MITAFEST 2008 - REVIEW.

The annual cultural extravaganza of the Madras Institute of Technology – MITAFEST 2008 got off to an auspicious start on the evening of the 20th of march 2008 – at the Rajam Hall of MIT , in the presence of the Vice Chancellor of Anna University- Dr.Viswanathan and other notable dignitaries(Don't you think that Vichu guy sucks? ). With the Pro-show of Krish slated for the later part of the evening , the inauguration itself saw a good turnout. Previously SSMusic and their VJ’s were seen scouting MIT for voice talents in the SSmusic Voice Hunt, alongwith having some lighthearted fun by organizing informals. Accounting to the occurrence of heavy rain , the Intra-college choreo event was shifted out to the following day. Nevertheless the organizers ensured the pro-show took place. It was rescheduled and venue changed to the Hangar-1, where most of the events would take place. Krish and the accompanying orchestra ensured the audience’s minds danced to their tunes. “June pona”, “Manjal veyil” and “Oru mugamo” were the sure-shot crowd favorites , and they ensured entire hangar energized up to face the unabashed frenzy of Mitafest.
The second day of Mitafest saw a flurry of events , ranging from the Scitech and General quiz to the Intra college choreo and Light music. However , the sleepy hollow of Hangar-2 was the happening place throughout the day, with hoards of people appearing for the Literary events and Art events. Tamil events like arattai arangam and kavidhai-potti’s were also held during the day. The evening started off with intra college choreo sending the audience into a trance. It was ably followed up with the light music finals which saw intense competition between other college teams. B.S.A.Crescent Engineering College won the first prize in light music followed by SSN.
The final day was to be the crowning glory of Mitafest- with most of the events entering the final stage. On one side the hangar-2 saw gaming reaching hitherto unknown levels of excitement with counter strike videos being played and hardcore gamers pitching it out against each other. On the other side there were rangoli and other informal events taking place , besides the quizzes which ended up going down to the wire. But the real sleeping giant this year should be the shipwreck and JAM finals that took place in Rajam hall on the last day evening – parallelly alongwith the variety show. Shipwreck entered its final stages with the likes of jayalalitha and karunanidhi pitting their brains and wits against sharad pawar and ganguly. It was hilarious to say the least. Even better was the JAM that followed – Murali from SSN conducted the session and he ensured the participants had their share of laughter and the audience too. Mitafest 2008 concluded with an attractive choreo nite which was won aptly by A.M.Jain college, and others like Solomon twisters from CEG and Madha engineering college also participated in it.

On the whole Mitafest 2008 was an enjoyable ride of FUN,FROLIC AND FIESTA !

Countdown to MITAFEST 2008 !

Just one more day to go for Mitafest to kick off - and this time it is sure to bring about the transformation of the geek to the freak. Ok, enough of putting up junk sentences trying to convey one meaning -
“GET THE HELL OUTTA YOUR CLAMSHELLS JUNTA !IT’S PARTY TIME!! ”
And now for the updates -
**********1. KRISH Pro-Show tickets are available with Vijayakumar- Ph.no : 9962222620. Book your passes as its FIRST COME FIRST SERVED . Other college junta are allowed , so CHECK IN GUYS N GALS !
2. The campus is being decorated gradually. So if you aren’t having time to notice those flashbulbs hanging from the trees, you’ll do well to get your eye checked.
3. The Open Air Theatre(OAT) galleria have been done, and this time the design looks different and a lot more spacious than previous years. ( which translates into more fun for us )
4. Stalls have been put up - and we hear quite a few good grub stalls are coming about this time ( Mexican food anyone ? )
5. Hangar -1 continues to house the sport-studs of MIT , but then by tomorrow it will undergo a sea change- housing systems for the gaming challenges. ( rumours are flying that XBox consoles maybe on the way - keep your eyes peeled!)
And remember to call your friends dudes and dudettes -
MITAFEST IS MORROW, NO MORE SORROW !
********** - Singers from A.R.R’s and Ilayaraja’s troupe coming along too:)

We ain't here for any Monkey Business, or are we??

