How I enjoyed Saarang 2010!!

The gala began in style on 22^nd evening, with the performance of Dr. Balamurali Krishna. This was the first classical music concert I had attended and felt the heat of it. The reason being, though there were many people who understood what he was singing, I was only sure of the fact that he was singing. It took me a while even to realize that he was singing a song in tamil, my native tongue!! Later I learnt that all the songs he sang were very popular numbers. Maybe I should refrain myself from such experiments in future. This was followed by a dance performance by Isha Sherwani, choreographed by Daksha Seth. Wow!! The choreography and performance were mind blowing and most of us were watching with popping out eye balls and slightly open mouths!!

Kamal Haasan and Gautham Menon were to deliver back to back lectures the next day. Having two die hard Kamal fans as friends, we were in front of the lecture hall, a cool 2 hours earlier. After mild confusions regarding the numerous security checks, we got to see the man himself!! What an aura he carries! Amazing! I realized that I just let the moment sink in and was not paying attention to what he had to say. :) Then I came back to my senses and was enjoying his sharp replies and quick wit. But it was sad that the lecture was actually an interview with the questions sent to him in advance. There were a few on-the-spot questions too. There were a lot many people who could not attend the lecture due to space constraints. I was happy that I was one among those lucky few, thanks to waking up almost immediately after going to sleep. Gautham Menon’s interview showcased his views on tamil cinema and his ambitions to target the international audience.

That evening, there was Choreo Night, the dance competition finals. It had two different genres, theme based and non-theme based. Thanks to the teams, who pronounced their themes out. Otherwise, people like me would never have figured out the various themes that ranged from the seven deadly sins to the ten avatars. The non-theme based performances were enjoyable, with Loyola being the best. It was understandable that Loyola has a separate fan following at Saarang. But I was left wondering why IITM’s dance was a wee bit mediocre, mainly by the standards it had set for itself.

The ‘Bindaas Park’ was one happening place right through the four days of Saarang. With the prelims of the western music, light music, freestyle dance etc held there, it never failed to attract a good crowd. Whether the crowd got motivated by the performances or the performers got motivated by the audience, one could never guess. The extempore performances by the audience were an additional attraction. All in all, most of our free times were spent either there or at the food stalls close by (Isn’t that obvious?).

It’s actually a very small world right, the one we live in? I met a friend unexpectedly and was pleasantly surprised to know that we had other common friends too. The main attraction of the next day was the finals of Decibels and Tarang (Western and light music). I had a good time there with these new found friends of mine. Though I was not able to get an emotional connect with western music, I enjoyed a lot in the light music. When somebody asked me what exactly light music is, I replied that it is lighter than western music. Can somebody clarify? :)

The next night, Shankar Mahadevan had most of the crowd captivated with his voice, grace and crowd pulling tactics. During the entire show, the crowd might have sat without dancing for a maximum of ten min, when there were some soft numbers. The chemistry between Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy was evident and made many realize the reasons for their success. Be it synergy or whatever, they enjoy their music and it shows! The way Shankar makes the crowd participate in his songs was fabulous. Though I had only heard many of those songs and dint know the proper lyrics (even if I had, I wouldn’t have known what they mean!!), do they really matter after we have decided to enjoy? We were on the top of our voices for the show and its effect was clearly visible (or is it audible?) the next day morning!!

One other event which I had not imagined that I will attend was the Short Film Making competition finals. I had expected something amateurish. But I was completely taken by surprise when the subjects covered a plethora of topics from a frustrated aids patient to a person suffering from the fear of madness and eventually turns mad. There was a soft love story which touched upon the effects of coma and another one, which spoke about the increasing number of hunger deaths in India. One film which touched my heart was the one which spoke about broken friendships. The message it conveyed was simple and powerful: By the end of it all, we will not remember the reason for the fight; we will only remember the fight. How true!

A perfect end for the 4 day extravaganza could not have been better. We had a rock show with 2 rock bands, Hammerfall and Hurricane Bells performing. Hurricane Bells went first and treated the crowd for some good, soft rock. I had imagined all types of rock to be high paced and violent and was surprised. Then came Hammerfall. I guess the hammer did fall that day. I was kind of uneasy to get into dancing and was watching the proceedings from a safe distance. But I got motivated and was soon dancing like crazy. This was one of those days that I never thought would come. The funniest part was that, by dancing, I motivated few more people to dance and scared a few more. For a first time dancer like me, I consider this as an achievement!! :)

I guess for anybody to enjoy such a cultural festival, they have to be with the people with whom they are most comfortable with. I did just that and maybe that’s why my Saarang was so colourful. Coincidentally, the theme of Saarang this year was ‘Colours’. I don’t know if I will get another 4 days of complete enjoyment (uselessness, which I thoroughly enjoy) at IIT, but who cares as long as these memories stay fresh. For sure, they will, for many more days to come.