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 English Language Activities Society (ELAS), Journal Club and Hindi Tarang, which are student organisations at 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 (VM16) was held on 30th 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, cricketeer and author, hosted a session at the fest.[8]Stand-up comedianBiswa Kalyan Rath performed at VM16, which features a stand-up show every year.[9][10][8]
The fest has literary events like picture perspective (writing about a picture or image that is presented), a Hindimock 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',aTelugu 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]
