Spring Fest 2012, a Review

Spring Fest 2012, IIT Kharagpur

Every year, in January, the students of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, organises a festival - the Spring Fest with 'Brobdingnagian' enthusiasm. The Spring Fest 2012, a four days event, was no different at all. Spectators of Spring Fest 2012 witnessed some of the biggest names of the music and theatre industry in the country.

Started on Jan 20, the festival was managed by the students of IIT Kharagpur and held in the campus of the institute. With delegates and contestants coming from all over the country, Spring Fest is one of the biggest festival ever held in Kharagpur, West Bengal. The festival started with an inaugural ceremony followed by the events Sanskruti and Hasya Kavi Sammelan on Jan 20.

Wildfire, one of the country's biggest college rock competitions, went nationwide with prelims in cities like Bangalore, Delhi and Guwahati. The semi-finals of the competition started on Jan 21. The Mumbai based band Blakc, apart from performing in the fest on Jan 22, also acted as guest judge for the competition.

Jan 21 witnessed another famous music competition and an acoustic western event, Lake Side Dreams. The competition was judged by Bangalore based institute Eastern Fare Music Foundation's directors Jim Ankan Deka and Ankur Deka.

Some of the other events and competitions held on Jan 21 were Aurora, an audio–visual experiment, Israeli Classical by ‘Shye Ben Tzur’, Nukkad and the power house performance by the fusion band Mrigya.

Spring Fest 2012, IIT Kharagpur

Jan 22 started with a Youth Marathon in the morning followed by Wildfire semi finals, Model United Nations and a Bollywood Hiphop Dance Workshop. Later, people roared with laughter and applause while witnessing an energetic performance by famous Bollywood actor Makrand Deshpande in the Hindi play Miss Beautiful. The other famous performers of the play were Nagesh Bhosle and Divya Jagdale. The star performers of the third day event were the members of the Delhi based band Parikrama. With more than 3000 spectators, the Jnan Ghosh Stadium turned into a fireball.

Apart from many small events, Jan 23, the final day of the Spring Fest, started with an eastern music competition Sargam in the Netaji auditorium judged by Jim Ankan Deka and Ankur Deka.

Towards the evening a photography workshop, Picture Perfect, was organised for the new generation photographers.

The Spring Fest 2012 climaxed with a glorious performance by Bollywood music industry's famous duo Vishal - Shekhar.

India Celebrates 63rd Republic Day

Thousands throng at the India Gate in Delhi to celebrate India’s 63rd Republic Day.

Republic Day parade

The customary Republic Parade, held every year, highlights the nation's achievements in various fields along with the military expertise, scintillating display of air power as also an assortment of the country's rich cultural heritage. This year the Agni-IV missile (3000 KMs Range) is the major highlight of the Republic Day Parade.The intermediate range surface-to-surface ballistic missile mounted on a road mobile launcher is being paraded by the Defence Research and Development Organization.

The Air Force contingent comprising 144 men will be led by Flight Lieutenant Sneha Shekhawatthe first woman ever to lead an IAF contingent at the Parade. The Army's Mechanized Columns concludes with a flypast by the Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv of the Army Aviation Corps.C-130-J Super Hercules tactical aircraft, Indian Airforce’s latest also makes it debut at the parade as well.

The armaments put on display by the Indian Army includes the T-72 tank, Carrier Mortar Tracked, SMERCH Multiple Launch Rocket System, Pinaka Multi Barrel Rocket System, Full Width Mine Plough, NBC Water Purification Systems and Jammer Station VHF/UHF. The marching contingents of Navy comprising 144 men will be led by Lt. Commander Manikandan K.

Synchronized motor cycle stunts by Border Security Force, coordinated gymnastics by children for various parts of the country, Tableaux from 23 states and Central Ministries and Departments symbolizing historical, architectural and cultural heritage of the country are additional delights of the parade.

-by Parmita Borah

Celebrating Nature's Bounty - Magh Bihu

The arid chill of the winter paves way for bright and brimming spring with the season of harvest at its threshold, giving people reasons to rejoice.

