IIT Madras gears up to host the 27th edition of Saarang virtually

The students of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras are going to hold one of the largest annual cultural festivals, Saarang from January 6 to 9. The 27^th edition of this cultural festival will be held virtually and the theme for 2022 is ‘Lores and Legacies’.

Given the festival’s popularity, the institute is expecting to attract around 35,000 participants this year. With a rich legacy spanning 27 years, Saarang is strongly embedded into the cultural scene of South India. A team of around 800 students has been working for nearly a year on various events in the run-up to the main event. It is among the largest student-run fests in the country, comprising around 100 events.

Bhaskar Ramamurthi, director, IIT Madras, said, “Due to these unusual times, this is the second year in a row that our students are conducting virtually both the cultural and technical festivals, which usually take place in January. Nevertheless, from last year’s experience, students have shown that a new paradigm does not necessarily mean that you have a festival that is lacking in spirit, participation or quality. We had a good festival last time. This year, I am sure with the experience gained, it will be even better.”

The new events and shows of Saarang 2022 include Indie Night, ’51 Hours Short Film Making’ and an Anime Fest. The schedule of all events can be found in the following link – Saarang 2022 Events (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1B7IHSx0xCbwVcZu9oR2cR2qwrgm9MUe6Yea14YELKr8/edit#gid=0)

Ajmal Hussain, cultural affairs secretary (literary), Saarang 2022-IIT Madras, said, “In continuation with the previous year’s social cause, this year, Saarang launched Mann 2.0, a campaign surrounding mental health awareness. Aiming to destigmatise the topic of mental health, Mann 2.0 strived to bring conversations on the topic to the forefront. A number of events were conducted under the campaign, with the goal of reaching the maximum number of people across the age groups and sparking discussions on mental health.”

Saarang will have the exciting ‘Rock Night’, headlined by Mumbai alt-rock band Corner Café Chronicles. Their brand of music is best described as an amalgamation of Rock, Alternative and Electronic.

For the much-awaited ‘Carnatic Night,’ Maalavika Sunder, the main act, is ready to put on what promises to be a fantastic show. A regular at Margazhi concerts every season, Sunder has recently turned into a playback singer. She has also sung a number of film songs, including a few hits like ‘Karuppu Nerathazhagi’ from Komban, ‘Gum Zaare’ from Kadavul Irukaan Kumaru.

Finally, for the star-studded ‘Pop Night,’ Saarang is excited to have singer Palak Muchhal as the headliner. She has been awarded for her exceptional work in popular Bollywood films like Aashiqui 2 (2013) and MS Dhoni (2016).