Kochi, Jan 5 (IANS): Fifty-one architecture students of Ahmadabad Nirma University, who arrived to visit the fifth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, have been bowled over by what they saw.

Madhuri Sahi, one of the students, said she considers herself lucky to have been able to see this.

"Biennale gave us a novel experience like never before," said Sahi.

"The general perception that artworks are to be enjoyed from a distance gets turned upside down by the installations and other exhibitions at the Biennale. Not just with sight and sound, experiences including the smell, pull the admirers to the vicinity of the contemporary arts causing amazement," Sahi added.

Aparna, a teacher from among the group, said the event is a celebration of unique, distinct art forms.

"Our idea of the Biennale was only through books and pictures. The different contemporary art forms that are individually deep and vast in their unique thought streams create a new level of awareness," said Aparna.

"The visit was an amazing experience. After visiting the highly creative art exhibitions, I'm sure, changes, however small they are, are bound to happen in the minds of each one of us. The ordinary and extraordinary, the old and the modern, seen in the different technology and medium utilised for the creations have all surprised us. Students were left astonished after seeing the creations," added Aparna.