A show starting late, an inhospitable reception, poor remuneration to artistes, not getting shortlisted for the next round… have any of these been one of your grievances after being to the annual cultural fest of IIT-Madras? Saarang 2011 promises to address all these common complaints and other technical glitches that it received through feedback forms collected every year.
The “mother of all culturals” is vying for ISO certification (ISO 9001:2008) this edition and with better organisational structure, the organisers hope to rectify some of the shortcomings. A quality management system is already in place since last year and better planning and coordination is what the student-run event would go to be, say the cultural secretaries of Saarang 2011.
Addressing mediapersons here on Monday, M. Govardhan, Dean, Students, IIT-Madras and Chairman of the Steering Committee of Saarang 2011, said “Shaastra already has the ISO certification and IIT-Madras was the first in the country to get.” He said that all the requirements for the audit are in progress. It is a huge responsibility, but puts a lot of discipline in place and improves the system.
Professional judges
“We are bringing in professional judges even in the first round where short-listing has to be done for selection to the next round. Previously, students did the elimination,” said Nishant, cultural affairs secretary. Three-day “live audits” and 250 different feedback forms suiting different events would be circulated.
Mr. Govardhan announced that the fest has received its highest ever sponsorship of Rs.60 lakh this time.
The fest, from January 25 to January 29, has 65 events with five professional shows lined up. A classical night with programmes by Mallika Sarabhai and troupe; and Anil Srinivasan, Sikkil Gurucharan, Navin Iyer and B.S. Purushothaman will open the curtains to Saarang 2011.
Other professional shows include performances by the Swedish band ‘Pain of Salvation' and Bollywood singer KK. The regional round of the Indian Sudoku Championship will be held, where the winners would get to participate in the national championship and then to the represent Indian in the World Sudoku Championship.
Filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoor, actor Shriya Saran, vocalist Bombay Jayashri and dancer Alarmel Valli would add colour to the ‘Lectures and Demonstrations' sessions.
A model United Nations session and Saarang Village offering a cultural experience of Kerala are a few other spotlights.
Invitations have been sent out to 720 colleges across the country. Last year, the fest attracted nearly 50,000 students and this time, it is expected to get more, said R. Sarathi, professor of IIT-Madras and Cultural Advisor, Saarang 2011.
A ‘World Cultural Show' featuring performers from all over the world would see a choreographic play by a French dance troupe, a Houston-based dance group and from an Israel-based band. This has been supported by the Alliance Francaise, U.S. Embassy and the Embassy of Israel. Workshops such as caricature, calligraphy, radio jockeying and journalism would explore the creative side of these fields. Nokia would launch X2-01 at the festival, the device would allow students to stay connected through chat, email and social network.
For details log on to www.saarang.org
