From a concerned fellowmate...

This was a feedback that really touched us... Excuse the grammar and language, we have not modified this letter by any means, as its essence and depth would have been compromised...


Dear (MAD) Friends:

Congrats for doing this good job in MAD. And i wish you all sucess.

But it is not enough, Because we like to see the difference in Public not in a college. In our college the institution give payment to persons who clean the campus. I know this is our duty to do keep the campus clean, but it can't unless all the students like. If we do it or not our institution do it. But in our society nothing will do. The cleaners, scavengers are getting a monthly income they didn't or won't care about thesociety. But as the students we are the backbone, we do it as this is a service in society. I think this MAD may do manything difference in society. So plz don't waste the time in college.Take this opppurtunity to serve the nation. Plz grant my comment. We stand for you. Many students are willing to do service for the nation. And also we like to join in MAD. If u do in public places.
Because smokers, beggars, poor people, etc. and the wrong persons are not in our college. I hope in that. Make a Difference in Public. And they said about Equality, but in our campus I did not find that equality. Even between the college departmemnts. Once pachiyappas college students rag and tease our colllege students. Many of our college students watched and kept silent. I saw it. You may ask me, y udid it? This is the group work, team work, we ned co -operation (union is strenght) It will done only by team. This for example. There were many tings that happened and it will happen in the future too. We can't do anything for happened but we will do for the future. We change the future in MAD Group.Coz we have the facilitiesmoney, media, menatl power. think about it.

To Help Poor:
I have one idea, that is , in our college we spend lot of money to canteen, coffeee shop. and also for co -op stores etc...etc... So we arrange one fund from that amount.For example, if one buys a coffeee for Rs.5, we take Re.1 for the fund. This willl change one poor family or a poor society.This is one idea.
( Note: If u discuss with ur brainy group, lot of ideas will come out anddo it if possible).

As a loyolite I would like to serve the nation. I think it may give a fame to our college and us (MAD Group).

Some notes:

• Plz do this servive in public places with our institution permission.
• Plz encourage the students who were willing to do these social activities.
• Plz don't waste this oppurtunity and time.

Beacuse I am from the village, I know what will happen and also u know. Becoz you r the seniors. We are the backbone for our nation. Atleast we should march with 25% of students who were willing. ( in whole India. out of 58%)

Many films teach thsi lesson but people or students didn't follow. If we do this in real surely it make a difference.

We have the power.

I don't know english very well, if u found mistakes in my writing and my comment, or u feel bad for this comment plz. forgive me)....

P.S: DON'T DO THIS ONLY FOR PROJECT AND MARK!

G.Pradeep
08-PH-048

Report On Day 001 Interactive Session...

Interactive session, Day 1 (26 August, 2008)- 9:15am to 10:20am

Keynote Speaker: Prof. Victor Louis Anthuvan














He spoke to us about the poverty in India and our status in the world and the ways to overcome this problem which can make India a develop nation and even about the inequality to women in the society which is strictly a great problem and should be stopped.

He explained about the black money and if this comes into account we are no more poor. He finally remarked it in our hands to make India a beautiful country by forgetting the caste system and leaving it behind.


Interactive session, Day 1 (26 August, 2008)- 2:15pm to 3:45pm

Keynote speaker: Mr. Pradeep Philip, I.G.P., Chennai on Social Justice















The function began with a welcome address by 3rd year, Shift II Natasha, and then kicked off with the screenings of five Public Service Announcements (PSAs). Next was a song composed by the students, followed by the campaign brief slide show. Next was a number of short speeches by college dignitaries: the Deputy Principal, the Vice Principal, and the President of Student Affairs. Roshan, Shift II 3rd year, gave the student speaker address.

Natasha then introduced the keynote speaker, Pradhip Phillip. Pradhip Philip mainly talked about his experience as a police officer and how his efforts to confront indifference began with the confrontation of death. He narrated two experiences, one almost drowning to death and another when he was injured, near fatally, in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. He said one only knows the value of life when one is faced with its loss. To confront indifference is to require empathy, to see one’s self in another shoes, not sympathy per se. This requires us to confront the fact of creation and the miracle of creation. He then told about his efforts to reform the police in his Friends of Police program. This was introduced as an example of how complex problems are often, if not always, solvable by simple solutions. Friends of Police, he explained, was a necessary step for the change of society more generally. His “impacting the people” (his term for lecturing) was followed by a question and answer period. He explained the police procedures for admitting someone to the hospital: how it is a citizen’s duty to admit immediate care and the need for all to know about CPR; how certain hospitals are not registered/allowed to treat certain kinds of accidents, in particular legal-medical cases; and the procedures available for calling ambulances. A question was more specifically asked about the case of Naveen, the third year who died due to inability to admit in a number of hospitals and the unavailability of ambulances (as per Mr. Philip’s suggestions). Mr. Phillip explained the need for all citizens to know the types of hospitals where one can be admitted in the case of road accidents. He also fielded questions regarding the respect level and mode of interaction (often aggressive) of police officers towards otherwise polite citizens. He responded with the rate of such behavior as decreasing due to his FoP program, which he again encouraged all to join.