This is quite a moment I must say - one of the rarest occasions when I am left with too many things to write , too many people to speak about , and too many technicalities to explain. But still , this is our moment and let's savour every second of it. The ever elusive Commonwealth Bank/Victoria Bitter series has been won by India.
(Yes, this is not the Under-19 team which has won it - that is another long story altogether. Its the seniors team this time around ;) )
We remember seeing the familiar look on M.S.Dhoni's face at the conclusion of the T20 Worldcup last year in Southafrica - when we saw what he did today after India had won it all fair and square against Australia. Maybe a lucky look ? Who knows - either ways he is playing for our city in the IPL and its good if he has a bit of luck too!
And so, ladies and gentlemen, the much-talked about Australian summer has finally ended , and to India's credit - on an upbeat note. Let us travel back and analyse what we have learnt out of this gruelling three-month long slugfest.

1. Big-talking is fun. *
*if you aren't playing the next match.
*if you are playing the next match.
*if you have long hair plaited in a little bundle up there.
*if you are balding.(Haydos and Punter beware ;) )
*if you are not someone called "The Master Blaster"
*if you don't have any other job in the team to do.

2. Itching/scratching/touching yourself in the wrong places on the ground is forbidden. *
* Conditions apply to excessively under-dressed-populated Australian cricket grounds.

3. Streakers are a lucky sign for India. Everytime one appears we win. So then why were they two in the second final at Brisbane ? Sources tell there aren't enough nudist beaches in Brisbane's vicinity.

4. Want a free ticket back home + become a national hero + make the whole world talk about you ? Give a wrong decision + treat all appeals with equal racism.

5. Want to stay back on the tour ? Be under 22 years of age.*
*preferably belonging to Mumbai ,Delhi and having spiky/long hair.

6. How to go into a form slump ? Be paired with Deepika Padukone ( plus trade in your mom and dad to speak about the both of you on Headlines Today)

7. How to retrieve yourself from a form slump ? Look at the lady officers when the oh-so-masculine streakers emerge.***

***P.S - Any idea if Cricket Australia are recruiting female streakers to spread the game?

8. How do you make your wicket look very costly ? Let loose "obnoxious" comments on local radio. *
* ensure it gets across to the Indian Mafia(or Media??)

9. How do you screw up yourself ? Not let a veteran retire in peace and victory - keep him out of the team.

Lastly.....




10. How do you win against the Mighty Australians?

Let an in-form Sachin invent "Khatam Karo Ghar Chalo".


I think the last four words explain it all.

Jod"Haah!" Ak"baar" !

Now, when I started writing this little review about this movie , the initial response was lukewarm to say the least . Infact one of my good friends - nicknamed American Express , for obvious overseas-admit related issues and other "Vetti-scene" matters went on to rubbish the very idea of a blog. But then positives and negatives happen, especially the female fraternity which has been eternally loving this hottie's(!!!LOL!!) blogs have again ensured this gets into the place where it needs to. So yes , enough of personal tirades and rubbish - let's get on with what this blog needs to be about.

Jodhaa Akbar is a very short(! ) i.e. 3 hour 30 minute takeoff on a part of the Mughal Emperor- Jalaluddin Akbar's life.( exceptionally short by Ashutosh's standards). It starts off with the Battle of Panipat where the little Akbar is exposed to the trials and tribulations faced by the prisoners of war and his armymen. Although it takes a while to learn the art of being an emperor , he grows into the part slowly, until a few incidents prompt him onto taking the mantle of the supreme-commander of the empire, and take decisions of his own. Faced with a potentially dangerous opposition in the Rajputs, Akbar brokers truce with the Rajput coalition , in exchange for the princess Jodhabai's hand in marriage. How this compelling union of two uncompromising individuals grows into a strong bond of love and understanding is what this film portrays over the length that I have already specified. Put in are a few elements of distrust and back-stabbing to make the plot interesting, and they do a good job at that.

Sometimes you would expect the movie to turn turtle with the negative reviews it has been getting from your peers , but then this was something I would not have missed anyday. It was the first time I was watching an Ashutosh Gowariker film in the theatre and I was happy with the experience this movie offered me, to be true. Despite few shortcomings like the length of the movie and occasional blooper-style shots ( especially in Khwaja Mere Khwaja - what was Hrithik doing there dancing like a Zombie? No marks for that song despite it being one of the best in the album - because it was totally zombified! ) At most places the dialogues were in chaste Urdu and Hindi , I understood around 80% of it - remaining 20% was totally new to me and I had to guess the meaning of the words from the way the scene panned out later. Although this may not be a negative , when reaching out to the big audiences the dialogues could have been penned viewer-friendly at a few places.

