Jan. 6: The ninth edition of Alcheringa, the annual festival of IIT, Guwahati, kicked off today with a subdued note as the wannabe technocrats remembered the victims of the December 26 tsunami disaster and pledged to collect funds for the survivors.

The convener of Alcheringa 2005, Gurpreet Singh, said the festival has a serious side this year apart from the fanfare and merrymaking. ?We have to raise funds for the tsunami victims. Donation boxes have been put up at the entrance and exit points of the festival venue. Visitors to the festival can donate any amount of money.?

Apart from doing their bit for the tsunami survivors, the organisers of the four-day extravaganza will hold workshops and programmes on HIV/AIDS awareness.

Inaugurating the event, the director of the institution, Gautom Baruah, exhorted the students to maintain dignity in every sphere of life. ?Festivals like Alcheringa highlight the immense power and potential of youths who can mould the destiny of the country.?

Alcheringa, meaning ?dream time? in the language spoken by the native aborigines of Australia, is one of the most vibrant functions in the IIT calendar. Thousands of enthusiasts visit the sprawling IIT campus during this period.

Baruah congratulated the students for successfully hosting the past events and hoped that the ninth edition would be even grander.

After its inception in 1996, the festival has been offering events to match the wit, skill and talent of various participants through innovative competitions.

For those looking for fun tomorrow, there will be Saaz, a classical function, featuring santoor player Pandit Bhajan Sapori, who has studied western classical music at the Washington University, and Pandit Sukhamoy Banerjee on the tabla.

The convener of the event said the campus would register the maximum number of footfall from tomorrow onwards. Apart from classical music, the organisers have lined up a fashion show by Prasanta Ghosh and a game show, titled Enemy Within.

The organisers said over 20,000 visitors and participants from IIT Kharagpur, IT Bhubaneswar, NIT Silchar, Nerist Itanagar, NIT Jamshedpur, Presidency and St Stephens of Calcutta are expected to take part in the festival.

The celeb list includes KK in the Indian music contest, Mother Jane in the rock section and model Noyonika Chatterjee in the fashion segment.

The choreographer and designer for the show are Sandeep Cherian, Prasant Sinha and Esther Chophi.