Saarang Speaks

Advertisements on television

2006-01-15T23:02:00.000+05:30

The Television advertisements for Saarang 2006 were completed last week and sent to VH1 and SS Music for broadcast. If you miss them on air, here is a low resolution version. The first one is the new advert made this year. Special mention goes to cusec Judi and the production team for their efforts. And to the actors and voice-over guys. A huge thanks to the two Loyola college Vis-com guys who helped us so much and also to the studio artists. They gave us a crash course in videography during the making of this advertisements. Special mention also to KG (the quizzer) whose backstage action kept us awake through the late hours of the shoot (the video of which is privately being circulated in IIT).

The New (Events centric) Advertisement. The five guys are from left to right - Priyamvada (PVC), Hari (Cubba), Rohit (TenG), Vignesh (Fu) and Karthik (KG)

Saarang 2005 advert - We were there 1

Saarang 2005 advert - We will rock you

Saarang 2005 advert - We were there 2

A Chor's work is never done

2006-01-14T11:19:00.000+05:30

Long hours, sleepless nights, wondering whether things are going to cup, hoping to get your next meal on time, checking over your shoulder whether the boss is watching you goofing off. Poor Shaastra coords, they never realized that the grass was definitely greener on this side of the Academic year. All they had to do was send in their applications to the other coord mongers and their job was done!! Sleep all day, sleep all night, enter your event half an hour after its begun, start screaming at the Events core that GA is never up on time and how could they expect you to lug your UPS all the way from Tapti to CLT to protect your laptop (you know who you are!!)? Hopefully, Saarang will be a rerun of Lit-Soc timing atleast, where (most) events began on time.

So, where was I? I wasn’t writing this to talk about the stupid coords!! I was writing this to talk about me!!! O yea! And the other nitwits like me in the Core Group!!! What’s it all about, one may ask, if one had the time. Firstly, it’s dog work. Being a Core doesn’t mean you get to have scintillating conversations with beautiful women (though I hear that was a perk ages ago, in the time of Mardi Gras). No, it entails hours of running around convincing bureaucracy that your way is the right way, being told it isn’t and running around doing others work for them. It entails writing stupid write ups when all your creative juices have been exhausted (like you had any to begin with) and editing corny stuff like “Think you can tell your partners that you’re one of the three wise men searching for the other two, without opening your mouth?”. Who reads this stuff anyway?? What morons!!! In other words, it’s meant for a Dog (you know who you are as well).

There is one part of the job I like though. In fact, there are two. The first is running all over the place with a file in your hand. I don’t carry one of those fancy PR or Spons files, Heaven forbid!!! We, events chaps, aren’t pseud enough for those. No, I carry a Gurunath office file (Thickest) made by Sri Gurunath Department Stores for Rs.3 and sold for about Rs. 20. All sorts of important papers are securely filed away in this mammoth pink folder. For one, there’s the budget for events. A coord has no idea how much money he can actually spend on an event. Every coord wants his event to be bigger. There are the Lec-Dems, which get bigger and less attended every year, though we keep bringing the most famous names in Culture, this side of the planet. (Of course, if we didn’t bring them at 7 in the morning, people would decide to get up to listen to them preach). And finally, there is this innocuous, little (did I say little?) (dare I say it) balding (ouch, oh well, we’re all balding aren’t we?? Raging hormones!!!) coord, who wants to stage a play so that his participants are inspired to write for greater glory. Then there are instructions to coords, phone numbers, a drams script (huh??) and what not. I was trying to hide an Umberto Eco in there as well, but that didn’t go down too well…

Well, the other nice part of the job, of course, is getting to shove people. Or the other way around. I haven’t yet worked out who shoves whom the most at the end. I remember shoving the Dog for a horrible schedule last year, until I sat and figured out that mine is worse. Oh well, them’s the breaks, kid!!! You had all better attend the India Quiz, coz this whole reason the schedule is a mess is the fault of ummm, best left unsaid.

Anyway, I got to stop writing now. As I said, a Chor, ahem Core’s work is never done. I remember a comment passed by a core group member in my first year- Everyone should be a Core group member. Let’s go a step further eh? Everyone should be Cul-Sec. That’s plain foolish. Only I should be Cul-Sec!!! (Don’t hurt me, boss!!!) Cheers everyone, and have a great Saarang!!! Remember the old saying, Love Life, Live a Saarang!!! (Can we get cornier???)

Rohit “TenG” Bhat

Events Core

Saarang 2006

New Home

2006-01-13T09:32:00.000+05:30

Saarang has tied up with Sulekha this year too for a host of contests. You can take a look at them at saarang.sulekha.com. This blog also has a new home, complete with custom made banners and all, thanks to the nice guys at sulekha, - saarangtalk.sulekha.com.

For the Sulekha viewers ---

Hi,
The old home was saarangtalk.blogspot.com.
If you have been to Saarang earlier, then hi, hope you enjoy this.
Else, Saarang is a cultural festival organised by the students on IIT Madras. You can check out our website for more details. And keep reading here, since I shall post the latest news and gossip.