The music by A.R.Rahman needs no mention - its a huge hit all over. Ashutosh has done justice to every song except the exceedingly powerful Khwaja Mere Khwaja . Inn Lamhon and Azeem O Shaan were beautiful to say the least , and the rest of the songs played out in the background. Hrithik looks every bit the emperor that Akbar would have been like , and Aishwarya finally does some acting ( lessons learnt from Dhoom-2??) which is nice to watch. Akbar's mother and his foster-mother(sorry if the terminology is wrong I mean the lady in white) have played their roles well - so are the others in the movie including the eunuch. One can notice Ashutosh regulars scattered around the movie , especially Kulbushan Kharbanda and the "Jai Bajrang Bali" guy from Lagaan. A little more effective screenplay would have made the film powerful , although the stunt and action sequences have been filmed beautifully. Gowariker could have done away with the final Troy-like fight - that was one scene where I felt he had copied , the other being the battle scenes(image multiplying Mr.Ashu?) Locales are a treat to watch and this film has all the flavours of a classic period movie thrown into it.

There are a lot more to describe about this movie , which maybe noticed by me, or by you on repeated viewing. For now , it remains a classic movie which I would recommend as a must-watch for everyone who needs a time-off from the Heyy-baby or Dhamaal kind of junkbox comedies.

Ashutosh has done it again. On the whole , nice movie to watch with a patient person.(A Harsh Ad is good enough for me ) To put it in a phrase ,

"Yahaan Bhi Wahaan Bhi Hai Tere Dhol

Dhira Nom Dhira Nom Jalaluddeen Akbar!"

Indian Popularity Listing (I.P.L)

Just when we had started thinking that club football was becoming popular in India , looks someone from the BCCI junta heard it. Bang came upon the IPL, formerly known to be the Indian Premier League, soon-to-be-known or blown into the Indian Popularity Listing. Peculiar expansion for the IPL you say ? I would say it is the perfect way of explaining this phenomenon.

To start off for the people who do not know what IPL is, it is a cricket league organised by the BCCI based on 8-city teams , and the Twenty20 format of the game. Similar to the English Premier League football, overseas players can be contracted(although only a maximum of 4 such players can play in each game) and also transferred , although there has not been any official procedure listed out for this provision. All we know is that there will be an annual transfer window to facilitate player movement from city to city.

Now that the basics have been dealt with , lets analyze(rather sensationalize) this hype-r thingy that the whole country is speaking about. The city teams have been bought by rich people , as we can so-goddamn-easily predict. Nothing new ? There is. As if all the other money-making media weren't enough , we have more of SRK out here too(more popularly known in non-Indian circles as the Smoke-Relishing-Khan). And the oh-so-wrinkly-beautiful Preity Zinta who gives him company here too ( as if the great disaster was not enough - I mean that "Kabhi Alvida.. blah blah blah"- whatever I don't get whats it with these Karan Johar four-word titles... too long to even remember !)

The rest of the owners of the teams are the same run-of-the-mill Ambani's, Mallya's and other corporations. Since the media has had enough of these people with their IPO's and New Year bashes there's been additional glare on SRK and Zinta's teams. Apparently nobody noticed the Delhi pace attack or the Bangalore keeper , but strangely there comes the news that Zinta's team is packed with goodlookers. (Guess the news channel which gave this bit)

With the IPL being a moneyspinner by the billion without a ball being bowled, the question remains if we are going to see a clash of popularity listings or real hardcore cricket.

Disclaimer :

*This article was solely written with the purpose of whiling away time and poking fun at the Greatest 24*7 Entertainment Channel that HeadlinesToday is proving to become. Any positive criticism can be fed back to me. Any negative points , please ring up the sick looking female who comes in H.T at 9 p.m every night and tells us beautiful "cock-and-bull" stories about Kareena's rashes and Soha's lips.

Run of the V-ill ...

Its that time of the year again , ladies and gentlemen..

->When greeting cards get sold out ( including the one's for wives and husbands - despite wedding being described as hell even by the highly-cognitive junta)

->When guys go scouting a whole city to get one rose which is unblemished, untorn, and fresh - only to end up with a saggy bunch of dried bouganvillae picked painfully from the worm-infested neighbour's garden !

