CHAOS ERUPTS

The event that the residents of Ahmedabad have awaited with bated breath began with a bang today on the pristine grounds of the Louis Kahn Plaza (LKP) at IIM Ahmedabad (IIMA). Chaos 2004, the cultural festival of the most respected management institute in the country, took off today with an enthralling night of fusion music from two bands with very different backgrounds and styles - Antaragni, an ensemble band from Bangalore and the familiar Indian Ocean from Delhi.

As the crowds slowly filled in to capacity at the LKP, Lipton Chaos 2004 was inaugurated by Professor Bakul Dholakia, the Director of IIMA at around 8:30 pm. Following the symbolic lighting of the lamp, Prof. Dholakia, in his inaugural address, espoused the message of healthy competition amongst the various participating teams in an atmosphere of festivity and emphasized how Chaos 2004 would serve as a showcase for the organizational capabilities of the students of IIMA. Prof. Dholakia then unveiled the magnificent Chaos trophy comprising a central cylindrical shaft surrounded by a spiraling fiberglass structure, to be awarded to the college that garners the maximum number of points from the events during Chaos. Earlier in the evening IIMACTS - the theater club of IIM Ahmedabad - presented the play "Taj Mahal ka Tender" written by Ajay Shukla - a satire on building the Taj Mahal in times of democracy, bureaucracy, red tapism and corruption.

First on stage was Antargani - "the fire within" - a very exciting "rock-fusion" band from Bangalore that was playing for the first time in Ahmedabad. The band began with an upbeat number titled "Desert Blues" - off their eponymous debut album - followed by a complete set of original compositions including the two stand-out tracks "Like Cocaine" and "Hey Bhagwan!" Even though the songs were unfamiliar to the audience the band enraptured the crowd with their unique sound (the distinguishing features being the dominant role of the classical violin and the seamless transition of the vocals between Western and Eastern styles) and their range of songs (from soft love songs to foot-tapping dance numbers, the band played everything).

Next came the ever-popular Indian Ocean which has developed a large fan following in Ahmedabad. This was the band's fifth concert at IIMA and they continued to thrill the crowds with their mastery of the instruments and their beautiful combination of elements of music from all over the world. As ever, it was their two most popular numbers - "Hille LE" and "Kandissa" - that had the crowd involved on the grandest scale and begging for more. And more is exactly what Ahmedabad will get in the coming three days as Chaos takes over with the numerous cultural competitions between more than 800 students and performances by Pt. Romu Mazumdar and Hariharan tomorrow night and the rock show featuring Brahma and Claver on Sunday night.

Contributed by -
Shailey Gera,
Media Cell, Chaos Masala 2004,
IIM Ahmedabad.