In other news,
The pro-shows have been finalised finally
24 Jan - Ganesh and Kumaresh
26 Jan - Shankar Eshaan Loy
29 Jan - Led Zeppelica

You can find out more about them here

Events schedule

2006-01-09T11:31:00.000+05:30

This is Amrut reporting from control room.. It is a .. um.. big room where everything in Saarang is planned and executed. The dean's office is next door. He is not yet in office. Activity level is slightly high. Things are apparantly not going that well, but I have been unable to find out what. Saarang is getting close and things are 'getting hot'. I overheard one core member asking another core member a few minutes back - "Have you started pissing in your pants yet?" When asked about his comment, he replied, "Don't write this and all da.."

In other turn of events, the events schedule has been made. That is an IIT record. Events schedules are usually made two days before Saarang starts. But not this time. Rohit (TenG) and Hari (Cubba) have to be complimented. I have heard that it is going up on the website soon. Of course, what is possible is that the schedule will undergo a few revisions, which means that the website will put it up only later.

New Year Blues

2006-01-07T16:08:00.000+05:30

Happy new year.

Its a frustrating time for Saarang coords. Nothing seems to be getting done in time. A lot of serially assigned jobs, vacations, new semester registration work, etc, etc and you get a hugely complicated mess of things. And the only thing you can really straighten is your hair. Anyway, the Saarang ad, which was to broadcast on 5th Jan got stuck up in a post production mess (God there is so much to make a 20-sec ad) and is ready only now. I shall put up a low-res version soon. Lot of sweat (and money I hear) has gone into its making.

Saarang coords usually communicate in yahoo groups. The mails are usually short ones

Rahul Srivatsa <****@gmail.com>
Reply-To: *****@yahoogroups.com
To: *****@yahoogroups.com
logos please

So I was pleasantly surprised to see this today morning --

....
....
and ya, Tim** of Ind**: long time ago my school teachers gave gyan to me abt how sodium metal reacts with H2O and why this reaction should be avoided. Turns out the name "Th* Hin**" has a similar effect on To* guys...
....
....

He must have had a really happy new year, or probably he has straight hair!

Coming up: Interviews with the guys in charge on how to chose a performer for pro-shows and what does one do when someone's not working at all.

Mood Indigo

2005-12-30T15:30:00.000+05:30

Surprised? A post on Saarang blog about Mood Indigo???

The reason is this –

One of my jobs is to search for content on Saarang on the net. And Wikipedia history of Saarang had this interesting revision.

So I think it’s about time we set the record straight. There seems to be an impression of a Saarang - Mood Indigo competition. I think this is blown out of proportion. I have been to Mood Indigo and I think the city of Bombay is a beautiful place. Maybe if I had noticed it earlier I would have urged you to try and make it to Mood Indigo (26-29 Dec). Anyways, maybe next year.

Amrut

P.S. – I was just writing this and got reminded of something. My brother is from IIT Kharagpur. And I, obviously, am an IIT Madras product. So when my mom asked the both of us which is better, he replied, quite frankly, “We both know which is better.”

Event Folk Arts

2005-12-30T00:03:00.000+05:30

IIT Madras students try to experiment with new events. This is an integral part of Saarang (and Shaastra). For eg, Cluedo is something unique to Saarang. Introduced only a few years back, today it draws a huge crowd. Similarly, How Things Work at Shaastra is a successful experiment.

This Saarang, also, has exciting new things in store (gosh I sound so PR.. I think it just works its way into your blood). We have Led Zeppelica flying down. I hear western music might be telecasted. A classical dance contest is happening. (I have new found appreciation towards Classical dance. Thats after i learnt that lots of PYTs are into it, but thats a different, slightly personal story.) Then there is Folk Arts. Saarang is encouraging you to come show your skills in folk arts of the people of Tamil Nadu, Kerala or Andhra Pradesh, or for that matter any place. This is the (expandable) list given to me by the coords in charge of this event.

Karagaattam, Thappattam, Thevarattam, Kummiyattam, Oyilaattam, Poikkal Kudirai, Kuttiyaatam, Kolkkali, Duffmuttu, Chenday, Dolla Nrityam, Garagalu, Guravayyalu, Tappeta Gullu... (You could see the IP for yourself)

I was just going through the list, and I realised that I actually know Oyilaattam. Hell, I may not know Salsa or Jive, and I may have two left feet, but that doesn't make it any less significant - I did learn it for a brief period of time. So if you are thinking of participating, you have competion. (Although, it is all about participation)

Amrut

P.S. -

Disclaimer: The following text are opinions and not an 'official Saarang statement'.

Amrut's top three reasons to learn dance
1) Ladki patao (and Foreplay).
(My Bharatnatyam appreciation 101 teacher says that this is the numero one subject of all dances, actually its ladka patao!)
2) To please Gods, and make rain, and all that.
3) Win cash.

