IIT Madras Cultural Fest: Here's what sets 'Saarang' apart from the rest

IIT Madras' annual cultural fest 'Saarang' themed 'enchanted forest' is back this year in a new avatar. In a bid to raise awareness about the government's drive to go digital, it has gone completely cashless in the fest season.

That means, from food stalls to ticket sales, visitors are swiping their debit cards or using online wallets and other digital modes to make payments. Bank representatives on the campus are guiding visitors.

In line with the fresh theme of the event, the organising team has focused on ambience so a walk through the campus can give visitors a feel of walking in the woods.

To make up for the loss of green cover that took a hit during the December cyclone, the Saarang team will also be planting 100 saplings on the campus.

The fest will see 90 large scale competitive events, 200 informal shows, 14 lecture demonstrations, 6 professional shows and 7 world culture show acts, including graffiti, sand art and street dancing. Other than classical, choreo, EDM and rock shows, a feature is the spotlight lectures which in cludes a line-up of doyens like T M Krishna, Prachi Tehlan, Anirudh Ravichander, Shekhar Gupta, Siddharth and Gautam Menon, among others. New additions this time include a comedy show by Biswa Kalyan Rath, a gaming zone and a food fest.

IIT-M director Bhaskar Ramamurthi said the aim of the fest from the institute's perspective is two-fold wherein students learn skills outside the classroom through the process of conceiving and executing the fest along with being exposed to a wide variety of talent. "IITs can also become self-contained and having students from outside is an opportunity for them to learn," he said.