SAARANG 2001

Saarang 2001, at IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), Chennai. The 'mother' of all college culturals rocked the city for a span of five days and five nights (IITans insist on putting it that way, to give it a feel of a vacation package). Thats the usual at Saraang. The fond 'Indiness' was found in all the programmes, with Anuradha Sriram and Mano singing, as Lakshman Shruti doled out filmi music, much to the excitement of peppy, hand-waving, torso-twisting students. One would complain though that many of the numbers were in Telugu, much to the puzzlement of local bilinguals (whose knowledge of Telugu is limited).

For the brainy boys and gals, there was the quiz, which is always a humbling experience to many. For those with multiple tastes, there was fusion called the Republic Confluence. Master Flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia performed at the Open-air auditorium, with the extremely loud Sivamani and the jazzy Louis Banks. As usual, the western music contest was of a high standard, keeping up the tradition of rock bands in Chennai. The same story with the light music contest too.

The apogee of the cultural mela was the rock and laser show by Moksha, a popular Chennai band, which has strode the stage for many a festival. The OAT was jam packed, with the audience completely 'in synch' with the many popular covers churned out by the band. They seem to have an excellent knack of producing heavy metal covers, note for note.

Then there was the usual Fashion show, dumbsie, crossie and elocution contests. For many students and ex-students this was the chance to unwind, get lost among friendly crowds or the excellent music. Saraang, in the past few years, has become a regular jaunt for the soulful youth, who seems unaffected by the whirlwind of change and can still walk around campus in those dirty old jeans and slippers.

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