Mood Indigo 2017: Here's what's planned over Day 1 of IIT-Bombay's cultural festival

If Mood Indigo — IIT-Bombay’s annual inter-collegiate cultural festival, and the biggest event of its kind in Asia — began with a bang, with a meet-and-greet with Akshay Kumar, then it was scheduled to end on a high note with a performance by London-based progressive metal band Haken. MoodI (as the fest is popularly called) is taking place over 22-25 December this year, and La Fête Carnaval is the theme of this edition. Accordingly, the Powai campus of IIT-B has been transformed into a carnival-like space, with carousels, jesters, fire performers and general festivities all around. Day One saw Akshay Kumar drop by the IIT-B campus to talk about his film Padman, and the importance of menstrual hygiene. Along with Kumar, director R Balki and the real-life ‘Padman’ — Arunachalam Muruganantham, on whom the film is based — also took to the stage to interact with students. Muruganantham spoke about how he launched his sanitary napkin revolution in India. [caption id=“attachment_4271321” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  A Muruganantham with R Balki and Akshay Kumar at Day one of Mood Indigo. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@iitb_moodi[/caption] Day One promised a lot more to the students from across Indian colleges who made their way to IIT-B for MoodI. On the competitions front, there were elimination rounds held for a score of events — Poetry Slam, Speak Up, Surshringaar (solo classical music), Third Bell, Double Trouble (duet dance), Aagaaz, Pantomath (general quiz), Desi Beats, Monostrokes, Chef’s Corner, Nrityanjali (solo classical dance), MI Idol (solo Hindi singing) and MI’Nem (solo rap) among them. Competitions at Mood Indigo are the place to be if you pursue proficiency in any form of art, and students from across 1,700 Indian colleges made their presence felt at the fest last year. A similar number is expected to participate this year as well. [caption id=“attachment_4271413” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Scenes from Day One of Mood I. Photos courtesy: Twitter/@iitb_moodi[/caption] Apart from the competitions, the informals are another set of events there’s a lot of excitement around. Day One had events like laser tag, crime scene investigation, kabaddi and boardgames planned. Among the most important events in the informals were the group discussions for the Mr and Miss MI contest. If the competitions are about putting your best foot forward, then the informals at Mood Indigo are all about embracing your spontaneous, unconventional and wacky side. Among the most interesting line-up of events on Day One was in the horizons segment. Humourfest (which had Mallika Dua as a special guest), Fringe Fest (featuring Katie Oliveira), a fashion workshop with Neeta Lulla, and dance theatre with Alexx Alexxander were among the highlights planned for Day One. For the night — a bartending workshop, guitar lessons, and a flea market. [caption id=“attachment_4271379” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Mallika Dua at HumourFest. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@iitb_moodi[/caption] Through the day, a number of activities were scheduled on the sidelines of Mood Indigo as well. From ‘soapy football’ to shooting giant basketball hoops, gaming, archery, zorbing, there were fun options aplenty for anyone looking to unwind with friends. What everyone was looking forward to of course, was the Live Wire Night, featuring Haken. Since its induction in 2008, the LWN has witnessed acts by bands like EPICA, Porcupine Tree, Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy, Simple Plan, Katatonia and many others. Its intention is to promote indie music in the country, and opening for Haken are the F16s, and the top three Live Wire bands. We’ll be providing previews and updates from all four days of Mood Indigo. Stay tuned. Here’s a look at the complete schedule of events for Day One of Mood Indigo: