The inaugural function of the IIT’s Alcheringa-2004 festival. Picture by Eastern Projections

Jan. 30: The much-awaited Alcheringa fever has finally gripped the residents of the city with Mito, the Indo-German jazz band, making the audience roll on their heels this evening. The crowds went delirious with the band’s blend of squealing tablas and wistful flute ragas.

The heavy 40,000-watt music system added to the lively mood and kept the audience swinging and swirling to the beats. The IIT festival started with a drama event in the morning followed by a choreography contest. As many as 15 teams are participating in the festival.

Mito, an Indo-German fusion band, has flutist Deepak Sharma from Guwahati as one of the band members. The band comprises musicians Deepak Sharma and Subrata Manna, vibraphonist Ralf Kamphius and guitarist Torge Niemann, both Germans. Pepsi is the main sponsor of the event. The other sponsors include KVIC, TATA TISCON, The Telegraph, State Bank of India, Trilogy, Pizzeria, Duke, Amul, Door Chester Caterers, Parle, HDFC, VLCC and Jungle Travels.

For those interested in classic rock, a show featuring Vaayu group will be held tomorrow. The band has four members with a rich experience in classic rock. They play numbers from Deep Purple, Rainbow, Whitesnake, Rush, Satriani, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, and are currently regarded as the best classic rock band in the country. They have performed on various occasions in Pune, Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi, and this is the first time that they are performing in the Northeast.

The western music evening featuring Indian Ocean will be on February 1. This four-member band comprising Susmit Sen, Rahul Ram, Amit Kilam and Asheem Chakravarty has been enthralling music lovers for the past 11 years all over the country. They have released three extremely successful albums — Indian Ocean, Desert Rain and Kandisa. The band has toured four continents with great success.

The band many a time uses vocals as another instrument. This beautiful concoction of fusion rock replete with Indian sounds has won them rave reviews all over the globe. “The concert at the IIT, Guwahati, has been organised on a huge scale. With a sound of 40,000 watts and imported lights, the organisers have tried to create an ambience for Indian Ocean’s kind of music. The concert promises to be absolutely unforgettable,” an organiser said.

Alcheringa-2004 will also have a khadi fashion show by designer and choreographer Prasantt Ghosh. Models from Calcutta like Tina Mukherjee and Moshumi Das will be part of the show, which is sponsored by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).