(Click on the names to download manifestos. Scroll down to see the videos.)
How do you propose to tackle the declining enthusiasm and standard at Lit-Soc?
Padia: Clubs will be the central location and there will be branches from the club to Lit-Soc and Saarang. The framework is as follows: There will be three event cores, under them would be 10-11 club conveners (choreo, debating, music, dramatics, etc.) and there will be event coordinators with them for Saarang. The latter will not only manage Saarang and Lit-Soc but will also be a part of the clubs. They will give fundae sessions in the clubs, starting right from August because that is the time freshies are most accessible. Starting it later, there would be resistance from GCU but that too can be encountered because we are not training them for Shaastra, Saarang or the Freshie night but to develop skill sets, which is essentially the basic aim of a club. Right now, the freshies are influenced only by a couple of seniors, but once this club culture builds in, the freshies after four or five years will know what exactly the importance of a club is. By this, Lit-Soc will be improved and the Lit and Soc Secretaries will be in the loop, meeting once in a month or so.
MnM: If the club system and Saarang is integrated and if the event coordinators are selected from within the club, it will incentivize club membership and since clubs will general see a lot of activity if there are a lot of people in involved, I think people will slowly start getting drawn towards the clubs, thereby pointing towards increased enthusiasm in general.
CCD: I will be concentrating more on group events like Treasure Hunt, Queen of Sheeba, Wolf, etc. The fun factor associated with such group events will encourage the students to participate. I have planned to form a ‘Cultural Support Team’ which will work on publicizing the Lit-Soc activities and monitoring various cultural club activities. It will also conduct ‘Rapid fundae sessions’ on various Lit-Soc activities for the freshers during August. I am planning to introduce ‘Lit-Soc Individual Championship’ to reward talent of the individuals who excel in Lit-Soc events. Points will be given to people who win events and the one with maximum number of points by the end of Lit-Soc Calendar Year will be declared Lit-Soc Individual Champion. A board will be maintained at the SAC ‘Hall of Fame’ to recognize these people.
What is your motivation behind standing for the post of CAS (Arts)?
Padia: For the betterment of Clubs, for the betterment of Saarang for the rejuvenation of culture – the reasons are varied. What I’ve been seeing in the recent past is that there is culture in the institute, there are clubs and there is a great Saarang but it has all been dwindling. Getting everything back on track is what a CAS must do, and this thought is my motivation.
MnM: I have a lot of ideas to implement from the culture and Saarang point of view. I think culture is way behind sports in the institute and it should be brought up because in no way is culture lower than sports for a student. I think I can do a lot for the institute from a culture point of view and this has been my motivation.
CCD: During Saarang I assigned many event managers. At the end of each day I would take reviews from each them. Some people told me it was boring, some of them told me it was okay. Nobody told me that it was an awesome experience, nor that they have inspiration to carry this forward to the Saarangs to come. So I need to show them some inspiration to keep coming back to Saarang. I was a Soc-vol for my Hostel and a part of SPICMACAY which is an event for promoting the enthusiasm for cultural activities in youngsters. For people to keep coming back to Saarang, we have to revive cultural activities, cultural clubs, Lit-Soc. I want to change the system. This is my motivation.
Why should the electorate vote for you?
Padia: I feel I am the perfect combination of a participant and a manager. Managerially, I was Pro-Show PR in Saarang 2012, Spons and PR in Shaastra 2011, and have also headed Spons and PR team at the Open Quiz. There is also an IIT Madras script writing and film direction course which will be happening sometime in June. I will also be heading that. I am a very good team player; I can command and give respect to my people. Even as a participant – I am a national level Scrabble player, I have good positions in fine arts and I play the guitar. I can manage a team and check for its efficiency. So I believe I can be a good leader.
MnM: Of the three candidate that are contesting for the post, I think I am the only one who has seen the cultural aspect of things both from the participants eyes and the organizers eyes. Hence I think I can understand the system the best.
CCD: I have been hard working from my first year. This year during Saarang I have handled around Rs. 20 lakhs which is as much as one sixth of the total Saarang finances. I feel I can handle Saarang. Being a part of two event management companies outside Chennai I have good experience. I have been a part of SPICMACAY too. So I feel I am a good candidate to provide a healthy environment amongst students.
What is the one point in your manifesto that you would like to highlight?
Padia: I want to present an Indian Arts festival this year. For me and for lots of people out there – it is amazing to see a painting come to life, a lot of cultural heritage we don’t know about that would fascinate us. So the aim of this festival would be to revive that culture. There will be an art gallery and a museum showcasing our cultural heritage. There will be regional folk performances, martial arts, etc. all brought out in one big cultural exhibition, the likes of which we have never seen at Saarang.
MnM: I think the Saarang Fun Zone, the Arcade is a completely new initiative which will draw great participation, and that is what we really need. Institute students will now start coming in because it is practically an arcade.
CCD: IIT Madras Band Fest. It’s a music premier league held at the end of odd semester which will try to integrate all institute musicians through bidding.
What do you feel are the major issues that require to be addressed in the coming year?
Padia: Lack of participation – at the organizational level or at the participating level is the biggest issue that has to be tackled. This can be countered by having a very strong club framework. Like I said, the cultural scene has been dwindling from year to year – so integration of clubs with Lit-Soc and Saarang is the answer to overcome that. In a lot of universities, be it in India or abroad, a club is like a church of a state which commands over other activities. So a club is the central place from which we have emerging activities like Lit-Soc and Saarang. Take a freshie as an example- for him, the same activity is in all the three platforms and he does not know what to participate in. So putting them under one umbrella of clubs would attract more participation.
MnM: Majority of the clubs are not functioning at all. Those which are functioning have very little activity. I think this should be revamped because in every other college, the festival is not the one having the most importance but it is the cultural activity.
CCD: There are two major issues. One is integrating cultural clubs along with Lit-Soc and Saarang. We are going to have a music premier league through which there will be an integration of cultural clubs and Saarang. Saarang should have something for everyone. Even for an average attendee who comes for pro-shows, there has to be something during the day time – so I have the idea of Saarang Fun World. Credits should be given to Lit-Soc winners, not just to hostels. So we should have a Lit-Soc individual championship.
What is your vision for Saarang 2020?
Padia: I feel it will be quite different and also a little similar to Saarang 2012. There was a lot of event prominence in 2012 and I feel this should continue upto 2020. Saarang should not only be about Pro-Shows but also about events at large. Saarang 2020 should be a brand, and should give away that it is about culture. It should be a platform to grow. Every event could be linked to a national competition, something other than a monetary craze. Pro-shows have to be revamped. For example, an artist sings with orchestra; then he performs an extempore with another artist. So it’s a very friendly atmosphere on stage, various artists talking amongst themselves, etc. Something new for the crowd – so my idea would be to see bring novelty into our shows. Adventure sports with more appeal, Saarang Just for Laugh Gags like the MTV bakra etc that will keep the crowd entertained at every moment would be wonderful.
MnM: Frankly, I haven’t really thought about it. Hopefully Saarang should be much bigger than Mood Indigo in terms of crowd, quality of participation and Pro-Shows.
CCD: Saarang will be a platform not just for students but for everyone to enjoy. They should feel that they have lived their entire life in Saarang. I hope Saarang 2020 sees the entire world coming to it.
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