IIT-M to hold 27th edition of Saarang from Jan 6

Chennai: The 27th edition of Saarang, the annual cultural festival of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM), would be held virtually from January 6, organisers said on Wednesday. Saarang is strongly embedded in the cultural scene of the South. A team of around 800 students has been working for nearly a year on various events in the run-up to the main event.

The student-run festival would be held from January 6 to January 8 under the theme 'Lores and Legacies'. "Due to these very unusual times, this is the second year in a row that our students are conducting virtually both the cultural and technical festivals. From last year's experience, students have shown that new paradigm does not necessarily mean that you have a festival that is lacking in spirit, participation or quality," IIT Madras director professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi said.

Some of the shows that are planned include 'Indie Night', '51 hours short film-making' and 'anime fest,' among others.

IIT- Madras Dean (students) professor Nilesh Vasa said this year, students have developed an online version of Saarang to provide a wonderful and memorable experience to all student participants and audience.

The organising team has shown enthusiasm in planning the online festival. The teams comprise more than 800 students from all parts of the country and show great coordination while working not just from home, but working from anywhere, Vasa said.

"I am sure Saarang 2022 will bring lots of people together, particularly students," he added.

Saarang also undertakes a social cause every year such as cancer awareness, child welfare and water conservation, among others, the release added. Saarang's cultural affairs secretary (literary) for 2022 Ajmal Hussain said, "In continuation with previous year's social cause, this year Saarang launched Mann 2.0 a campaign surrounding mental health awareness."

A number of events were conducted under the campaign with the goal of reaching the maximum number of people across the age groups on mental health, Hussain said.