This one is about the biggest festival I have ever seen, Antaragni, the cultural festival of IIT Kanpur.
The good part of this fest is that we get to have some real fun in the form of events like Quizzes, Crosswords, Extempore, Kavi Sammelan, Nukkad, Stage Plays, India Haat, Rock Show, Treasure Hunt, Personality Contest and Discotheque. Believe me, the atmosphere is electrifying (reasons stated later in here) and you just cannot resist the temptation to participate in or be a part of the audience in any event. The campus looks like a place to be which makes me think what the visitors would think of life here.
The general opinion of people who have never been to IIT about IITs is that these are places where people are either found in libraries or on the roads with their faces burried in books (or research papers). However, that's not true by any means of imagination. You can always find some people who find interest in studying 'only' but they are far out-numbered even in IITs. In fact, the number of people who are crazy about things like Rock Music, lets say, is much more here than the number of such people in my previous college, Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Engineering (BVCoE), although that is so mainly because of the fact that the number of students in IIT is atleast 20 times the number of students in BVCoE.
Given that, some of these people with misconceptions about IITs sometimes go to IITs for cultural fests and that's when they get to know the truth about life in here. They see how we enjoy all the good things in life and equally appreciate things like Nukkad etc, which goes completely against the image of IITians they have in mind. In some cases, it goes so far that some people actually start thinking that life at IITs is only about all these cultural activities and that clearing JEE or GATE once and then spending some years on the campus (each year containing 3.5 days of Antaragni!) is all they need to do, which again is a myth. They do not see the amount of effort IITians have to put in to get up early in the morning to attend the classes, complete the assignments in time and in case of really motivated students, also do research work to get some papers to their name.
Coming back to what makes the atmosphere electrifying, among other factors the most important and beautiful factor is the set of babes who come to participate in and enjoy Antaragni. One of the reasons why all IITK students look forward to events like Antaragni and Udghosh is the number of beautiful females who come to the campus for about 3 days. Those of you who have read Chetan Bhagat's first (and very famous) book know what is it that makes such fests the most awaited events :p Not that we do not like the events, we just love all the events and are very interested in taking part in those events, but the reason stated above takes the front seat when it comes to "Why we love Antaragni (or Udghosh)?"
I would now give a very brief description of an event in Antaragni, called Mridaksh and then tell you something about it. Mridaksh - The Personality Contest is one of the most famous and looked upon events in Antaragni. You wouldn't believe how long the queue of people waiting to get the entry is. Cannot tell you more about Mridaksh because I have been a part of only two Antaragnis and both times the queue was so long that I dropped the idea of going inside. Now the reason why I told you about Mridaksh. One of my very good friends Monika has won the event this year. Haven't been able to talk to her because the event took place only tonight and I was busy in the Rock Show past 3 hours. Knowing her, I am not surprised that she won it, because she has the qualities in her to win such contests, but I am very sad that I did not wait in that queue outside to enter the Auditorium and see her win the night. Well done Monika! (You owe me a treat now :-p)
There are more good news. Another very good friend, Kaushik, secured 2nd position in the quiz contest. This result was actually very surprising because to me, he is the among the best in the game and if he doesn't win a quiz, it really says a lot about the winner. Though second prize is great too, but I know how dearly he wanted to win the first prize. After all, he lives quizzes. Would a normal person wish birthday to his best friend by sending a quiz, the answer to which is "Happy Birthday"? (Sorry Kaushik, I never wanted to mention it here, but could not stop myself)
This post is dedicated to Monika and Kaushik, for the success they have got. You make me proud, both of you.
All in all, Antaragni is one of the most beautiful things in my life and I am surely gonna miss the fun next year onwards (assuming everything goes fine and I graduate in time). I love you Antaragni (and also all the babes who come along with it)!
Just now came to know that Arjun's love life was spiced up at Calypso. He'll put up the details in his blog shortly (otherwise, I will).
