Antaragni'14

Antaragni is the cultural festival of IIT Kanpur. With more than 1500 colleges tested in the fire of Antaragni for four days to identify the champions, Antaragni has become a perfect platform to showcase one’s talent and dedication.

Antaragni has been graced by some of the great artists of the Indian Music Industry, who have performed live in front of a crowd of more than 10,000 during the festival, like Sonu Nigam, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, SunidhiChauhan and bands like The Indian Ocean. Not just limited to that, Antaragni has been a host for highly acclaimed international artists like Cleva Girls, The Flying Eyes, The Bonny Men, etc.

IIT Kanpur is believed to be the intellectual hub of the nation and a reflection of this is evident in the professional event “India Inspired”,  a panel discussion where experts like Anna Hazare, Brinda Karat and S.Y. Qureshi have given their opinion on problems and solutions in the past.

The campus gets completely transformed in the four days of Antaragni. During this time, a variety of competitions and workshops are organized; a few of the truly entertaining events are Mridaksh (Personality Contest), India Haat, Director’s Cut, KaviSammelan, Calypso, etc. Students from various colleges compete against each other in the fields of Dance, Dramatics, Musicals, Fine Arts, Films and photography as well as English and Hindi literary events. This is also the time when glamour is at its best in the campus with a large number of Bollywood celebrities gracing the campus along with a successful fashion show, Ritambhara!

Over the years Antaragni has stood for change and inspiration. Continuing its legacy, this year’s theme is “AhamBhokalam”, reminding us that we can be what we want to be. It inspires us to find new meaning in conventional wisdom. It comes with a sense of duty, demanding us to accept various cultures and people of different ideologies with utmost dignity and respect.

Social initiatives of Antaragni have always tried to infuse a change in the society.This time Antaragni is proud to receive patronage from UNIC (United Nation Information Centre for India & Bhutan)for its Road Safety campaign “Zara SambhalKe”.It tries to make people more responsible towards road safety, not only for themselves but also for others.

Antaragni with its motto “Unleash the fire within” is once again all set to inspire everyone. The four days from 9^th to 12^thOctober will seein numerous dreams coming alive and many battles won. To end, Antaragni’s ideology will resonate through the theme “AhamBhokalam”- ‘I am Excellence’.

A hero for Unsung Heroes: Amol Muzumdar

Indian Domestic Cricket has given lots of talented cricketer to this country. Some of them played an exceptional cricket at International arena and some were not able to carry the same. Out of these there were some cricketers who made a mark at the domestic level but didn’t get a single chance to play in Indian National Cricket Team. One of those cricketers is “Amol Muzumdar “.

Amol Muzumdar was born on 11 November 1974. He had started playing cricket from childhood. He did his schooling from SharadashramVidyamandir where Sachin Tendulkar and VinodKambli were his schoolmates. He was also coached by RamakantAchrekar. When Sachin Tendulkar and VindoKambli made a record 664 run partnerships for their school in a Harris Shield match, Muzumdar was the next batsman in.Muzumdar make his debut for Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1993-94 against Haryana in a Ranji Pre Quarter Final. It was a dream debut he scored 260 on his debut which is still a record of highest run on debut. Before him this record was held by AmaarjitKaypee.

He was appointed as the Vice Captain of India under 19 Cricket Team for the tour of England in 1994. He also played for India A side in 1994-95 where Rahul Dravid and SouravGanguly were his team mates. Because of hiselegant batting style everyone looked him as “new Tendulkar”.

He had an average of 50 in domestic cricket at that time but he was never got a chance to play in Indian National Cricket Team and his Team mates Sachin , Rahul and Ganguly made their way into the Indian National Cricket Team.

Muzumdar scored four hundreds in 1996-97 Ranji Trophy and 97 in Irani Trophy. In 2002-03 he got a bad patch and decided to leave the cricket in 2003. But his willpower helped him to come back in domestic cricket. In 2006-07 he was given captaincy of Mumbai Ranji Team on full time basis and led his team to won that season of Ranji Trophy.

In January 2007 he surpassed Ashok Mankad and became the highest-ever run scorer in Ranji Trophy Matches for Mumbai.

In august 2009 he was left out of team for BuchiBabutournament and enduring this he was not selected for Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy in September 2009.So he decided to play for Aasam.

In October 2012 he signed a two year contract with Andhra Pradesh Ranji Team. In 2012 he scored five hundreds in the season.

Muzumdar announced his retirement from his long 21 year Domestic Cricket on 25^th September 2014. When this news went between cricket fraternities everyone praised and applaud his career.

Sachin Tendulkar tweeted “Amol's spirit left a mark and batting made a statement. Best wishes and welcome to the band of retired! “

VVS Laxman tweeted “Congrats Amol Muzumdar on a outstanding career. One of the few cricketers who took a lot of pride playing 1st class cricket”

Rohit Sharma tweeted “Amol Muzumdar the unsung hero of Mumbai cricket retires leaving behind a tremendous record! Always put his whole heart into his game”

AjinkyaRahanetweeted “An unsung hero. A great team man.Extraordinary cricketer .A great guide.Amol Muzumdar cricket will miss you”

Amol Muzumdar had played 171 First Class Match in which he scored 11167 runs with 30 hundreds and 60 half centuries. Also he holds the record of highest run scored on debut -260 against Haryana at Faridabad, which is his highest score in Domestic Matches.

Amol Muzumdar will be remembered as a hero of unsung heroes who were never got a chance to play in Indian National Cricket Team ever.

Sports Editor - Chirag Joshi