2016.[5] VM16 had events like *Yin Yang* (writing two sides of the same story), *Words of a Feather* (weaving a story around words that are announced one at a time), *Picture Perspective* (writing stories around a picture shown), apart from the regular events lit-quiz, group discussion and debate.[6][7] [Harimohan Paruvu](/source/Harimohan_Paruvu), cricketeer and author, hosted a session at the fest.[8] [Stand-up comedian](/source/Stand-up_comedy) [Biswa Kalyan Rath](/source/Biswa_Kalyan_Rath) performed at VM16, which features a stand-up show every year.[9][10][8]

### Verba Maximus 2017

Verba Maximus 2017 (VM17) was held from 4–6 February 2017 and featured authors [Ashwin Sanghi](/source/Ashwin_Sanghi) and Indu Balachandran, popular [Quoran](/source/Quora) [Balaji Vishwanathan](/source/Balaji_Vishwanathan) as well as a show by stand-up comedian [Kenny Sebastian](/source/Kenny_Sebastian).[11][12]

## Events

The fest has literary events like picture perspective (writing about a picture or image that is presented), a Hindi [mock parliament](/source/Mock_Parliament) called the "Youth Sabha", lit-quiz, debate, group discussion and Sherlocked, an investigative journalism event in which participants have to investigate a crime based on hints given to them. Some editions of the fest also had events like *'Pada Vinayasam',* a [Telugu](/source/Telugu_language) crossword and writing event.[13] Recent editions of the fest, including Verba Maximus 2018, have newer events like Man from Amorium (write a story around a given skeletal plot), Symphonies of the Soul (write about a clip of music that is played) and Devil's Advocate (defend an unpopular opinion or ideology).[14]

## External links

- [Verba Maximus](https://verba-maximus.netlify.app/home) – official website of Verba Maximus
- [Instagram Handle](https://www.instagram.com/vm.bphc/)

## References

1. ["Verba Maximus fest at BITS Pilani from Jan 3"](http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/2015-01-24/Verba-Maximus-fest-at-BITS-Pilani-from-Jan-3-127714). *The Hans India*. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 2017-12-28.

1. ["Are you ready for Verba Maximus?"](http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-educationplus/are-you-ready-for-verba-maximus/article5515995.ece) (in en-IN). *The Hindu*. 2013-12-30. [ISSN 0971-751X](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0971-751X). Retrieved 2017-12-28.

1. Nadadhur, Srivathsan (2016-03-01). ["College fests: More than just memories"](http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/college-fests-more-than-just-memories/article8300209.ece) (in en-IN). *The Hindu*. [ISSN 0971-751X](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0971-751X). Retrieved 2017-12-28.

1. ["BITS Facts & History"](https://web.archive.org/web/20171224211133/http://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/bitsFactsHistory). *bits-pilani.ac.in*. Archived from [the original](http://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/bitsFactsHistory) on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 2017-12-31.

1. ["Verba Maximus 2016-BITS Pilani Hyderabad"](http://www.festpav.com/fest/view/5005/Verba_Maximus_2016-BITS_Pilani_Hyderabad). Retrieved 2017-12-31.

1. Kar, Suchit. ["Verba Maximus 2016 - Campus Karma"](https://www.campuskarma.in/events/event/view/119887/verba-maximus-2016). *Campus Karma*. Retrieved 2017-12-31.

1. ["Verba Maximus 2016"](https://www.timeout.com/hyderabad/events/verba-maximus-2016). *timeout.com*. Retrieved 2017-12-31.

1. Nadadhur, Srivathsan (2016-01-28). ["Verba Maximus at BITS Pilani, Hyderabad:Put on your literary caps"](http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/Verba-Maximus-at-BITS-Pilani-HyderabadPut-on-your-literary-caps/article14024631.ece) (in en-IN). *The Hindu*. [ISSN 0971-751X](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0971-751X). Retrieved 2017-12-31.

1. ["Biswa Kalyan Rath – Stand Up Comedy at Verba Maximus – Buy tickets"](https://www.goeventz.com/event/biswa-kalyan-rath-stand-up-comedy-at-verba-maximus/1192). *goeventz.com*. Retrieved 2017-12-31.

1. ["Biswa Kalyan Rath – Stand Up Comedy at Verba Maximus | RITZ"](http://www.ritzmagazine.in/biswa-kalyan-rath-stand-up-comedy-at-verba-maximus/). *RITZ Magazine*. 2016-01-16. Retrieved 2017-12-31.

1. ["Kenny Sebastian Live at BITS Pilani Hyderabad"](https://www.timeout.com/hyderabad/events/kenny-sebastian-live-at-bits-pilani-hyderabad). *timeout.com*. Retrieved 2017-12-31.

1. Sebastian, Kenny (2017-01-28). ["I am performing on the 6th of Feb at BITS"](https://twitter.com/knowkenny/status/825560481012207617). *@knowkenny*. Retrieved 2017-12-31.

1. Nadadhur, Srivathsan (2016-01-28). ["Verba Maximus at BITS Pilani, Hyderabad:Put on your literary caps"](http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/Verba-Maximus-at-BITS-Pilani-HyderabadPut-on-your-literary-caps/article14024631.ece) (in en-IN). *The Hindu*. [ISSN 0971-751X](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0971-751X). Retrieved 2017-12-28.

1. ["Verba Maximus 2018 Events"](https://bitsvm.in/events.html). *bitsvm.in*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20171228064433/https://bitsvm.in/events.html) 2017-12-28 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2017-12-28.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Verba Maximus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verba_Maximus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verba_Maximus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.