Colour us indigo

All set to kick-start today, the annual student cultural festival of IIT-Bombay, Mood Indigo has been a trendsetter in every sense of the word. The festival has come a long way from being a small student organisation, with a budget of 5,000 odd rupees, to having achieved the distinction of being Asia’s largest college cultural festival. With 250 diverse events across various genres, and over 100 colleges participating from across the country, the 46th edition of the fest promises to be a visual spectacle. The theme this year is A Bombay Chronicle. Says Ketaki Kakade, the media head of the festival, “The theme was finalised in summers itself. We asked our coordinators to post suggestions. Out of those, few were short listed and each concept was extensively discussed upon,” she shares.

With a team of over 800 students trailblazing the fest this year, a variety of events will be making their debut on the IIT-B campus. “This year, we have attempted to target the youth of our country and to provide a platform for them to create a roadmap of a developed nation. We have introduced two new events. First being Transform Maharashtra  — a conversation between Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Arnab Goswami wherein Mr Devendra Fadnavis will be answering questions posted by college students related to the development of our state. The second event, Stalwarts, will see Mr Piyush Goyal interact with students and discuss the vision for India to be a renewable energy superpower,” Ketaki elaborates.

Mood I will be held from December 23 to 26 at IIT -Bombay, Powai.

• Highlights:

Mumbai centric events:
Keeping in tandem with their theme this year, the fest has a plethora of options to bring in the rustic feel of the city feel within the campus premises. On lines of Mumbai Darshan, they will be having MI Darshan, where 25 privileged people will be visiting the most prominent speeches and happening events of the day in a mini bus. Spanning across three days, the fest will host a night bazaar, where local city artisans will sell their wares and what’s more? One will also get to hog on a variety of local Mumbai delicacies.

Bollyvaganza
As a tribute to the hub of Bollywood –Mumbai, the fest will host for the first time a Bollywood centric quiz and an Antakshari competition.

Pro-Nites
The most important factor contributing to the legacy of Mood Indigo are the night concerts. With the launch of Popular Nite and EDM (Electronic Dance and Music) Nite, being headlined by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and the Italian duo VINAI respectively, all eyes were set on the next launch. American band Crown the Empire is the International Act at the livewire night this year. The band will be performing on the first day of the fest.

For the artsy
For the art aficionados, artists from different parts of the country and some international artists have been invited to paint the walls and SAC (Student Activity Center) floors of the campus.

Drones
While in the last edition of the fest witnessed drones zooming past various events clicking pictures, the current edition will see students racing them. In an on the spot event, participants will be expected to race drones provided at the event under amateur, semi-pro and pro categories.