Photo courtesy - Alfresco Grand / Archana Bora

Magh Bihu or more appropriately Bhogali Bihu, one of the most important festivals of Assam,  is a paradigm of that spirit of festivity. The festival is known as 'Magh Bihu', since it marks the end of harvesting season in the month of 'Maagha', and 'Bhogali Bihu' for the fact that the celebration revolves around families getting together for a grand feast. Bhogali is derived from the Assamese word 'Bhog' which maybe interpreted as food and the name signifies that the stores and granaries in homes across the state are filled with the just harvested crop.

A large bonfire, referred to as 'Meji', and a feast, are the cardinal focus of Magh Bihu, although there are other fascinating traditions associated with the celebration. The feast being a part of the festivities is anything but obvious since Magh/Bhogali bihu commemorates a season of harvest.

On the eve of Magh Bihu, the night that is known as 'uruka', a large buffet dinner is prepared, often as a community activity, following a long preparation of traditional sweets known as 'Pitha'. Pitha is a rice-based fillet most commonly sweet in taste and on rare occasions salty. The night of Uruka is also spent by family members chatting around a bonfire, an activity that is also considered to a form of community watch guard to refrain mischievous youth and pranksters to cause any trouble. Traditionally on the eve of Uruka, pranksters sneak into people’s courtyards to taunt the owners.

Photo courtesy -
AssamInfo.Com / Utpal Sarma

Preparation and burning of the Meji, the traditional bonfire, is possibly the greatest attraction of Magh Bihu. The groundwork begins a day before Magh Bihu. Sticks and leaves are collected and a rough hut called ‘Meji’ is constructed. The entire community spends the night in rough hay structures called 'Bhela Ghar', guarding their Meji. The exemplary feast is prepared to serve those who guard the Meji. Burning of the Meji , considered as a sanctified act begins with a ceremonial bath. The Meji is burnt and several rituals are observed around the burning bonfire. It is also customary for the lady of the house to make offerings of pithas and other eatables to the Gods. Once the rituals are over, various types of potatoes are roasted on the embers of the bonfire, and there is a session of feasting on these roasted vegetables. The proceedings end with a traditional firework display. The crackers are made of bamboo, and they are called Hiloi.

Other highlights of Magh Bihu include traditional sports activities including egg fights, bull fights and bird fights. 'Tekeli bhonga' or pot breaking is yet another much loved sport.

In any part of the globe, tradition and culture have always furnished a special spot for nature, and therefore with every cyclic change that nature bestows there follows a celebration that is vibrant and joyful. The people of Assam while truly embodying that spirit, extend their thanks to mother nature in this beautiful celebration of life called Magh Bihu.

-by Parmita Borah

Facebook Launches New Feature 'Listen With Friends'

A new feature on Facebook, is all set to ramp up the experience of listening to music online. ‘Listen with Friends’ as the feature has been christened, allows Facebook users to listen to music at the same time as their friends and discuss the tunes using Facebook Chat, with PC Mag reporting that up to 50 people will be able to listen and talk about the tracks at the same time.

Facebook product designer Alexandre Roche, in a blog post dated January 13, 2012 mentioned that- You can listen to the same song, at the exact same time - so when your favorite vocal part comes in you can experience it together, just like when you're jamming out at a performance or dance club.

‘Listen with Friends’ being a part of Facebook Chat allows users to chat online about what they are listening to. Users can also listen in as a group while one friend acts as a deejay. Up to 50 friends can listen to the same song at the same time, and chat about it. Everytime a user begins listening to music with a friend, a ‘story will be posted to her/his friends’ ticker and/or news feeds. Users will have control over who will be able to see when they are listening with a friend through their App Settings page after installing the compatible music app.

The service however can only be leveraged if both parties involved have access to the same online music programmes. Currently only Spotify and Rdio can be used in conjunction with 'Listen with Friends', although ZDNet claims that more services are set to be announced in the future.

The new feature created from collaboration between Facebook and Spotify gives users access to over 15 million songs, and will also allow them to see what tracks are trending on the site, as well as letting users share music with friends, as part of a free service. So if you weren’t addicted to Facebook already, here’s another reason to stay hooked on to this social networking website.

-by Parmita Borah