For all those who thought life for the students of IIT-Madras was about juggling between books, laboratories, exams and placements, and an occasional blast at a fest, a different picture of their everyday life might soon emerge. They'll get to see, for example, how on weekends at midnights, students of different hostels gather to play the famous ‘Wolf/mafia,' a guessing game with a lot of logical reasoning that goes on till the morning; or, how a student came up with a new project, ‘A bicycle that balances itself.'
Musings about the canteen food, the exhilaration of weekend night-outs or even ennui of the long days spent working on projects — IIT-M TV, launched last week, will feature everything interesting that happens on the campus.
There are certain things that can only happen at IIT-Madras, says Tejas Balasubramanya, a chemical engineering student and also the convener of the online channel. For instance, as part of the initial ice breaking treasure hunt ‘Queen of Sheeba,' an annual ritual organised by senior students in August last year, first year students stood at Ascendas Towers asking visitors for their fried-chicken tubs while a few called random phone numbers and pleaded with their owners to let them borrow their SIM cards — all to comply with the rules of the game. Shouldn't videos of such fun events be made and uploaded? It is a question that IIT-M TV attempts to answer.
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Videos of deer roaming around freely in the wee hours of the morning, or students practising the ‘insti-logo' that ranges from ‘put me the pen' to ‘that was awesome-max,' the online channel will feature everyday happening in the campus. Two major highlights of the initiative will be the showcasing of the best farewell videos made by former students and the presentation of the ‘IIT-M heritage' the way students see it. “It is not only about the only Maple tree in the campus or how old the campus is, but about places, including the various canteens and hangouts and the hidden routes,” says K. Pramod, who first came up with the initiative.
Students interested in filmmaking will make these videos, which will be edited by experts and uploaded on You Tube. “Former students keep asking us what kind of music we play here and what projects we are up to. This will be a good channel to keep them associated with us and also to give aspiring IITians more reasons to come here,” says Tejas.
So will they leak out confidential election results or student grievances? “Not as of now,” says Tejas. The institute had, a few months ago, launched its online newsletter, that made huge news with a post that reflected the experiences of a homosexual student in the campus. It also has Vox Populi, which has videos of students voicing their opinions on various issues, including the quality of food at the canteen and the nature of jobs that they prefer. “IIT-M TV will also give the viewer a slice of life at IIT-Madras.”
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