Social cause steals the show at Saarang

Chennai: It wasn't just about music and dance this time around at IIT Saarang. The popular cultural annual fest of IIT-Madras brought to you by The Times of India also became a platform to help the thousands affected by the recent deluge.
After five days of brilliant performances by artists from across the spectrum, the curtain finally came down on Sunday -also a cue for aspiring engineers to get back to their books.However, in the brief period, the whole campus was turned into a stage, where artists from across the world and musicians across genres came together.
The World Musical Fest was especially an event that struck a chord with audiences. “Though entry to the event was free, we sold souvenirs and postcards at the venue. The money will be used to rehabilitate the flood-affected,“ said G V Kaushik, spon sorship and PR creative coordinator of Saarang.
Choreo Night, a professional dance competition, was also a big generator of relief money. According to cultural affairs secretary (arts), PBR Krishna Koushik, it saw the highest number of registrations among all events. “Winners of each event get prize money and this year we will be giving them the option of donating a part of that amount to our cause,“ said Krishna.“Many came forward to help us. So far, we have collected `70,000,“ said sponsor`60,000-` ship and PR head Ashish Jha.
Continuing with their campaign to help underprivileged children, IIT-M also organised Sukriti. This year, they organised several workshops, classes and games on the campus for the children.
Director of IIT-M Bhaskar Ramamurthi hailed the efforts of his students. “I know they are on the right track and working together towards a good cause,“ he said.