The session then ended with a memento presented to the keynote speaker and to the deputy principal. A music video created by the 3rd year Vis Comm. students, as well as a number of other PSAs (which were not screened in the first session).

Theatrically Yours...

“To break through language in order to touch life is to create or recreate the theatre.”

-Antonin Artaud

Touching life is the core intention of our campaign - to reach out to people and awaken their consciousness - and what better way to do so than through the medium of street theatre?

We aim to enact the current indifference so widespread in our society and provoke the need for a reversal of the situation.

We wish to capture our audience’s attention and dramatize the situation so that a permanent impression is left. Our objective is to mobilize them to act through our enactment.

Through short skits of 5-10 minutes in duration ( dialogue will be a mix of English and Tamil) our skit will strike at the core message -INDIFFERENCE. Indifference with respect to the following topics

• Saving lives
• Crimes that happen in front of us
• Public smoking
• Our environment
• Inequality

So follow the loud drum rolls and head towards the gathering crowd coz that’s going to be us!

The MaD Hatter On Campaign Day 001...

There was something in the air, people felt the buzz, I felt the scare, there were questioning glances and there was M.a.D. The dark crusaders had arrived. M.a.D day 1 had begun. Entering the campus you are initially hit by the calm before the storm, a meek banner beckons you and shyly informs you that there is something called M.a.D happening and in a ritual fashion, you walk away and all is well but wait did I mention the dead body that lay near the parking lot?

A Dynamite is not a welcoming site, neither are huge imposing cigarettes. Madness, madness, madness!! Why us and why now…. The only difference it made was that the dustbins and the trees looked a wee bit colorful. A waste of money, a jobless recreation, a viscom charade?
If a fashion parade and a prof out of uniform, is not factor enough to make you get confused then you should have listened to the assault of your ear drum. Music played, a very unapologetic tone and surprise surprise it was catchy and a bit hummable. Still why the hype?

The friendly daily announcer came to my rescue and finally sanity was restored to my befuddled senses. So it was just some M.a D campaign…..

Uhmm…well not exactly it was nice uhmm… fine it was MAD.

They creeped up on us silently and in the deafening silence, the winds of change blew. M.a.D makes you think, M.a.D halts you in the tracks and hey M.a.D is infectious. They say a party is a success if you are kicked out of your own house and in true m.a.d style the entire Vis com ensemble was kicked out and I wasn’t surprised to see smiles all around.

And there were the videos and there were the tears, for some it seemed reality was shocking them senseless, for some it was time for pensive thoughts for others it was their personal call for action. The public service announcements were a crazy mixture, you laughed and you felt guilty….you wept and you felt happy, you understood yet you were angry and somewhere in between you had gone mad. You had become a part of the mad family. Suddenly, the guy in the corner was no longer a stranger as the realization dawned that he had the power to save your life someday. It was good to be M.a.D.

There are noises you associate with death; change the context and similar sounds spell change. The street theater crossed the barriers of fiction, when a live replication of a bike accident saw people running to beat up the fast absconding biker as a girl’s frantic screams saw the audience seemingly cross over from being spectators to people of action. There is hope or all of us after all. Loyola helps and helps how and surprisingly Loyola cares.

Always eat at the place where there is a crowd. Good advice. Works I guess when it comes to other attractions as well. So following the crowd though took me to a yellow maze. Cool but disappointingly small….Wasn’t any self respecting maze supposed to be big? He… he… I will not spoil the suspense… it was enriching fun. Sometimes getting lost can teach us a lot. If this experience mad, contradictly it was serene as well. You have to admit, though a bit reluctantly that though it is not big… it is something. A voice in the wilderness calls out. The voice in not alone, there are murmurs, there is a buzz, there is a disturbance in the air and understandably, M.a.D has arrived. What was once a solitary voice in the desert has become the cry of a group… guess there is only one way to go, to go the M.a D way.

Maybe helping to create better tomorrows is not such a bad job after all.

P.s: The music was actually great. Well should be considering I can’t get that blasted tune out of my head. As for the jingle…..the bathroom is not the only place where I am singing it.