Saarang. Everything I heard of it, however much I
tried to anticipate the feeling of being a part of it, the enigmatic royalty
that Saarang ultimately unveiled itself to be was almost impossibly (or so it
seemed) better, fresh, new, invigorating and surpassed all expectations.
“It’s time for the most talented individuals, with
the most varied cultural abilities in the country to face-off (and show off)
again. From the 9th to the 13th of January, 2013, the
usually serene green campus of IIT Madras will turn into a pulsating arena of
fiery and dedicated performances and competitions. We invite you to witness
this effortless union of the best and gifted in the country and beyond!”
The time I wrote the aforementioned was not a time I could have appreciated myself the full implications and purport of the words. I was writing only from my first idea as a fresher at IIT Madras of what I had seen. As a second-year now and full of zeal to contribute my best to my newly appointed position as Creative and Media Coordinator in the Sponsorship department of the festival, I ran headlong into the preparations for the grand festival that started in May 2012.
The elaborate learning opportunity from the first few stages of ideation, right up to execution that this particular post provided has been invaluable. Combing through websites, feverishly filling up documents with everything we could think of, being set tasks and deadlines by the Sponsorship department Cores (and the frequent disgruntled “What is this, da? You’re way past deadline…” peppered with a few treasured “Well done, team!”) defined the first few heady months of work.
And then the actual execution of it all began. Juggling everything a semester at IITM has to offer, along with this “coordship” (as we called our posts) was a novelty that taught us an irreplaceable lesson in time management. Being assigned separate tasks, and coming up with our own initiatives, the Sponsorship cores put a lot into our hands, and their faith drove us to excel in every way possible.
A swanky new budget, besides the first ever aspect of social cause initiatives under the umbrella of Saarang Eunoia that our department Cores added to Saarang inspired us to push its boundaries. Everyone got very busy with their tasks (streaking past a friend, shouting “Saarang work” as the only explanation to their questioning eyes became a part of everyday life), and I was no exception.
Driving PR deals, handling and contributing to Saarang’s social media sites, writing pages and pages dedicated to every aspect of Saarang for its Facebook page, online publicity and press conference, organizing and preparing for the careful execution of three Saarang events, and having my heart utterly touched by the underprivileged children from Eureka Child that we organized mentorship for as part of Saarang Eunoia, defined the months leading up to Saarang for me.
Endless email and phone conversations helped develop my so far non-existent people skills, and taught me several little things. Every mistake was a major learning experience, and every victory a well-deserved moment of joy. Of course, the team meetings had arguments and disagreements, even moments of utter outrage from the Cores, but it all extracted from us our very best.
What I cherish most is the inter-departmental interactions we had to go through to execute anything. The Design Core was simultaneously the most pained and most liked of them all, and he was always available for advice on everything, besides the Facebook posts he was constantly sought for. Looking back, I think we’d all agree that he had more cause for irritation with the Creative team than with anyone else, and he still managed to do it all with a smile!
When Saarang finally came along, there was not much time to stop and breathe. Our days were filled with sprinting from one place to the next, making sure everything was in place and the sponsors’ stalls set to their satisfaction. Besides this, it was finally time for the events to take place. Panache was the fashion design competition a couple of my teammates and I worked heart and soul for and which I compered. The butterflies on stage were more out of anxiety for it to go off without a hitch. And it did! The joy which the successful completion of two months’ work provided is unequalled by any other. The other two events I was involved with went off smoothly as well.
Our nights were all about the Proshows! Every one of the professional shows organized was exhilarating and enjoyed to the utmost. The violinist on Parikrama Night received, perhaps, the strongest reaction as he effortlessly ran straight into the crowd, all the while setting his instrument on fire and breaking a couple of bowstrings. The 8000-strong crowd sang along to every Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy song, was held mesmerized by every Choreo Night performance and awed by the skills displayed on Classical Night. Sunburn had us swaying and jumping to everything Asia’s youngest DJ had to play.
Contriving to wrest some food coupons from the powerful Cores, laughing late into a night during a Saarang Newsletter making session, giggling at the always popular dance workshop, presenting a Mad Ad at the carnival stage and being completely enchanted by various performances filled up the rest of my Saarang. I was only one of a thousand-strong organizing team, but the insane feeling of belonging and pride I experienced throughout the five-day ride is indescribable, besides utterly addictive. We all of us want to do it all over again, with perhaps some more experience and some more skill next year around!
