R ARIVANANTHAM
CHENNAI, JAN 8
The nation’s oldest and largest annual cultural festival fully organised by the students of IIT Madras “Sarang’’ commenced on Wednesday and will culminate on Sunday, said Professor M.S. Sivakumar, Dean (Students) here on Tuesday.
Prof Sivakumar said, “This is a festival of joy and culture and is one of the largest and oldest cultural festivals in South India to be completely organized by students.
“The students expect over 70,000 footfalls for over 100 events. There are over 850 students involved in this effort. There are many regular features with one being a theme around which the event revolves. This year’s theme is ‘Madras Memoirs.’ Socially relevant campaigns will be special features of all these events. All the five days will end with pleasant performances by artistes in the event.”
In the past years, the organizers have successfully taken up causes such as cancer awareness, child welfare, and water conservation through Eunoia, Sukriti, and Boondh, respectively, which garnered tremendous support and attention, he added.
Great LEAP – Learning and Education Accessibility Project -forward
Prof Nandita Das Gupta, Faculty Advisor, Saarang 2020, IIT Madras, said, this year, the organising students have taken up the responsibility of continuing their mission of making education more accessible from the previous year, taking LEAP- Learning and Education Accessibility Project, to further heights of impact. The goal of LEAP is to make and provide tools and resources of education to the underprivileged and create an impact through paper recycling campaigns, manufacturing and distribution of eco-friendly notebooks to Government school children, career counselling opportunities, book donations, among other things.
Cultural fiesta
Abhinav Kankane, Cultural Affairs Secretary (Literary), IIT Madras said the festival will have participation of college students from across the nation. A.R. Rahman to Benny Dayal, many big names have performed in ‘Mardi Gras,’ as Saarang use to be known earlier. We have the biggest intercollegiate student’s festival and we have international judges for choreo events. We have artistes coming from 67 different countries for dance events, band performances and graffiti, Kankane added.
Shashwath Bacha, Cultural Affairs Secretary (Arts) said, this year four special events for school students will be organised.
Electrifying powerhouse to delight fun-lovers
The night of January 9 will witness the largest inter-collegiate, semi-professional dance competition in South India – ‘the Choreo Night.’ Succeeding this, Saarang’s EDM night promises to be one of the biggest ones yet with electrifying powerhouse Olly Esse opening the night and legendary Dutch duo, DubVision performing as the headliner.
Saarang is also venturing into new avenues; Vernacular Fest, India Fest and the Film Fest add to the formidable span of interests that Saarang caters to, with a conscious effort to support and encourage niche events.
Another feather in Saarang’s cap is the Spotlight lectures, for which the line-up includes illustrious names in a variety of fields like the singer Sid Sriram, the noted historian and author Manu S. Pillai, the author Christopher C. Doyle, and the skilful ‘Chennayin FC’ players, to name a few.
The fest is all set to rock the metal head crowd with the ethnic rock band Motherjane headlining; opening the night on January 11, 2020, is the very talented Indie rock band ‘When Chai Met Toast.’
Maestro Shankar Mahadevan to enthral all
The pot of gold at the end of Saarang’s metaphorical rainbow, the Popular Night on January 12 is at the top of everyone’s bucket list. The gilding on the gold is the timeless sensation, Maestro Shankar Mahadevan headlining the night, with the six-piece experimental funk fusion band, ‘Karnautic’ opening the night of indescribable entertainment, Bacha added.
Theme for the event is ‘Madras Memoirs’
The Theme of the Silver Jubilee Edition of this festival is ‘Madras Memoirs.’ It is all set to evoke the memories of its decades’ worth of history, and tap into the rich heritage and culture of its mother city.
The festival kicks off with a ‘Classical Night’ on Wednesday. The Asia Book Record holder Rajesh Vaidhya, a pioneer in his field of South Indian music with his use of electric and amplified strings, will grace the Open Air Theatre of Saarang.