Saarang rock show

2005-12-26T22:24:00.000+05:30

Saarang suggests that you should take another look at your Led Zeppelin collection. If it doesn't exist, then you should get one. Start learning the lyrics too!
Because, Saarang is bringing down all the way from L.A., California, a tribute band considered next best only to an original Led Zep experience - Led Zepplica.
Hell they even abbreviate to Led Zep!

Mailbox 3

2005-12-24T23:57:00.000+05:30

Hello folks,

Been visiting the Sarang Blog. Great work. I’m the creator of a MCC Alumni site called DeepWoods 80s and I can appreciate what it means when you share your Alma Mater stuff with other folks online. Kudos...

We have started an initiative titled “CAN Conquer CANcer” aimed at spreading a message to dispel the myths surrounding the disease and help create awareness. In light of the fact that the Internet is one of the fastest and effective ways to spread the message to a larger audience, we have hosted a Contest for Bloggers titled “CAN Conquer CANcer Blog a Thot Contest” as part of the initiative...

Here’s the link to the Contest. The contestants’ entries are also accessible from within these pages.

Cheers and Keep the Party Alive….

Muralikrishnan R
http://donblog.quicksilverhq.com/index.php

Random thoughts

2005-12-23T20:00:00.000+05:30

There is this guy Mark Isuak who recently left a comment on Sudhish Kamath's blog saying

"... i only wish these IITnz start calling others by their real names, if they want the blog to b somewhere near the word 'official' ....wat the hec calling ppl baju,lesbi,STD et al and saying itz the official blog ...."

Earlier Samanth had made a comment on the nick-name system of IIT Madras. A simple defence - Every institute has its own quirks. This is ours. It is fun. Of course, once in a while it forces people into funny situations, like my dear friend Vignesh (Bra) who can't take his hostel tee home since his sister (who has just started using one!) might ask him funny questions. Then there is middle who was named after his middle leg, but his brother (Rose) joined IIT Madras this year and told us that he said it is because of his support for 'the middle path'. How people misuse religion! In any case, I changed the blog-roll links to real names...

Middle, btw, is working very hard and has not had time to write his chronicles as he had promised. I shall take the liberty of describing the job of a spons coord.

1) Contact corporate companies.
2) Send them 'well-thought-of' proposals by mail.
3) Don't take it too personally when you call back for the 12th time and they still say, "I havent got your mail yet. Its blah@blah.blah, thats b-l-a-h-@-b-l-a-h-.-b-l-a-h. Okay bye. (slam)"
4) Get used to getting no response from companies.
5) If you do get a response, get used to handing account over to the boss.

About other things, Kisku is making a movie about IIT life.

And i appreciate Mark Isuak's entusiasm for the rock band, but till it is finalised, my lips are sealed.

Oh dance in the dark of night. Sing to the morning light.
the dark Lord rides in force tonight, And time will tell us all.

How to become a Saarang coord 101

2005-12-22T13:24:00.000+05:30

There are many ways to become a Saarang coordinator. The most common way is thus -

The respective core puts up an IP saying,

'Hello, I love you, wont you ....'

Sorry, wrong IP.

'Hello, I need you, wont you answer a few questions first - blah. Question 1 blah, question 2 blah, ... wow this feels good, lets ask a few more just for the heck of it, question 225 blah, .. question 312 blah, Submit your answers to blah.' And so you do that.

Most people know that most answers wont be that great anyway. So they do some nice work and give it along with the form, and just for the heck of it, also answer the questions. But all this is for the spons-pr-production kind of work. In some coordships, you are asked to criticise previous coords and suggest improvements and things like that. Its well thought out. The core do a lovely job. This is best summarised by the pointy haired B -

Here are a few examples -

Example 1 >> Lesbi's love poem to Saarang for his PR- coordship

The Gods, Of her, They only try to dream tonight
And bow I, Humbly, To even shadows in Her lIght
For the sea of darkness, It never looked so bright
And see as i might i have nothing else On my sight..

All my lows, even the lowly highs, Seem they all of a life so trite
The raging passion, the calm of the storm,Ah! It never felt so right..

She beckons, She calls, She sings to me..
That vice She is, but holier than thee..
The happy thoughts of She and me, portend they all of things to be
Really, Blithe times these, I' never thought I'd live to see..

The rush, The flash, The adrenalin surge
The uncontrolled itch, The burning urge
The sins i commit for past sins to purge
Of that glorified life, They'll sing at my dirge..

I've tried them all, That smoke and grind
For that "way of life", I seek to find
And really there is none, But that one of a kind..

Lady, I have Saarang on my mind...

Example 2 >> Baaju's (ametuer) video ad for Saarang choreo 2005 for his Production coordship
(This is the dial-up friendly low-res version)

Example 3 >> JD's ambigrams
(These weren't exactly made for his Pro-desk coordship, but worth putting here.)

Coming up - Middle's spons work diaries (Basically, Middle hasn't written it yet, but I refer to it here to pressurize him to write it!)

