Of the techies, by the techies, for the techies

Thiruvananthapuram: The Technopark campus here is abuzz with preparations for the formal launch of Natana, a cultural club that is expected to provide a platform for artistically inclined IT professionals to express their creative talent. Preparations are in full swing for the launch function to be held at the amphitheatre on the campus. Employees from various companies are participating in the rehearsal of a stage show to follow the inauguration.

Promoted by Technopark and the Group of Technology Companies (GTech), Natana seeks to promote creative arts among the IT professionals.

Actor Prithviraj Sukumaran is scheduled to launch Natana. He will also launch the theme song that has been composed for the inauguration.

The song has been composed by a team drawn from different companies. While professionals from MSquared composed the music and sang the theme song, a team from UST Global contributed the lyrics. Employees of IBS and Allianz Cornhill provided the background score.

The function will also witness a cultural collage of talent from Technopark, with participants from 40 companies. The grand finale will be a performance by the Avial Band.

K. Suresh Kumar, IT Secretary; Dr. Venu, Secretary-Tourism and Culture; Mervin Alexander, CEO, Technopark; and V.K. Mathews, Chairman GTech, are expected to attend the function.

Natana has been created on the public-private partnership model. It seeks to bring together IT professionals keen to pursue interests in culture, music, films, dance and other forms of traditional arts.

The club will facilitate partnership with cultural organisations and facilitate cultural exchange programmes. It will also organise regular cultural programmes, events, film festivals and musical events for the benefit of the employees on the campus.

“Natana would cater to all creative art forms from photography, filmmaking and editing, Kathakali and street hip-hop to scriptwriting and theatre arts. By conducting workshops, exhibitions, discussions and exchange programmes, the club aims at giving Technopark employees the perfect balance of life and getting them in touch with people who share their interest in the pursuit of art,” said Mr. Mervin Alexander.

“We are happy with the turnout and the enthusiasm shown by Technopark companies for the formation and the launch of Natana,” said Binu Sankar, CEO, Group of Technology Companies (GTech).

The core group of Natana comprises a handful of employees from various firms in Technopark who meet on a regular basis and plan upcoming events. A website has also been developed under the title natana.in.

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‘Natana’ launch Thursday

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finally, they are all set to ‘right click’ their imagination and talent. Technopark is launching its first fine arts club ‘Natana’ on Thursday. Actor Prithviraj will inaugurate Natana at Amphitheatre on Technopark premises at 7 pm. With the support of Group of Technology companies (GTech) - a strategic grouping of IT/ITES enterprises in Kerala - Natana is expected to offer the best platform for the techies to nurture and express their talents.

Techies have been eagerly waiting for the project ever since GTech took the initiative of launching a fine arts club in Technopark. With Natana, employees of Technopark will no longer limit their life inside the cabin wall or eight-hour work schedule. Natana is expected to bring back dance, music, fashion shows, plays, debates and other forms of arts to the lives of techies.

A power-packed performance by the popular band ‘Avial’ and several items by the Technopark community are part of the inaugural function. Employees belonging to around 40 companies will participate in the inaugural programmes. CEO of Technopark Mervin Alexander, GTech chairman V K Mathews, IT secretary K Suresh Kumar and Tourism Secretary V Venu will speak during the function.

Prithviraj will launch the theme song of Natana at the function. The song has been composed by a team drawn from different companies. A group of employees of MSquared composed the music and sung the theme song, UST Global staff contributed the lyrics and IBS and Allianz Cornhill provided the background score.

Organisers of Natana had organised programmes in the past months to interact with interested techies and had created a talent pool. More than 300 employees of Technopark are active members of Natana. They are grouped based on their talents.

“Natana would cater to all creative art forms. From photography to film-making and editing. From Kathakali to street hip-hop. From scriptwriting to theatre arts. By conducting workshops, exhibitions, discussions and exchange programmes, Natana aims at giving Technopark employees the perfect balance of life and getting them back in touch with people who share their interest in the pursuit of art” said Mervin Alexander.

Anoop P Ambika, secretary of GTech and CEO of the Technopark-based Kreara Solutions, said that Natana would be soon registered as a society.

“We are planning to conduct training sessions for employees who are interested in dance. After coordinating with various organisations, classes will be arranged on Saturdays and Sundays. We are also planning to organise regular cultural evenings, events, film festivals and musicals for the benefit of the Technopark community. Events or stage programmes will be arranged every three months,” he said.

“Finding time for such activities was a challenging task. However, CEOs of all companies have shown interest in the initiative. Employees too are eager to join the club,” he added.

Natana is expected to change the work culture of Technopark. Organisers believe that providing a means to nurture and express one’s talent will make the techies more productive.