->When rumour mills go overboard on the entertainment channels about ongoing romances (be it the first or the second or even the umpteenth - as some hollywood stars go)

-> When everything that is being written or talked is about love, having boyfriends or girlfriends - and unfortunately there is nothing for the single humanoid to read(unfortunately even this post is about the same)

-> When slippers and blades get sold in advance - that too in bulk .. I guess you should work out the reason why this happens. (either ways - be it roses or slippers, the shopkeeper profits)

-> When some jobless guy proposes a dresscode depending on his minimal wardrobe, and that ends up being an SMS forwarded to the entire fraternity.

-> When you have silly people like me trying to create some laughs by showing what happens actually in the name of V-Day.

Ok - reckon that's enough? Let me get back to being mushy-mushy about this whole V-day thingy. Even though I am a non believer in this "Day" business, I believe in the fact that its always not too late to say "I love you".

Think a little bit , even you would feel the same I bet. Be it even the helper who helps your mom around in the kitchen, clears the utensils, finishes all the menial work in your house- its never taboo to say you love him/her. To your parents, who helped you walk your first steps - gave you a life to live, because of whom you may have the resources to read this blog, and because of whom you may become a bigger person than you expected - its time to say "I love you". To your friends, who have been by you in all the struggles in life that you have gone through, lent a shoulder for you to weep, been one with you in your heyday -from whom you may have to even part, its time to say "I love you." For all whom you have fought your wits out with its never late to patch up and say "I love you." For the little baby next door who makes you smile every time your glance falls on him, its all the more easy to say that. For the people who have guided you throughout your life till now , and may lead you to a bright future, its time to say "I love you." For nature , which has been kind enough to hold your transgressions and make you live despite harming it , its the time to say "I love you."

For God-

who's made all these which you have grown to love so much,

made you realise the value of everything and sundry,

made you cry both in happiness and in sorrow,

to whom this day has to be dedicated to....

it's time to say,

"I Love You."

INTECHO 2008 -The True Echo !

The dawn of this Second Saturday of February , saw a rather unusual thing taking place - influx of hoards and hoards of students to a rather calm place called Madras Institute of Technology. Surely weird for a second saturday I must say. Apart from the fact that MIT was having a working day , every other college in the vicinity had the day off. Apparently even they realized Intecho should not be missed- we had a huge influx of students from all parts of the state , let alone the country.

The inaugural function got off to a slow but steady start at eight thirty or so, with the chief guest and a few of the faculty of instrumentation in MIT giving their special keynote address on the occasion. From then on it was mission brainstorming for all of the participants and audience at the Rajam Hall in the MIT, going all the way to the later part of the evening. With the paper presentation turning quite a few heads in the packed- audience , the sports quiz optimized on their enthusiasm- to spring quite a few surprises with the tough preliminaries which even the "best-quizzing" junta in the campus could not crack. Although there were some technical issues like unclear views of the screen it turned out to be a major success. The technical quiz followed which was a near-perfect stunner . Almost all of the audience got involved, be it the videos or even the multiple choice questions. We just about had time to fit in Shipwreck into the packed schedule , and that too got great cheers from the audience , especially the Vijaykanth wannabe and the Laloo wannabe. Apparently even the judges were flabbergasted at the speakers' insanity ! General quiz preceded the shipwreck - which brought in quite a few new aspects to the near-obsolete general quiz format. It was on the whole refreshing and a good crowd puller. The best things are reserved for the last , as we usually say. Pot pourri got it all right , from the anchor to the videos and the mix n match songs played , to the fillers in between , and even the audience chipped in with a few people breaking into impromptu jigs and sounds.

An event would not be complete without specifying the offstage events also.. They are the essence of keeping the audience occupied and literally glued to their seats every moment. Right from C debugging to the Hanging quiz , to the day ending technical crossword and even the preliminaries for the events such as shipwreck and circuiting, every event captured the attention of the audience.

Sponsors and the volunteers for the stalls attracted quite a lot of people, with their variegated products on display and even a sketching machine which photographed and printed people's portraits, quite realistically. I should also mention Findnearyou.com for their commitment towards making this event a big success , and providing us support all through the way, with their blogging and other contests.

Intecho 2008 - A Success which every MIT'ian will cherish for eons to come !