Antaragni

This article is about the IIT Kanpur cultural festival. For the Indian fusion music band, see Antaragni (band).

Antaragni (English: "the fire within") is an annual cultural festival of the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, usually held in October.^[1] Established in 1965, the four-day-long festival attracts participants from over 350 colleges in India and has garnered substantial media attention over the years.^[2] It features professional shows, competitions, musical performances, DJs, fashion shows, Indian folk dances, and more.

Antaragni
Antaragni logo
Status	Active
Genre	Cultural festival
Dates	17 October 2024 – 20 October 2024
Frequency	Annual
Venue	Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Location(s)	Kanpur
Country	India
Years active	1965–present
Inaugurated	1965; 60 years ago (1965)
Most recent	17 October 2024 – 20 October 2024
Attendance	130,000+ (2019)
Patron(s)	Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Organised by	Student body, IIT Kanpur
Website	antaragni.in

History

Vishwa Mohan Bhatt performing at Antaragni in 2006

Antaragni began as an inter-collegiate cultural event in 1965. The name of the festival was changed from Culfest to Antaragni in 1993, 27 years after its inception.^{[citation needed]} The festival is entirely organised by students of IIT Kanpur,^[3] with the Antaragni chairperson being the only faculty member on the team.^{[citation needed]} Over 350 Indian colleges have participated in the event.^[4]

Performances

• 2006 – Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Astad Deboo.^[5]
• 2016 – Mike Candys, Sartek, Demonic Resurrection, Madboy Mink, Adnan Sami.^[4]
• 2017 – DJ KSHMR, Vishal–Shekhar, Euphoria, Skyharbor.^{[citation needed]}
• 2018 – Amit Trivedi, DJ Quintino, The Local Train, Guthrie Govan.^{[citation needed]}
• 2019 – Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonsa.^{[citation needed]}
• 2020 – comedians Abhishek Upmanyu, Aakash Gupta, and Harsh Gujral; musicians The Yellow Diary and Sonu Nigam.^{[citation needed]}
• 2021 – Ritviz, Sunidhi Chauhan.^{[citation needed]}

Notable events

• India Inspired – political forum that involves politicians, leaders, and media personalities^[6] and where socially relevant issues are discussed, with an emphasis on youth culture. In past years, it has witnessed participation from the student community.^{[citation needed]} Speakers at this event have included Telugu film director Sekhar Kammula, CBSE chairman Vineet Joshi, and actress, singer, and social activist Vasundhara Das.^{[citation needed]}
• Kavi Sammelan – poetry competition. It has included appearances by painter, professor, poet, and film lyricist Rahat Indori and poet Kirti Kale.^[7]
• Filmmaking contests – judges have included Abbas Tyrewala and Luv Ranjan.^[8]
• Hindi literary events – judges have included Hindi authors Nasira Sharma, Leeladhar Jagudi, and Ravindra Prabhat.^[9]