I never thought a deer could give me attitude till I walked into IIT’s campus. And there it was, staring at me with its big brown eyes that seemed to say, “What? You’re the new one here!” And it was true. I was attending one of Chennai’s most awaited culturals — IIT Saarang.
Boasting of five professional shows and 50-plus events, IIT Saarang makes its way into every student’s calendar. The preparations for this event start in April, and by August, the artistes are all set for their performances.
“The coordinators were helpful and the events were very competitive,” said K. G. Bharati from Ethiraj, who took part in the event for the first time.
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With a majority of events targeted at music lovers, students such as Shishir and Varun from VIT were elated. “Massive Vibe Live had brilliant music and I like the campus,” they said.
Quizzes, games and workshops kindled the curiosity of students and the stalls were a constant source of entertainment. Enthusiastic students had a time of their lives posing for pictures with their friends.
Workshops such as face painting, ventriloquism and terrible tiny tales were a huge hit. Formula One racer Karun Chandok, woman grandmaster Tania Sachdev and other lecturers inspired students with their success stories in a lecture series called Lectures and Demonstrations. The dramatics session also got a good response from students. “It was my first time acting on stage, and meeting new people from all over the country was great. However, due to the floods, the number of participants seemed to have decreased. On the whole, Saarang is home!” said Ammu Nair from IIT.
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To help people affected by the floods in Chennai, the IITians donated the proceedings from the Choreo Night competition and World Music Fest for rebuilding the city. The Sukriti campaign for child welfare was another major social welfare programme by Saarang.
Though there were minor hiccups such as students being unable to attend due to exam reschedule or the band Red Jumpsuit Apparatus being unable to perform, the whole event was handled with professionalism. At the music fest, the bands that performed included Skrat, Inner Sanctum and Avial. Vishal-Shekhar enthralled the audience at the Popular Night show, bringing the perfect ending to a fast-paced fest.
The writer is pursuing B.Sc. Visual Communication from Ethiraj College for Women, Chennai.