A Beginner's Guide to Malhar

Okay, this post is for all you newbies out there who have come to Xavier's, heard about Malhar, and are as lost about it as I was when i first came through those stony arches. Here's a brief on what it's all about.

1. Malhar is an intercollege festival. What this means is that for three days, students from other colleges are going to be traipsing through our corridors, taking part in the best contest people from our college can devise and the college can fund. The whole thing is student organised.

2.Preparation for Malhar starts from NOW. This will goon till august when the 3 actual event days take place.

3. What to do at Malhar-

Organisation- You can be a part of bringing the whole festival to life. This usually is a lot of fun. Its great for making friends(who keep you posted on other fun extracurricular events), and also getting to know the people who inhabit other colleges around Mumbai. In short, its stone one to step on for all things intercollege.

The organisation of Malhar is separated into Departments. To the best of my knowledge they are as follows:

Administration- D-uh, they look after the functioning of everything else. Lots of paper work. Plenty of power. Best place to be for a view of EVERYTHING that happens.

Assistance- By far the most annoying of all departments. They basically make sure everything runs smoothly on the day of Malhar. Joining assistance, you will have the pleasure of telling foreigners(from other colleges) where they are and yelling at people not to block corridors. In the process you will also be yelling at plenty of people from other departments, which is why you are annoying.

Security- These guys(and gals) sit around all day at the gate taking things from people who come in(you have to give them back) and frisking them. A select few also prowl the grounds of Xaviers making sure noone does anything unruly(yeah right).

Graphixx- This department should be fun. They are behind all the posters and banners and other graphix you'll see in Malhar(as in you will actually draw them). Calligraphy is also important, they have the Major task of writing out all the certificates.

Finance- Money matters. If you wanted to be an accountant all your life.

Marketing- These guys have a lot of fun(and a lot of work) they get to travel all around the city tracking down sponsors. You get to talk to alot of people, like newspapers, cola company representatives, etc. Gives you at least some sort of real life event management experience.

PR- Dealing with press agents etc. Also supposed to be fun.

Souveniers- I think the title explains itself.

Comps- Ah yes, if your a geek, you will love this one. You get to design and set up most things comp-related in Malhar, mainly the interfaces used in many events. They depend on you.

TEX- These guys should have been mentioned earlier. They are the backbone of Malhar on event day. They are responible for everything, lighting, sound etc. Its alot of work.

Logs- Another very important group. They are the ants of Malhar, responsible for every heavy thing that is moved. They set up the benches, chairs, etc.

Hospitality- Make sure that the Malhar organisation is well fed.

Raga- If you are interested in Journalism, this should be good. They produce the Official Malhar Newspaper. Writers, Cartoonists, this department beckons!

All the above was the support team for the festivals at Malhar. Now for the departments that organise the actual events. The face of Malhar. All of these departments decide exactly what contests will take place. They decide the rules, the judges, the prizes. Great chance for innovation when you are higher up in the organisation. These guys also meet the most number of people from other colleges. They get to sit in for most of the contests and watch the actual events take place. They also have other tasks.

PA- Performing arts. Plays, dances, singing, etc. Hindi and English. Lots of backstage work.

FA- Fine arts. Painting, sculpting, etc. You get to do alot of work yourself, setting up posters, props, and the FA exhibiton. Very messy.

ETC- Some contests, mostly poplar events such as bands, DJs etc. Hold the fort in the Foyer and First Quad. Lots of fun.

WINC- workshops that coul be anything from greek acting to papaer airplane construction. These are not contests, just fun things for Malhar-goers to do.

LA- Literary Arts. Labeled as the ultimate geek squad. What they do is handle events like quizzes, writing, script writing(of any sort), dumb charades(you won't believe how serious that is on the intercollege level) debates, etc. And of course, the all important JAM. As an LA person, you will collect qiz questions, set up props and be present on event day. You will also run the Book Exhibition.



Well, that's about it. I'm sorry if i've left anything out. I was only an LA volunteer for 1 year, so I'm by far not the most knowledgable. Inside a department, there is an OC, who is the head. There are OGs who look after different events or aspects and make most of the decisions. The last are the volunteers who do MAINLY GRUNGE WORK. As a volunteer, ther is little chance to forward ideas of your own,but it is fun, and you get to learn alot.

All members of the organisation are chosen through interview, which can be formal or pointless depending on the mood of your interviewer. So have some material ready just in case. Having friends also helps(in fact helps the most)

Participation- The other thing to do is actually compete in events. The events change every year, but basically involve serious skills like singig or acting or less serious skills like just being funny. Either way, as college begins keep an eye on the boards at the gate and in the foyer, that is where audition announcements come out. Usually they appear shortly before the audition, so you have to be ready to act fast. Also, the unfortunate fact is, until you know people in college noone will help you with these things. You're just gonna have to suck in your gut and go for it.

There are two ways to participate. You can represent your college, winning points for them in the festival for the over-all prize. This is slightly more structured and you'll be better informed, and have a better chance to be in other events. On the downside, you are responsible to the Contingent, so less chance to chicken out in the end. But you can also go as an On The Spot Entry(OTSE) in most events, which means you're playing for yourself, regardless of what the people at your audition tell you. And to be frank, with the present state of Contingent organisation, the auditions are not always right......

Being a participant puts you in direct contact with people from other colleges. It also gets you ready for other intercollege festivals, wherein you can go to other colleges with full attendance. Also, the prizes in most events are good. And if you are serious, diligent and lucky, participating in events can be your stepping stone into a non-academic career. Best of all, you get to have fun.

Is Malhar over-hyped, pointless, for a select few, boring, too time consuming?

It is hyped, who cares if it is overhyped? Fun is more important.

Pointless? No. Read the above carefully.

For a select few? The most common excuse for not having dipped into Malhar is, its not for me, for those people maybe, but not for me. This is complete rubbish. Like St Xaviers college itself, you will always find like minded people, people who do it your way. Don't be scared, take the plunge. If you own a St Xaviers ID, Malhar is yours.

Boring, time consuming? The answer to both questions is entirely in your hands. If you take part set to feel bored, you will be. If you are looking for fun, you will find it. If you are busy with studies, you can find something to do that wastes time accordingly. Its all up to you.

That's about all i can think of for now. Any corrections are welcome. Toodles.