How to organize your own 'Saarang'

2005-12-19T13:24:00.000+05:30

Hi,

I was going through the list of events at Saarang for a television channel to see which of them can be televised. The television channel concerned is of the opinion that the participants will be more excited if they are on air. I, frankly, have stage fright, not to mention camera freeze. (Remember season 7 - 'The one with the engagement picture')

So, I picked up the Saarang 2005 file (The office clerk insists that its a 'BOX' file, in fact, he insists it is a box). And I searched. And I found the coordinator list for Saarang 2006. (Don't ask why it is there in Saarang 2005 box)

Get this: 17 Core members. 235 coordinators. At an average vol to coord ratio of 2.5:1, that is 587.5 vols. Leaving out that half a vol, that's approximately 839 students involved in the making of Saarang. That's more than the strength of MCC Bangalore (It isn't, they have a very respectable strength of 3600 odd, but well, a small white lie wont hurt). Now the number 839 involves only one small assumption (average vol to coord ratio = 2.5:1). I shall concede that 839 sounds too big to me. Lets make it 800. Yeah, 800 sounds correct. May be I can search for total number of coord and vol batches printed last year and tell you the exact number after a few days. Let the final approximation be done in spirit to reduce the number of IITians involved in Saarang to be less than the number of girls in MCC (which it anyway is!).

So, the coords are the bosses of the vols. The core members are the bosses of the coords. Now the selection procedure is something like this - The cultural secretaries are elected. Then last year's core nominate and elect this years core. So the super bosses are done. Now they interview (yes, interview!) prospective coords (who fill in application forms) and select coords and assign responsibilities. Now, this is taken very seriously in things like PR (heck I should know, I gave three interviews!!) and spons and pro-desk. However, in things like Quizzes, the best in the business get the job. Coords are allowed certain number of vols depending on requirement. For example, PR has no vols, but something like security will have 100 odd vols (you will notice them in OAT during pro-nights). Criteria for selection of vols depends on the respective coords. For example, something like Main Quiz will need vols to pass mikes around and get Xerox's done and staple prelims papers together. You don't need a rocket scientist for that.

All this works very well most of the time. Once in a while problems creep in and are often misinterpreted and exaggerated, once prompting our beloved dean (really, we like him a lot) to show his temper. Other times, over enthu coords repeat things already done and do needless things. All criticism aside, on the whole, all said and done, and all that jazz, the system works wonderfully well.

Next up: Dilbert describes the perfect PR team member. Lesbi's love poem to Saarang for his PR coordship application. Baaju's video made for Saarang production coordship. JD(kins)'s ambigrams. Middle's sponsorship commentaries. And, I will be officially allowed to tell you who's coming for this year's rock show in another three days.

Amrut

Some news

2005-12-16T12:07:00.000+05:30

My good friend Bubba (Go Team PR) has made a Saarang theme for Firefox. We at Saarang highly recommend Firefox. And while you are at it, get the Saarang theme too. You will find it here.

Also, it is widely rumoured that Saarang *is*/*might* be looking at a Californian tribute band for the rock show.

Mailbox 2

2005-12-15T15:18:00.000+05:30

Da!

Just discovered this blog and a flood of happy memories came rushing back - Saarang 2000 was the best friggin outstie I ever went for - and trust me i've been to them ALL!

Unfortunately had the dubious distinction of being Mr Saarang that year - I swear Mithun (IITM Mech/HLL/Kellogg) will die one day for lumping me with that "Cofito" sash!

Anyway in the interests of promoting Saarang lore am sending you a link from the cult Xaviers underground site called Choksey.net (formerly choksey.org) which unfortunately doesnt function correctly anymore because the webmaster has been long absconding but some of us still remember the URLs of the amazing articles written for that legendary site... Here's one about Saarang that year:

http://choksey.port5.com/xfactor.htm

Cheers and have a fundasdic fest!
Abhi

Abhimanyu Radhakrishnan

Saarang is

2005-12-14T00:00:00.000+05:30

saarang is made with efforts from me and mr
saarang is iitm's culfest
saarang is the devil incarnate
saarang is a dirty saarang is a babe
saarang is always an
saarang is a five
saarang is officially inaugurated by leading lyricist javed akhtar
saarang is made with efforts from al ganesh kumar saarang is predominanatly
saarang is the undisputable winner among the cultural festivals for the same
Saarang is stubhy's bro saarang is our cultural festival and i was
saarang is happening from 22nd to 26th january 2003
saarang is pretty much the grand mama of cultural festivals in terms of scale
saarang is the devil incarnate
saarang is approaching and hopes are hanging on the horizon
Saarang is always an experience
saarang is back saarang is with regards to one of the latest additions to our dear cso’s armory
saarang is a babe
saarang is the only one i know by name right off

__________________________

Last i heard was that Pro-Desk and PR team are desperately trying to come up with better stuff!
Read the original and try for yourself.

