IIT Madras hosts its first-ever Inter-IIT Cultural Meet

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is hosting for the first time the Inter-IIT Cultural meet, in which students from all 23 IITs in the country take part. The ‘Inter-IIT Cultural Meet 5.0’ features around 3,200 students and will be held from 9th to 11th January 2023 on the campus.

The cultural meet, hosted by a different IIT every year, was not conducted for the past two years owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students from all IITs gather to celebrate cultural arts with events conducted by different clubs. The goal of this event is to allow some of the brightest minds in India to display their skills and achieve distinction by participating in a plethora of events that enrich the cultural sphere of IITs.

Chief Guest Shri L. Subramaniam, a renowned violinist, composer, and conductor and a Padma Bhushan awardee, inaugurated the Inter- IIT Cultural Meet 5.0 today (9th January 2023) in the presence of Guest of Honour Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, Prof. Nilesh J. Vasa, Dean (Students), IIT Madras, Prof. Arshinder Kaur, Advisor (Cultural), IIT Madras, and students from all 23 IITs.

Addressing the students Chief Guest Shri L. Subramaniam said, “What is music? It gives you a balanced outlook to life. It helps to calm a person and stimulates creativity. It will help you (students) in whatever field you are. It will help you to solve problems which you will have to spontaneously create solutions. The National Education Policy has mentioned that music must be introduced in the curriculum. By making music as part of the education, it will enhance the creativity of everybody. Great scientists such as Albert Einstein use to play the violin and so did even our Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.”

Shri L. Subramaniam also recalled performing years back in ‘Mardi Gras’ as the IIT Madras annual cultural festival Saarang was known earlier.

There are nine overall categories with each having a separate cup. The overall winner of the fifth inter-IIT cultural meet gets a Trophy and will be declared as the champion.

Encouraging students to actively participate in the cultural meet, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “The Institute is very happy to host this year’s Cultural Meet. India has a huge diversity in terms of cultural events. When we look at engineering, and in the last 21 years I have been teaching at IIT Madras, any engineer who has a deep introduction to an art, performs very well, especially in projects, research and reports. There is an element of grace, creativity and novelty that comes in there and that is what these co-curricular activities bring out in students.”

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Nilesh J. Vasa, Dean (Students), IIT Madras, said, “IIT Madras welcomes all the IITs taking part in this edition of the fest. The Institute is proud to host the event.”

The cultural meet would feature various events in the following categories: Literary Arts, Speaking and Comedic Arts, Theatre Arts, Dance Arts, Musical Arts, Film-making Arts, Fine Arts, Digital Arts, and Lifestyle Arts. E-sports and culinary events are the new events to have been introduced included this year.

Speaking about the cultural fest, Prof. Arshinder Kaur, Advisor (Cultural), IIT Madras, said, “IIT Madras is humbled to host the IIT cultural fraternity showcasing their talent and extra-curricular skills. Inter-IIT Cultural 5.0 is a social and cultural connection between IIT students across India whereby they will interact and gather lifelong memories.”

Sharing his experience of taking part in the fest, Mr. Shamil Niyas, Cultural Affairs Secretary, IIT Tirupati, said, “The mood over here in IIT Tirupati is screaming ‘Inter IIT’ with intense practice sessions day and night. With all these sleepless nights and the excitement fever, we are looking forward to giving everything we have to create a phenomenal endeavour. At the end of the day, it is not winning medals or trophies that is keeping us going but rather our undying passion and this rare stage to compete among the best.”

Mr. Akshath Ram, a fourth-year M.A Student and Organising Head of Inter IIT, said, “The Inter IIT Cultural Meet 5.0, is the dream relentlessly envisioned by the cultural team of IIT Madras through turbulent times, a vision that is all set to be lived.”

The closing ceremony will be held on 11th January 2023 to mark the conclusion of the tournament. Prof. V. Kamakoti will present the prizes to the winners.

ABOUT IIT MADRAS

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) was established in 1959 by the Government of India as an ‘Institute of National Importance.’ The activities of the Institute in various fields of Science and Technology are carried out in 16 academic departments and several advanced interdisciplinary research academic centres. The Institute offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes leading to B.Tech., M.Sc., M.B.A., M.Tech., M.S., and Ph.D., degrees in a variety of specialisations. IITM is a residential institute with more than 600 faculty and 9,500 students. Students from 18 countries are enrolled here. IITM fosters an active entrepreneurial culture with strong curricular support and through the IITM Incubation Cell.

Recognized as an Institution of Eminence (IoE) in 2019, IITM has been ranked No.1 in the ‘Overall’ Category for the fourth consecutive year in India Ranking 2022 released by National Institutional Ranking Framework, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India. The Institute has also been ranked No.1 in the ‘Engineering Institutions’ category in the same Rankings for seven consecutive years – from 2016 to 2022. It was also adjudged as the ‘Top innovative Institution’ in the country in Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) in 2019, 2020 and 2021. ARIIA Ranking was launched by the Innovation Cell of Ministry of Education.