AAROH The Music Society, IIT Bhubaneswar

FEBRUARY 1, 2017

AIM OF THE SOCIETY:

Aaroh, the Music Society of IIT Bhubaneswar aims to bring out the musical talent among

the students. What makes IITians different from the rest is that they have all round development,

and Aaroh pays its contribution to this by shaping students into future Kishore Kumar, Lata

Mangeshkar or A. R. Rahman, but with their own individual identities. Aaroh is also proud to claim

that it’s one of the very few societies which contains active participation from not only the

undergraduate students, but also from the post graduate students.

WORK DONE BY THE SOCIETY:

1. Independence Day (15/08/2016):

The Music Society had a hand in the Independence Day festivities, performing the national

anthem, national song and other patriotic songs for the students and faculty, paying homage and

respect to the country.

2. Music Society Introduction (15/08/2016):

The Music Society introduction was as beautiful as a spectacular painting. It was a vocal and

instrumental masterclass and left everyone in the audience shouting "Once More!”. The skills on

display were numerous, from the Cajon to the Guitar, the vocals were bang on the buck too! The

event started off with a tabla solo, and built on from that skillful performance into a series of

band performances. They were absolutely smashing and the end to the intro was on a brilliant

high, with a spot on performance of 'Rolling in the Deep'.

3. Music Society Auditions + Workshop (25/08/2016):

The Music Society auditions were held on 25th August 2016 and a workshop on guitar and

synthesizer was held open for all for the benefit of the students. Over 75 students enthusiastically

attended the workshop despite heavy rain and gave auditions to enter the society. All those who

had attended the workshop were truly impressed and satisfied and were left longing for more

workshops in the future.

4. Convocation (29/08/2016):

Members of Aaroh performed the national song and the national anthem at the convocation in

2016. As our honorable Director said, it is always better to have talented vocalists and

instrumentalists producing music rather than a recorded album, and with such talent among its

members, Aaroh tries to be proactive and perform whether it be an institute event, a competition

or a fest.

5. Teachers’ Day (05/09/2016):

Truly blessed are we, to get such wonderful teachers and professors in this esteemed institute.

As a token of gratitude, Aaroh, the Music Society put up some performances dedicated to our

teachers on the occasion of Teachers’ Day. The newly inducted members were put to work as

they played a major role in the performances.

A Ganesha Aarti was offered first, to honour Lord Ganesha on the auspicious occasion of Ganesh

Chaturti. This was followed up by three songs, each of a different genre. The performances were

amazing, given that the time of preparation was quite less. All in all, the society put up a great

show and surely proved that it has some wonderful new talent under its wings.

6. Autumn Music Productions (11/11/2016):

On 11th November, the Music Society of IIT Bhubaneswar conducted its Autumn Productions.

The official name of the society, “Aaroh” and its logo were released on that day. A total of 13

performances were put together by the entire Music Society ranging from the first year

undergraduates to post graduate students. The musical evening was widely appreciated with the

members even churning out original renditions of famous songs. The instrumentalists

complimented the vocalists, thoroughly mesmerizing the students. Hence, it can be concluded

that the Autumn Productions 2016 was a success.

7. Republic Day (26/01/2017):

Aaroh was involved in the Republic Day celebrations as well. In addition to playing the national

song and anthem, the society members also put up two other renditions. The first one was

'Satyamev Jayate', trying to light the spark of truth and patriotism in the students, staff and

faculty. The vocally challenging song was sung by a choir of five, accompanied by the tabla and

guitars. The second track was an instrumental, that of Mahatma Gandhi's favourite prayer,

'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram'. The members of the society spent late nights coming up with their

own adaptation of the song. The creative track was played on the guitars, tabla, flute and

harmonium. The performance received praise from many members of the faculty, including the

Honorable Director, who was impressed with the growth of the society.

8) Guitar Workshop (30/01/2017):

Aaroh conducted its second workshop on guitar for all the interested people and there was

significant attendance in the workshop. Many students enthusiastically turned up to instill skills

in playing guitar.

FESTS ATTENDED:

1) Alma Fiesta (21/01/2017):

Members of Aaroh performed in Alma Fiesta, the annual social-cultural fest of our college in

various music events. As a group, seven of the members performed in Up Beat, the acoustic band

event. As individuals, the vocalists competed in the solo singing event as well as the solo acoustic

event. The instrumentalists also performed for the judges in Unplugged, the solo instrumental

event.

Out of these competitions, the society members stood first in the acoustic band event, Up Beat,

and also qualified for the finals in the other events. The students of the Music Society put on a

stellar show for the music loving audience and proved that it stands as one of the better college

music groups in Bhubaneswar, or Odisha for that matter.

2) Spring Fest (28/01/2017):

The same team of Aaroh which won the first place in Alma Fiesta went on to a much bigger stage,

Spring Fest to participate in a few of the music events there. Spring Fest is the annual cultural

fest of IIT Kharagpur. They took part in two events, the acoustic band and the acoustic solo event.

The acoustic band event, Lakeside Dreams, was a bittersweet experience. The performance was

beautiful, but it was marred by technical issues on the organizers part, and hindered the quality

of the performance. The set to be performed was both innovative and fine-tuned, with each

individual perfecting their part, and the sync of the band in coherence.

In addition to this, Shobhit Datta also participated in the solo competition of Lakeside Dreams.

He performed a melodious mash up of chartbusting western music. He was one of the better

performers in the event, narrowly missing out on a winner’s certificate.

Although the Music Society had to return home without a win and ended up in the sixth place

based on points, they showed for the first time that they are capable of competing on the bigger

stages, and that the music talent in their college is more than par, and that they will be serious

contenders for wins in upcoming events.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND FUTURE PLANS:

Aaroh won the first place in Alma Fiesta and sixth place in Spring Fest.

Aaroh, the Music Society is soon going to launch its very own Facebook page and YouTube

channel which will feature their performances in fests, covers of various songs which

people can request as well.

Aaroh will perform during Foundation Day and the Institute Day.

Aaroh will conducts its Spring Productions 2017 during the last week of March.

Aaroh wishes to participate in more upcoming fests, most notably KIITFEST, the fest of

KIIT, Bhubaneswar.

Aaroh also plans to conduct more workshops on various instruments in the immediate

future.

Aaroh, the Music Society has always been and will always be an active society which will

continue to work for the students, faculty and the institute.

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