Statement of Purpose

2005-12-11T21:31:00.000+05:30

Hi,

My name is Amrut. This post was planned a long time back. But I wanted an audience before I write it. Its the statement of purpose of this blog. (No, Saarang is not trying for the ISO)

My work is mainly to go online and search (I recommend alltheweb, for sometimes google gets sticky) for Saarang related content and see what is being written about Saarang, who is writing it (and if she is pretty and single) and the sorts. The reason for this is to get a feedback on what parts of Saarang is most loved and which parts are most hated.

So why a blog? As my good friend (and room neighbor) BoFi would like you to believe, this is a bad idea. Don't we all love criticism!!!

The Saarang blog is an experiment of sorts. I try to bring the nice parts together and put it up here. I talk to people about what they like about Saarang and ask them to write about it here. The not so nice parts, well, I make sure they are commuted to the organizers. Ideally this should work out just great. People who have been to Saarang earlier, read and nod in nostalgia when they read the blog and hopefully smile at my or other contributor's desperate attempt at humor. People who haven't been to Saarang earlier, are tempted to come. So that's the purpose.
Also, its not actually 'I' doing all the work. This is a PR-team exercise. That might make this blog sound like a dogbert style approach to PR, our attempt to manipulate Saarang's Soccer moms and Nascar dads! But Saarang does no evil, besides we aren't that clever. So, however you might be led to believe, there are no pointy haired bosses or communists or whatever. The Saarang blog is an attempt to build a relationship between Saarang and the Saarang's key audience. (check out Wikipedia's definition of PR, am I good or am I good? Ya okay, I wont flatter myself.)

Then there is the matter of reach. Blogs are an effective way of communicating, but don't take my word for it. Listen to Kiruba Shankar, he is the guy behind Chennai's blog meetings. Turns out, he loves Saarang too! This Blog will hopefully reach out to people who we might not have been able to convince to come to Saarang in 20-sec Saarang ads or in our limited external publicity.

But why do we want everybody to come to Saarang? Well, I am not sure. Why does Raymond want everybody to love him? One good reason is to, as our director would have put it, have differently thinking people around. Plus its fun.

So there, that's more or less it.

Since this has been a post of links, here are a few more. If you visit the great bloggers Sudhish Kamath, Samanth and Anshumani Rudra, maybe I can convince them to write something. They are Saarang regulars too.

Amrut

DI

2005-12-04T17:30:00.000+05:30

And that means 501. Which is what the hit counter says. Frankly, I am surprised, 501 so soon. I didn't realize I was so popular. I got some fan mail last week from a 18-something girl saying she was overwhelmed with nostalgia from Saarang last. (Go ika*** :D :P) Keep the mail coming. You could send mail to this idiot who takes dictation for me at {amrutash at gmail dot com}.

Anyway, nothing much to say, except that it seems that these people who manage to pull me through every year have somehow managed to live through their exams. You should see the faces they make during their exams. It is as if they were made to listen to Abhishek Bachchan sing for 48 hrs. (Oh, grow up, he can't sing for nuts.) They are now working diligently for a lovely Saarang 2006. I have heard that they are making a Saarang ad, which promises to be a colorful affair. So make sure you notice it when it comes on air.

The other thing is Firefox 1.5 is out and better than ever. The extensions are awesome. I recommend Foxy Tunes. My tracker informs me that 75% of visitors have been Firefox users, which is impressive. In case you can't read the legend, its yellow for Firefox and blue for IE.

So then, I will go and dry my feet. (Its freaking wet here, didn't you hear?) Till next time,

Yours,
Saarang

Love Life, Live a Saarang

2005-11-28T14:27:00.000+05:30

Kudos to whoever came up with that for our slogan. It may not make much sense and it may not be as pseud as you would want it to be, but it conveys the message. Only after you've lived through a Saarang, will you be able to love life. By "lived" I mean experienced the ups and downs of participating, the obstacles and satisfaction of organizing and appreciated performances as a critical audience. The following do not come under the category of "lived"- stayed and mugged/slept in hostel, came to Saarang only to eat at the grub stalls, came every evening only for the pro-shows, went home or for a vacation!

What sets Saarang apart from other cul-fests? I would say the sheer number of people that turn up. But then truckload of people land up at IITB for their much hyped Mood Indigo. But MoodI is conducted in many venues in the campus, with each venue a mile away from the other. So the people are distributed, the energy is scattered. In Saarang the entire crowd is confined within a dia of a km. As soon as you enter Bindaas park you are confronted with a huge bouncing crowd at the jukebox, turn 90 degrees and another huge bouncing crowd at informals, walk a few steps and you bang into the head-banging crowd at the LM/WM area, turn 90 degrees and walk a few steps and you walk into Ph.LT where people are scribbling away to glory, turn 90 degrees and walk a few paces and you will find a JAM-packed CLT where the most exciting events happen, walk a few more paces and you'll find the mirror image of Ph.LT in the Ch.LT, turn 90 degrees and your back in Bindaas Park. Within a sentence and a few commas you have explored the core of Saarang. The energy of so many geared up people concentrated within such a small sphere is truly exhilarating.

