Skid Row to rock IIT Kharagpur
Sikkim Express: www. sikkimexpress. com

Skid Row to rock IIT Kharagpur

GANGTOK, December 24: As January would be inching to an end, Kharagpur would witness an extravaganza few would want to miss and none would forget.
IIT Kharagpur would be playing host to the internationally acclaimed metal band Skid Row for their first performance in India as part of their three days four nights long annual clambake Spring Fest from January 21 to 24.
Started in 1960, Spring Fest, it is informed is the largest and the oldest running student organized fest in Eastern India. To make this 51st edition the youth hub it promises to be, planning had started way back in June. “We wanted to outdo the 50th edition, and now we are on the verge of something really special. Our publicity campaign has incorporated a pan India outlook. Response has been exemplary and we are expecting a footfall of around 30,000. The news of Skid Row performing is really getting the colleges going,” says Abhey, the publicity head.
According to a press release, the platter surely looks tempting. On offer is an eclectic mix of more than 45 events ranging from dramatics to dancing, literary to music. Wildfire, the premium amateur rock band competition of Eastern India, is being associated by SaReGaMa India wherein the winners get recording deals. Ethos India is associated with Archkriti, an architect’s battleground while Bar Council will be associated with Mocking Bird, a moot court competition. Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts and Pritish Nandy Communication have also seen Spring Fest joining hands with them. Workshops by Whistling Woods International and British Council add further value to the fest, it is informed.
And for those who want none of these, an open air discotheque sends revellers into trance all day long in the Arena, the hub of all informal competitions. To highlight one such event, MTV would be conducting Stunt Mania, a daredevilry event. But this is not all. According to Mandar, the general secretary, “These are just a few things that have been confirmed as of now. The final picture would be highly exciting. All roads in January surely would lead to Kharagpur”.
But Spring Fest is not just about fun and frolic, and a social undertone is quite evident in form of associations with CRY and IYF, and presence of events like India Calling, a social case-study competition. Muskaan is another social initiative taken up by students.
And in this big world made small by internet, these guys are pretty much everywhere. Twitter, Facebook, Orkut, Ibibo and YouTube supplement their website www.springfest.in where one can access all rules, events, trivia, previous edition et al.