July 2008

Outreach

"Indiana Jones" at Chennai Outreach

June 14th, 2008

The Chennai Outreach was a grand event, attended by around 300 members. The Alumni came with family, eager to catch up with old friends and met not only their fellow batch-mates but also seniors and juniors across all the IITs.

The atmosphere was charged with infectious energy. After a high tea, some catching up and many private conversations, the Alumni headed for the recently renovated Central Lecture Theatre.

Opening Ceremony
The evening began with a 'Lighting the Lamp' ceremony. Prof. M. S. Ananth, Director IIT Madras did the honours. The auspicious beginning was carried forward by the Welcome address by Mr. Srini Nageshwar, President, IIT Madras Alumni Association.

Prof. Ananth then spoke for a brief while and shared the events lined up for PAN IIT 2008.

Presentation
Mr. B. Santhanam, Managing Director, Saint Gobain Glass India and the Chairperson, PAN IIT- 2008 made a presentation highlighting various facets, aspects, avenues and opportunities for the participants, followed by the Curtain Raiser movie ? which culminated with overwhelming applause.

Cultural Program
The evening's cultural program featured an innovative blend of the classical and folk Indian arts - focusing on dance and percussion. Swathi Kamakshi Ravi and Ravi Balasubramanian, a dynamic duo with extensive experience in the Indian arts presented the program. All were astounded by the mathematical precision with which the artistes performed.

Vote of Thanks
Mrs. N. Alamelu delivered the Vote of Thanks, with a special mention of Firstsource, a leading provider of business process management services - for sponsoring the Chennai Outreach.

Dinner & Movie
Dinner was served in the adjacent building at IC&SR. The dinner spread included a wide range of delicacies catering to all tastes. The families then headed towards the Open Air Theatre (OAT) for the grand finale ? the Movie "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skull".

PAN IIT appreciates Alumni
Artistes Swathi Kamakshi Ravi and Ravi Balasubramanian who performed at the Chennai Outreach are the Son and Daughter-in-law of an Alumnus from the IIT Madras, 1966 Batch.

With this performance, PAN IIT has set yet another precedence to showcase the talents (Artistic and Otherwise) of IIT Alumni's kith and kin.

Chennai Outreach in the News
The Chennai Outreach got a roaring response from the Media. Major Newspapers like The Hindu, New Indian Express, Deccan Chronicle, certain vernacular and online media resources covered the event.