Saarang is more than a cultural festival.
It is a battle.
It is more than a battle of literary, oratory, dramatic, artistic and musical skills.
It is a battle of attrition.

Five days of no rest, no sleep, no food, no drink, and no bath for some coupled with constant running around, dancing, jumping, head-banging and screaming. This is your physical battle.

The pressures of organizing, controlling huge crowds, running on schedule, providing quality events, being hospitable to outsiders. This is your organizational battle.

Participating in events with big prize money, hundreds of eyes watching every move and sound you make, knowing you could become a hero or a zero in a few minutes. This is your mental battle.

Huge crowds, loads of interesting people, flocks of pretty chicks, mobs of handsome guys. This is your social battle.

Each battle is unique and each victory is made more special...Because their isn't a bigger arena than Saarang. However everyone who battles is a winner. These are battles where there are no losers. The losers are the ones who don't battle.

Last year, I lost my voice on the first day itself and struggled through the speaking events on the rest of the days, the screen for my event "Mr. and Ms. Saarang" cupped, I danced in front of 500 people for extempore ( I wouldn't even dance in front of a mirror) and my team-mate for Pot-Pourri walked out in the middle of the finals.
(That team mate happens to be the creator of this blog...And he did come back...Eventually.)

Anyway, enough of prose, now for some poetry...

The Saarang Song:

Guess what's back
Back again
Saarang's back
Tell a friend.

So if you want some big prize money,
Everybody come down to IIT,
Cause we need a little, company,
Cause it feels so empty without thee.

(my tribute to Eminem)

The Sponsorship Coordinator song:

Well, Saarang's rich, we make it rich,
Its the richest in the whole wide world...
It's stinking rich and makes us rich,
It's richer than all other festivals!
Have you ever come to Saarang?
It's rich rich rich rich rich rich rich!
Rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich!

(my tribute to Southpark)

The event coordinator song:

Its been a hard days night,
And I've been partying all day long,
Its been a hard days night,
And I'm still not ready for my prog.,
But when I wake up on day two,
I find that my event is through,
My co-coord makes me feel alright!

(My tribute to the Beatles)

*All views expressed in this post are purely the author's and are not meant to hurt anyone.
*More songs to come soon...

posted by Monty

The IP system

2005-11-26T11:38:00.000+05:30

IP stands for Internal Publicity. As against, EP, which stands for external publicity. They refer to notices put up on a board, one of which is there at the entrance to every hostel, in fact every building of IIT Madras.

IITians rely on IPs for everything: paying fees, getting jobs, events, special lectures, lost cellphones, everything. They read them once when entering hostel. They read it again when leaving hostel. What do they do if there are no new IPs? They just read the same ones again. Whatdo they do if there are no IPs. They go home - it must be vacation time. Once in a while, they even go to other hostels to check out what IPs other hostel inmates are reading. What do ex-IITians do when they visit their hostels after 25 years? Well, at least they read the IP board when they come in. What do freshers learn during orientation? A lot actually, but among them - An IP(ple) a day keeps the .. does it matter anyway, you must have got the idea by now.

So, how does it work? Anybody can put up an IP. Anybody can take out an IP (but that is unethical, and as we know, IITians are very,.. ahem, where was I?). The academic section, the placement office and the offices put up IPs all the time. Then there are IP coords for the lit-soc, for Shaastra and for Saarang. They are chosen amongst the most creative and hard-working of the lot. Usually event coordinators send them a note about their event in advance and these IP coords make a nice, attractive IP (obviously printed) and put it up on all notice boards. This usually works out nicely, except for when event coordinators forget to inform the IP coords till about half hour before the event, in which case the IP goes out ten minutes before the event. But considering that IITians check IPs so frequently, that doesnt really matter. The event starts on time (i.e. with the usual delay) with the usual crowd. Then there are times when there is a debate and there are more panelists than audience or a movie screened to three people - the event coord, the guy with the laptop and the guy who manages the CLT* air-conditioner.

So you see, this works out brilliantly well, much to the surprise of outside participants who are forced to read more notices than in their English pre-boards in just a day of Saarang. Sometimes however, event coordinators take matters into their own hands and make (did I say make? I meant design) the IP themselves. Considering that IITians are creative people, this works out just fine most of the time. Exceptions are there. Which brings me to why I write this blog. Here are mine and BoFi's pick for the best IPs we have seen. Followed by BoFi's (creative!!!) IP for The Fourth Estate magazine.

Amrut

(Afterthought - Wonder what goes into EP)
*CLT = Central Lecture Theatre (also home to filmsoc)
P.S. -
Apologies for the bad resolution.
Next post - Drams Coord on ... um... well, ... am not too sure...

Saarang Logo

2005-11-18T23:25:00.000+05:30

This just out. This is the Saarang 2006 logo. (tentatively at least)

Kudos to design coords. BTW, for those who didn't know already, Saarang 2006 is scheduled from 25-29 of Jan (2006 obviously).

Checking Mailbox

2005-11-15T22:10:00.000+05:30

So, I have a blog.
:-|
Hmm. ..
Nice weather, etc.

So, usually I let others do the talking for me. But I can answer my mail for myself. Usually people mail me to ask about dates and registration and boarding, etc etc.... Sometimes, I do get interesting mails, some people criticize, some praise... Ah well.. You get the idea. Here are a few of them..

1. Why don't you bring international artists like Joe Sat or Iron Maiden or Dire Straits. Bangalore seems to be getting them all the time.

I could. I have in the past. But you see, to bring these people would mean hiking of ticket prices. That doesn't go well with my socialist hearted masters and The CPIIT and The CPIITM and your mom and all that.

2. I want to participate in jam, sports quiz, blind date, pottery, decibels, business plan, creative writing, tee-shirt designing, crossie and classical dance solo? Last time they seemed to clash. Could you please reschedule them this time?

I get this complaint often. So I asked some friends to count the total number of events I host... They counted 52 off hand. You can take part in all of them. You might want to enroll yourself at the nearest cloning centre though. Anyhow, good luck.

Tee shirt designing at Saarang 2005 --

3. I came to Saarang choreo night (and the pro-shows) last year and wasn't allowed inside. Could you increase OAT capacity?

I am thinking of planting magic beanstalks in the OAT. That way everybody gets a seat, just chose your branch.

OAT full house at rock show at Saarang 2005

4. I loved it when you gave Miss Saarang to a 56 yr female last year. I am bringing my mom this year. She is swell.

Okay! Bring your sis too. :-|

Btw--- This is a picture of Miss Saarang 2005

This is a picture of whom she beat to win

5. I heard that corporate sponsors are corrupting young IIT minds at Saarang and spreading corporate culture.. Is this true?

Some people seem to think so. Most event organizers don't agree though. Take these informals chaps for instance. All they had to do was to shout hutch once in a while and use a orange dupatta for a blindfold. They still had creative(!) control. Plus they got free tees.

Its November and placements in IIT have started; There is a new fear in town. Corporates are coming for placements and IITians are joining them also. There is a move to stop corporates from employing IITians in fear that corporate culture with corrupt them. Ah well, farewell 6 figure salaries. :-/

6. What about the garbage? I heard that Saarang generates a lot of trash. I refuse to be a part of such an insensitive culfest.

It is quite unintentional, I assure you. I have heard some pretty exaggerated rumours too. But yeah, it stinks. I tried last year, but I guess the effort was not enough. I will surely do more to reduce waste this year...

7. What about informals? I loved the games, but how long can you paper dance?

Till our legs pain.. :D

8. But isn't it below the average intelligent level of IITians to paper dance?

Hey hey, I quiz and scrabble and play music too....

9. Okay whatever. I feel bad that I missed main quiz? Was it really from 11pm to dawn?

Yes, one of my oldest traditions - its at night that the wolves fight. Read more about it here -- (BoFi's blog -- Feb 6 entry 'The answer is blowing in ...' )

10. Don't you ever sleep? I mean, an overnight quiz? How can you concentrate? Wow!

First you call me dumb to paper dance all the time, now you compliment me for quizzing at night. We could change the order of things... But then, you might sleep through the paper dance, and your partner wont take it as a compliment. Unless she is sleeping too.. Ah well, that's a different matter.

11. I have heard dramatics is really big at Saarang? Is it true?

Of course its true!!

12. I have heard jam is really big at Saarang? Is it true?

Of course its true!! You seem well informed. But then, you have to come here to really feel me. Like somebody said - Live a me.

13. Um, I am not sure.. .. I mean, its still 5 days... I wont get off in college.. My mom will yell at me... 5 days of fun.. Seems like too much fun. I mean even if I make it, I will feel guilty for not studying, etc...

good one!

-- your's dearly
Saarang

Saarang????!!!!

2005-11-09T09:24:00.000+05:30

Saarang – What’s it all about?

An extended New Year party

Saarang is the cultural festival of IIT Madras. Formerly known as “Mardi Gras”, it is the largest cultural festival in India and the rated amongst the best in the country. Held in the fourth week of January every year, in the lush green campus of IIT Madras, it is a celebration of youth, of talent, of energy and of the lovely spring air. Enjoying participation of close to fifty thousand students over five days, from all over India, Saarang is an intoxicating blend of electrifying professional shows, top of the line events and most importantly an atmosphere which cannot be found elsewhere. It is best summarised by what The Hindu calls "The Saarang mood". For many of us, and many more to come, Saarang is an extended New Year party.

A show of talent

Conceived over 30 years ago, the IIT Madras cultural festival has become one of the biggest draws in the country’s cultural scene. With professional shows which have gone on to become unforgettable moments in history, quizzes which have set benchmark in quality, lectures which have boasted of some of the nations biggest names, no one has left Saarang without the experience indelibly etched in their minds. The popularity of events such as Choreo Nite, Just a Minute, Dramatics, Main Quiz, Power Chord has to be seen to be believed.

