Once in a while

Ah! After a long time! alias Goodbye Saarang

Its been a long time since I wrote anything. Partly because towards the end of last semester I was insanely busy with CAT, app and end-sem exams, and mainly because I was too lazy to do it, I hadnt gone to my blogger account. Now that I am insanely jobless, I finally logged in and first of all changed my blog address from "ubiquitousbystander" ( what was I thinking! I blame ETS ) to "onlyabystander". Now, its time to think of what to write about. Since today is the last day of my last Saarang, it not really a tough choice to make.

4 Saarangs later, i must say it has been fun. Though I am not nearly good enough to get through the first round of any event here, and have realized that the only talent I have is standing on the sidelines and watching ( hence the bystander ), what amazes me is the level of the people who take part. Any event you take, to win it, you need to be extremely good. Be it quizzing, crossword and other word games or events like choreo nite, light music, etc. if your not excellent, forget having a chance of winning at Saarang. There are always events like Informals etc. but that is for "normal" people. I know what any non-IITian must be thinking, "typical IITian attitude. Think they are supernatural." But thats the way we think, for good or for the bad. The level of knowledge that people who reach finals of quizzes in Saarang is insane. I think if you show them four seemingly unrelated visuals, they will be able to find some connect or other. Even in word games, I dont understand how people not only know about, but also know the origin, of words and phrases which I am sure even an English professor will use once or twice in his entire life ( even if they do, others wont know what it means ). And then there is Dumb-C and Picto. How do these people know so many movies!! One of my friends, Semi, got Enemy at the Gates, with just "at" and "the"!!!! There is no way the "not-so-abnormal" people like me stand a chance of winning anything at Saarang.

The Choreo Nite and Light Music events are some of the best events I have been to. People actually have the enthusiasm to put in so much hard work for a fest in some arbit college?? I guess thats the magic of Saarang. All the teams that come for these events are well-prepared, in costumes and with props!! Even the teams which dont win have to be applauded for their effort. Dramatics is another event which is amazing. Though some times the plays go bad, and really bore the audience, some plays are good enought to hold your attention for a complete hour, something that most cinema directors fail to do. I am sure that some of the people who participate in Saarang will go onto make a huge contribution to in field of art, music and cinema. I actually heard stories that A.R.Rehman had taken part in Saarang during his college days, and it was from here that his career started. I will not be surprised if this is true.

Another event at Saarang which I would like to mention is the show by Prof.LSG. He usaully forms a band of a few students and gives a show, at CLT before, now SAC since CLT is being renovated. His voice is brilliant and its a brilliant pass time. Next time you are at Saarang, make sure you attend this.

The main attraction though at Saarang is obviously the Pro-Shows. Over four years have seen shows by Kay-Kay, Shankar-Ehsan-Loy, Strings, Euphoria, and rock shows by Led-Zepplica, Moksha, Matmata, Merzhin, etc., the last two being French bands. Im not a rock enthusiasts and listen to very few rock songs. Its only during this time that I get to hear some rock music, and have to admit, these guys are good. Whats more, its pretty cheap. There have been disasters like Sukhwinder Singh, Udit Narayan, Orange Street. But overall, its a good package.

The only regret I have had is that I didnt become a co-ord for anything in Saarang. Though I could have become one in fourth year, since I knew all the cores, I should have really become one in second or third year. Its one experience I wish I hadnt missed. I would get free entry into Pro-Shows! But again, im a bystander, becoming a co-ord is against my nature!

Will I come back to Saarang if I get a chance? I dont know, will be different if you dont know anybody here. I am sure the Pro-Shows will be good, but that would pretty much be the only thing that I could go for. So for all practical purposes, this is the final good-bye to a wonderful experience, one of the things that has made these four years the best years of my life.

Postscript:- After Saarang there was a post-Saarang proshow by a Swedish band, called Mynta. They were amazing. They played tunes composed by themselves, and each one was brilliant. A good combination of saxophone, guitar, violin and drums. There was also a tabla player who played with them today. It was amazing. Hopefully the music will be on LAN soon, or else I think its worth buying their CD.

posted by Mahesh.R @ 12:10 PM