Shaastra legacy of lame websites continues!
Hi,
Shaastra is the technological festival of IIT Madras, and undoubtedly, the closest any other Indian fest can get to Techfest in scale, level of participation and sponsorship. Under such conditions, it is imperative that an event dreaming to become internationally accepted should have a good, if not an awesome website.
Now, I am a very benign person, who hardly ever ridicules anyone (except perhaps Bandho), let alone a website. But this is an opportunity I cannot miss. Every July, I keep a weary eye out to see new problem statements uploaded on Shaastra and TF websites, and the shaastra website never fails to disappoint.
The home page goes something like this:
There will be heartbreak and fireworks.
Oh my, I haven't had heartbreak since winter of 2008.
There will be flashes of inspiration that suddenly whip you up into a whirlwind. You will ride a high wave, and almost believe it will never crash on the shore.
omfg!
You will learn to persist. You'll persevere against all odds, and battle it out for the idea that has gripped your imagination.
I really hope I don't have to do it for my survival, let alone for a college fest
There will be lasers slicing the darkness, the whites of over six thousand pairs of eyes glinting as the beams dance around.
ok
There will be all your friends and acquaintances jumping with joy and fisting the air, hooting and hugging.
I am sure this will be happening in Bombay, where my friends and acquaintances would be, while I would be in Madras.
There will be mustard stains on your newly purchased I might actually faint Imagineer tshirt as you try to solve the day's puzzles and problem statements standing at the food stalls with a neglected burger in your hand. Trust me, I've been to Shaastra, and nothing like this happens
There will be hollering, there will be noise, there will be spirited sportsmanship, there will be bursts of genius, there will be gigantic blunders that make everyone cry with laughter, and there will be engineering.
Is it just me, or does anyone else notice the excessive abuse of the phrase "There will be" ?
For five days in October, every day will be a Sunday. A Sunday with airplanes flying through the air, some never taking off, and some trying hard to.
I think this happens on every Sunday, and there is nothing special about Shaastra that makes it happen.
I encourage everyone to visit the Shaastra website and laugh your guts out. None of the problem statements are framed nicely, nor is complete info given, and the updates page is simply ridiculous. I mean, what's the point in saying "Shaastra 2010 website launched" on that same website? I remember them goofing up last year, and I see them goofing up this year too. There is some serious trouble in the shaastra managing team which needs to be sorted out, or else, it will always remain the #2 biggest festival in India.
Shaastra is the technological festival of IIT Madras, and undoubtedly, the closest any other Indian fest can get to Techfest in scale, level of participation and sponsorship. Under such conditions, it is imperative that an event dreaming to become internationally accepted should have a good, if not an awesome website.
Now, I am a very benign person, who hardly ever ridicules anyone (except perhaps Bandho), let alone a website. But this is an opportunity I cannot miss. Every July, I keep a weary eye out to see new problem statements uploaded on Shaastra and TF websites, and the shaastra website never fails to disappoint.
The home page goes something like this:
There will be heartbreak and fireworks.
Oh my, I haven't had heartbreak since winter of 2008.
There will be flashes of inspiration that suddenly whip you up into a whirlwind. You will ride a high wave, and almost believe it will never crash on the shore.
omfg!
You will learn to persist. You'll persevere against all odds, and battle it out for the idea that has gripped your imagination.
I really hope I don't have to do it for my survival, let alone for a college fest
There will be lasers slicing the darkness, the whites of over six thousand pairs of eyes glinting as the beams dance around.
ok
There will be all your friends and acquaintances jumping with joy and fisting the air, hooting and hugging.
I am sure this will be happening in Bombay, where my friends and acquaintances would be, while I would be in Madras.
There will be mustard stains on your newly purchased I might actually faint Imagineer tshirt as you try to solve the day's puzzles and problem statements standing at the food stalls with a neglected burger in your hand. Trust me, I've been to Shaastra, and nothing like this happens
There will be hollering, there will be noise, there will be spirited sportsmanship, there will be bursts of genius, there will be gigantic blunders that make everyone cry with laughter, and there will be engineering.
Is it just me, or does anyone else notice the excessive abuse of the phrase "There will be" ?
For five days in October, every day will be a Sunday. A Sunday with airplanes flying through the air, some never taking off, and some trying hard to.
I think this happens on every Sunday, and there is nothing special about Shaastra that makes it happen.
I encourage everyone to visit the Shaastra website and laugh your guts out. None of the problem statements are framed nicely, nor is complete info given, and the updates page is simply ridiculous. I mean, what's the point in saying "Shaastra 2010 website launched" on that same website? I remember them goofing up last year, and I see them goofing up this year too. There is some serious trouble in the shaastra managing team which needs to be sorted out, or else, it will always remain the #2 biggest festival in India.
Comments
But there are a few more notable things about Shaastra that you clearly missed out:
Firstly, Shaastra is the world's first technical festival to be ISO certified for it's quality. Now Shaastra doesn't need blogposts and posters and a *flashy* website to boast about it's greatness. It's a certified fact.
Secondly, Shaastra is TOTALLY student run which means that these people sit and make their website themselves. Techfest has a more flashy website, but how much of it really do you make? In fact, how much of tech fest do you make?
Thirdly, Shaastra doesn't believe in style over substance for getting sponsors. Shaastra has been attracting amazing sponsors over the years and will continue to do so - purely based on the substance it has.
Well, you may laugh at the website, but i think it's a pretty neat job for a bunch of undergrads to come up with such a website in a matter of weeks.
And btw, you need some engineering brains to appreciate the content. You clearly seem to have got lucky to be sitting in an IIT!
And finally, please ensure that you do not attend Shaastra. It's meant for the Imagineers of the country who are willing to make an Impact.