A festival of youth

Perhaps the most noticeable thing at Saarang is that it is really about the youth. Saarang has attracted students from all over the country – from Nainital to Calcutta to Bombay to Bangalore. I quote from a blog, "The ambience is electrifying. The lights are dazzling. The dudes and the babes are simply classy and make Britney spears and Orlando Bloom have re-look on their fashion sense. The crowd rocks. Saarang is cool." The competition is fierce not only in the events but also in trend-setting – baggy jeans, bandanas, flowers, dances, head banging, you name it, its already there. Eclectic and confusing as it may seem, it is definitely not something to miss out on. Saarang moments have, and continue to unite strangers and friends in memories and nostalgia.

Things to do at Saarang

Saarang consists, quite simply of professional shows, choreo night, western band contests, literary contests, dramatics, fine art competitions, quizzes, workshops, lectures, lot of food, fun and masti. But just saying it doesn’t quite convey the message. Here is a teaser of what to expect at Saarang.

Professional Shows

Professional shows form an integral part of the Saarang experience. It is held in the awesome ‘Open Air Theatre’(OAT). The OAT is 10,000 strong and is equipped with 40,000 watts of sound power for these shows. Saarang pro-shows are the known for its excellence and professionalism. Saarang, every year, has 4 professional shows which are spread over the 6 days of the festival. These shows can broadly be classified into the following four categories –

Light Music show – Associated with big names, light music shows at Saarang are sell-out shows with the audience swaying to the tunes of popular artists. S.P. Balasubramanyam performed at Saarang in 2000, Mano-Anuradha Sriram in 2001, Shankar Mahadevan in 2002, Shaan in 2003, Udit Narayan in 2004 and Kay Kay in 2005. In fact, a whole theatre full of cell phone lights waving to Kay Kay's music was one of the most memorable moments of Saarang 2005.

Rock show – Rock is the how energy sounds like to a lot of youngsters. The Saarang rock show feeds on this energy. Heavy music, ten thousand heads banging in perfect unison, chants renting the air, pumping fists and an audience drenched in sweat at the end of it all. Moksha performed here in 2001, Parikrama in 2002, Brahma in 2003, Pin Drop Violence and Motherjane in 2004 and Moksha and Orange street in 2005, to name but a few. The rock show at Saarang is as good as it gets for the cause of Indian Rock.

Classical Music show – We take pride in the fact that we are rooted in our very own Indian forms of classical music. And it shows. The classical music show at Saarang is enjoyed for its quality by full-house audience. Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pt. Ustad Bismillah Khan, Ustad Zakir Hussian, Pt. Ravi Shankar and the Bangash brothers have played at Saarang earlier.

Alternate Music show – This is the show that can’t be called rock or light music, and yet, it keeps the audience entertained till the end. Music is not just rock or pop, and we appreciate and celebrate that with this show. Usha Uthup played in Saarang in 2001 and Euphoria in 2002. In 2004 Saarang bore witness to 'The Unity concert' where Strings and Euphoria performed together on our Republic Day with the theme of Indo-Pak Unity. In Saarang 2005, we had the 'Be the Change' Jazz show. World renown jazz guitarist (and IIT Madras and Berklee College of Music, Boston alumni) Prasanna played with Jeff Coffin (saxophone in 'Bela Fleck and the Fleckstones', grammy 2000), Kai Eckhardt (Jazz fusion basist and also Berklee College of Music alumni) and Derico Watson (Jazz drummer). The concerto between Prasanna on his slide guitar and Derico Watson with his double bass still rings in the ears of the audience that night.

Choreo Nite

The crown jewel of Saarang, the Choreo Nite has become synonymous with huge crowds, pulsating music, and an ambience that will leave you spellbound. It is a college dance festival for which, it is rumoured that, college teams practise for two months or more. With participation from Colleges of Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai et al, the Choreo Nite assures performances par-excellence. For the last few years, we have actually had to close gates to the open air theatre (10,000 capacity), because it was full house.

Saarang Events

Speaking events at Saarang include the very popular Just A Minute and Extempore, amongst others, which are major crowd pullers. Western band competitions like Power chord and Decibels have a reputation to draw hundreds of entries with auditions for the finalists lasting an entire day. Dramatics at Saarang is another major event with teams from Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad trying for the top prize. Then there are the quizzes, which are widely reputed to be of the best quality in the country. In fact, the overnight (11pm - 6am) Saarang Main Quiz is a carry over from Mardi Gras, a tradition unbroken for more than twenty five years now. All six days are packed with events for all kinds of talents, be it fine arts(clay modelling, sketching, painting, etc), or speaking (debates, extempore, elocution, JAM, etc), or writing (creative writing, blogging, limericks, etc) or acting (dramatics, mono-acting, radio plays, etc) or music (classical, accoustic, western, western semi-pro, etc) you name it, its there already.

Amrut, PR team, Saarang 2006 (24-29 Jan 2006)