 Shaastra: An engineer’s paradise
 As the
Indian Institute of Technology Madras revs up to put the finishing touches on one of the most popular technical festivals in the country -
Shaastra, technology students from around the country will be gearing up to experience the superior vistas that Shaastra proffers. This year this technological juggernaut will roll into Chennai on October 8 and will be in the city till October 10.
Shaastra is probably the only place in India where engineering in its full glory is exhibited in an intellectual carnival peopled with visionaries, scientists and inventors. Videoconferencing with Nobel laureates and eminent international technologists, in-person lectures by brilliant leaders of business, technology and industry, live demonstrations of cutting-edge products by leading companies - anyone looking for a reason to be proud of being an engineer, look no further. The inspiration and imagination that such contacts stimulate are the provenances of innovation and creation.
 Competitions are the mainstay of Shaastra, but most competitions here are hands-on, requiring participants to actually create something using their engineering skill to meet particular objectives. This time, participants can try their hand at making missiles to hit a particular target or make programs to hack into a secure system. For the first time, a competition especially for inventors - students will have to create hardware design to solve any real life problem…this could be anything, from the mundane (automatic back scratchers) to the sophisticated (jet propelled race cars!).
The ethos of IIT has always been to engineer for society. Shaastra takes up the cudgels for the less favoured by encouraging engineering design solutions to real life problems posed by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF) which encourages invention in the rural areas to target local difficulties. Winners of the 'Engenious' competition will even be funded by NIF to get their product in a marketable form!
To give a feel of the invention revolution sweeping the villages of India, Shaastra, in conjunction with NIF and GIAN (Grassroots Innovators Augmentation Network), will be organising a special exhibition where rural innovators will showcase their inventions. This promises to be a great meeting of scientific cultures where the elite engineering students can interact with grassroots-level innovators who have created mind-blowing but very simple inventions to solve their daily
problems.
 Chances are you might bump into a boy from Assam demonstrating a cycle which derives energy by going over bumpy roads or a farmer from
Gujarat whose pressure cooker requires no stove, or even a Rajasthani who harnessed wind energy for
electricity for home use! The objective of this exhibition will be to get as many students as possible involved with these projects in order to improve and mass produce them.
Shaastra 2002 witnessed the creation of a world’s largest paper bridge.
This time a novel record is being aimed at - India’s tallest tensegrity communication tower built entirely by students. A tensegrity tower is made up of ropes and solid bars with no two bars touching each other. From a distance, the tower appears to be an ethereal construction of sticks hanging in mid air. You have to see it to believe it!
As always, Shaastra promises to be a treasure trove of information, ideas and edutainment. And what better way than to have a quiz? Shaastra has enough quizzes and quiz-like events to keep all those quiz freaks occupied on all days. There will be movies and documentaries running throughout the day on special screens for all those who just want to relax (after listening to an extremely complicated paper presentation perhaps!) and informal technical events too.
Shaastra has the distinction of being the only student-organised event in India to be
ISO 9001 certified for its quality management programme. Hence all participants can be assured of impeccable organisation and meticulousness in events and hospitality. Ultimately, Shaastra is a great place to meet a variegated mix of students from all over the country. It boasts the highest number of outstation participants for any festival in India!
Shaastra promises to be an entertaining, illuminating and educative extravaganza. Whether you are a computer geek with a head full of algos or a novice looking for intellectual stimulation, Shaastra has something for everyone!
For more information on the magnificence that is Shaastra, visit the website
www.shaastra.org. After one visit to Shaastra the term 'Spirit of Engineering' will take on a new meaning altogether.
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