For those of you who have been struggling to find a… “brotherhood”, if we may say so, of folks with interests or talents similar to your own, IIT Madras is a gold mine. Most of the students who’ve come here count among the most brilliant minds in the country, and no matter which of your interests you want to pursue, you’ll have an impressive group of people to back you up and learn with.
These people form the various clubs in our institute. Through these clubs, you’re offered a truly enviable opportunity for learning and development, and a stage to flaunt what you have. We have a club for almost everything – the usual stuff like Music, Choreo, Photography, and Fine Arts, to the unique ones like the Nature club.
Most of these clubs are extremely active throughout the year, with regular activities and an impressive online presence. Keeping up with the demands of our student community is no easy feat, however. The conveners and coordinators of these clubs are people who are truly passionate about their club, and they’re responsible for planning and conducting several related events and sessions every semester. To apply for the posts, look out on smail for the applications and make sure to apply within the deadline!
Quiz Club:
The current Quiz Club at IIT Madras is one of the best in the country, having won Nihilanth (the annual Inter IIT-IIM Quiz Championship) for the 4th time in a row in 2017. And not just winning, our Nihilanth team completely dominates the competition, leaving the runners-up far behind every time. In our campus, the Quiz Club conducts several quizzes every year, awarding LitSoc points for each winner. Some of the events conducted in the past were –
- LitSoc Main Quiz (General Quiz)
- Fandom Quiz
- Anime Quiz
- Buzzer Quiz
- Science and Technology Quiz
- Freshie Quiz
- Elections Quiz
The Quiz Club also conducts quiz events at Shaastra, Saarang, and Saahitya.
Oratory Club:
“To talk, to argue, to recite, to narrate
To assert, to plead, to JAM and debate
To expound with commitment, with passion, with rage
To woo all crowds, we give you a stage”
These are the words of the Oratory Club, IIT Madras, and they live up to them. These guys conduct all the speaking events in campus, and bring out the fun part of being on-stage.
Their popular events include –
- JAMs
- Elocutions
- Debates
- STEW (Survive, Tackle, Explain, Win)
- IITM MUN
- Group Discussions
- British Parliamentary Debate
The Coordinators of this club also organize workshop sessions for students to develop their skills, like the Storytelling workshop, Public Speaking 101, etc.
They also bring together teams to send to events like the IIT Bombay Inter Varsity Debate, and events at major fests of other colleges. They conduct debates, discussions, and more popular speaking events at Saarang and Saahitya.
Writing Club:
Creative, connectable writing is one of the most valued talents in the country today. These folks concentrate on anything that can be written down – essays, stories, poems, and a variety of other stuff. This is one of the newest clubs at IITM, and while it only caters to English writers at the moment, they hope to gain a solid base of members interested in the vernacular as well.
Events conducted –
- Creative Writing: Solo
- Creative Writing: Group
- Writing Avial
- Freshie Creative Writing
- Inkling sessions
- Writing workshops
The club’s major work happens during Saarang, where their events receive enormous participation from students around the country.
Choreo Club:
The Choreo Club’s motto: Anyone and everyone can dance. All you need is to lower your inhibitions a little, add in a little movement to a tune, and there you go. The IITM Choreo Club gives students a host of opportunities to both learn dancing, and participate in dancing activities for almost every fest or event in the institute.
- FwF Sessions
- SPARK Workshops
- Freshie Night Dances
- Performance at Saarang
- Freestyle Solo
- Classical Solo
- Choreo Night Performances
- Workshops for Salsa, Zumba, Capoeira, etc.
The list of events that the Choreo Club is a part of is virtually endless. Every member of this club will have their chance to dance to their heart’s content.
Fine Arts Club:
Arguably the most popular cultural club in the institute, the variety of possible events and scope for entertainment in his field is enormous. Some of the events conducted in the past –
- Finger Painting
- Glass Painting
- Halloween Party
- Mural Paintings in the city
- Sand Sculpting
- Field visits to art-related centres
- Logo design contests
- Origami contests
- Art Mashup: Flagship Event
The potential in this club is evident from the list above. Even at fests like Saarang, events conducted by our Fine Arts Club embody the best of what people attend the fests for: having fun.
Music Club:
Again, like the Fine Arts Club, the Music Club has a plethora of events to choose from. Music is wide, varied, ever-evolving. This is a hub for music enthusiasts of all genres to connect, and to find people with similar tastes and interests. With the popularity of their flagship event, Raagabop, and their ties with Saarang and Saahitya events, members of the Music Club have a near endless stream of opportunities thrown their way.
- Acoustic Night
- Karaoke Night
- Drum Circle
- Open Mic Night
- Raagabop
Besides the above, the Music Club on its own is responsible for a huge proportion of Saarang’s events – Decibels, Alankar, Vox Solo, Dhrutam, Alpanaa, Ahnad, and so many more.
Thespian Club:
Also called the Dramatics Club. In their words:
“The Thespian Club is the place to be for all theatre aficionados on campus! Be it a seasoned veteran or a budding debutant(e), we have something for you!”
These folks are acting nuts; they can’t get enough of the spotlight.
The Thespian Club regularly conducts plays presented both in campus, and performed at key locations outside. They also have regular events like the Theatre Day, with several plays performed by institute students in any language.
Other regular events include an Online Script Adaptation Contest, a Monoacting Contest, Couch Potato, etc.
Word Games Club:
Last but not the least, the Word Games Club promotes said word games, and conducts events for the same for LitSoc and Saarang. This club is responsible for conducting the biggest national level scrabble tournament in South India, the Chennai Scrabble Open, in association with the Chennai Scrabble Club. Some of their events –
- What’s the Good Word
- Scrabble
- Cryptic Crossword
- Dumb Charades
- Spell Bee
The Word Games Club is very active online, with members regularly posting questions and puzzles on the Facebook group, open to all.
Like I said, it’s never hard to find a “brotherhood” in insti. Hope this article has helped you in some way towards that direction!
