The 28th edition of Saarang, the annual cultural festival of IIT- Madras, commenced on Wednesday.
Saarang features nearly 100 events till January 15 and is expected to attract over 80,000 footfalls from nearly 500 colleges across the country.
The largest student-run festival held completely in physical mode this year would see about 850 students of IIT-Madras across several years and various departments work to make this edition a grand success, the institute said.
The theme for this year's edition is ‘Mystic Hues’ which celebrates how intertwined colours are with culture and traditions.
Says prof V Kamakoti, Director, IIT-Madras: “Very excited to host Saarang 2023 after two years of Covid-19. We are seeing a very large participation pan-India and no doubt the week will be a very colourful and festive one and make for an enjoyable time."
For this year’s social cause, Saarang launched ‘Panacea’ - a campaign surrounding health and hygiene awareness aimed at encouraging healthy habits to prevent disease outbreaks. Efforts to spread the message of cleanliness and sanitation are underway.
Prof Nilesh J Vasa, Dean (students), IIT-Madras, said this festival is the largest student-run cultural event in the country. Prof Arshinder Kaur, advisor (cultural), said the festival exhibited the students' talent in bringing a colourful, global, cultural experience. Sri Ram K, Cultural Affairs Secretary (arts), said three new verticals are being introduced this year - Nova presents, Media Confluence, Comicals, and The Korean Fest, celebrating the fields of journalism, comic books, and characters and Korean culture respectively. Jai Santhoshi S, Cultural Affairs Secretary, (literary), said the event would also have lectures by actress Suma Kanakala, chef Sashi Cheliah, Group Art Director of Amar Chitra Katha Savio Mascarenhas, journalist Palki Sharma Upadhya, and actress Revathy.
