Sreeparna – The KGP Chronicle

The Incredible 1970s and Spring Fest

Colourful festoons, huge sponsor banners and flags decked up the entire campus last weekend. Makeshift ‘pandals’ popped up and an air of festivity hung around. Students scurried across different venues. They had spent sleepless nights for weeks. It was that time of the year when students from all over India flocked to the campus for one of the most outstanding college fests in south Asia – the Spring Fest.

This year, Spring Fest saw a mini galaxy descend on campus. Around 150 alumni from the Batch of 1970 came back to their alma mater to celebrate their 50^th graduation anniversary. They also inaugurated the ‘ADDA’ and which is one among their many gifts to the Institute. The campus, departments, Halls, and most importantly, the Spring Fest brought back a flood of memories to this ‘young’ bunch of graduates who were more than happy to be back and share their memories of Spring Fests they were a part of, more than half a decade back.

“Our times were very different and so were our celebrations, you know. There was no such thing as corporate sponsorships way back in 1965-‘66-‘67. It was more of an Inter-Hall competition,” said Ms. Jayashree Singh, a 1970 graduate from the Department of Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering. She currently works with inhabitants of the Sunderbans, helping them fight economic challenges and lead a decent life.

“We had several events even during our time. There were dramatics, music competitions – both solo and in groups – and there were debates. Among all those 4-5 days of competitions, one evening was reserved only for classical vocal recital. The event you call ‘Pal’ now, existed in a different form in our times. Stalwarts like Pt Ravi Shankar, Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey, Md Rafi and Mukesh, all came here and performed throughout the night! All of us would eagerly wait for this particular evening,” continued Ms Singh. Her eyes lit up with pride as she remembered Lata Mangeshkar housed in her Hall – SN/IG Hall of Residence.

Mr Sukhminder Singh Grewal, a resident of Connecticut and a former leading man in GE, USA, recalled his own fun moment. “There was a dramatics competition during one of the Spring Fests during my time. One participating college put up a play which went completely tangential for all of us! One of our batchmates mimicked a scene from the same play and screamed, ‘Turn off the lights; we all want to sleep,” he narrated. Grewal broke into a fit of laughter relating the sorts of mischiefs students were up to during Spring Fest.

Notable alumni and pioneer of the Indian IT industry, Mr Arjun Malhotra, remembers Spring Fest being celebrated in a much smaller dimension. He recalls that the event was very culturally rooted and was not as global as it is today. There was just one venue – the Jnan Ghosh Stadium. “We could attend all the events as the venues were not scattered like now. The Spring Fest, back then, was a very low-key event and there were just a few colleges from Kolkata and neighbouring districts which would participate,” said Mr Malhotra.

Alumni Clock Tower was inaugurated by Shri Amit Khare, IAS, Secretary, MHRD, Govt. of India

Amidst the hustle-bustle at the Tikka Circle for the Alumni Clock Tower inauguration, The KGP Chronicle caught up with the then Secretary for SoCult (read Socio-Cultural), Mr Dipak Basak. “Fifty years back, the expectations were quite different. We did everything – from constructing the stage by stealing dining tables from the mess, to setting up the sound system and changing backdrops within a few seconds! When you are in charge of something like this, you need to organize all the required materials all by yourself, and so we stuck to our age-old theme – beg, borrow or steal. There was no concept of outsourcing like today. We enjoyed the simplest pleasures of life like rejoicing if girls from Loreto College participated,” he said with a smile and a wink.

His friend, Mr Ravi Raj Bhatia, added, “We made huge stage backdrops by sticking drawing sheets together and painting them. They had to be 26’X 6’ in size, and mind you, there would be separate banners for every event. We attended all our classes in the mornings and only after dinner did we get time to paint these. There was a target fixed for us – one backdrop every night. So you understand the amount of effort that went in?”

As the crowd started dispersing from the Tikka Circle after the Alumni Clock Tower inauguration, this incredible batch of 1970 were seen taking selfies, laughing away to silly jokes, hugging each other, calling each other names they gave while in college, planning which event of Spring Fest to gatecrash into and so on. Repeated announcements for different events floated in the air as the forever young and Forever KGPians from the Batch of ’70 melted into the crowd.

Happiness Run : The 2.2 Marathon

12^th January 2020, 6:30 AM. Technology Students’ Gymkhana was bubbling with some 100-150 students, both past and present. A very unusual scene, especially on a Sunday morning. Packets of Glucon-D were being constantly poured and mixed into 20-litre water jars. T-shirts were being distributed and students were seen warming themselves up. It was indeed a big day. Each had to complete the 2.2 Marathon beating the rest to win the coveted title of a Marathoner.

The 17^th Annual Alumni Meet of 2020 saw a host of IIT Kharagpur’s ‘young’ bunch, aged 18 years to almost 68 years gear up for their favorite sport – the 2.2 Marathon. The Director, Prof. V.K. Tewari, was also present to encourage the students and participate in the run that was to start and end at Gymkhana with the distribution of prizes and a complimentary snack. By 7:10 AM, the runners had settled themselves on the starting line. The marathon began with the sound of the clapstick.

Prof V. K. Tewari, Director IIT Kharagpur flags off the Marathon

Within 40 minutes, a few contenders, both alumni and current students were back at the Gymkhana. Visibly tired and taking deep breaths, they settled down for others to finish and gather at the venue for prize distribution. “Alumni-students interaction is a big, big thing,” said Prof. Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur, taking to the microphone. “They are a support system for one another. If you do not turn up today for your seniors, you should never complain if your juniors do not turn up years later when you visit the campus,” he added. He himself had completed 4.1 km a couple of years back, and seemed highly enthusiastic about sports. This time again, he made sure to complete 2.2 km without a pause. He thanked the Gymkhana members, its officials and all students who made the initiative possible.

“It is really refreshing. It is bringing back a whole new rush of memories of the place. We used to run loops around Jnan Ghosh Stadium almost every evening. That was a kind of ritual for me from 1991 to 1995. I find the campus beautiful. I came here for the first time in 25 years. I couldn’t resist the temptation of visiting my second home after so many years. I flew down from Atlanta as soon as I received the invitation,” remarked Mr. Kartik Ramakrishnan, Senior Vice President at Capgemini, Atlanta. His fitness quotient was proven when he bagged the second position among the alumni in the 2.2 marathon.

The winner of the marathon among the alumni was Mr. Amitabh Ghule, Director at Thames Capital, London, UK, who “wouldn’t have come had I been a student. Honestly!” he added tongue-in-cheek.

“It is a wonderful initiative. I’m impressed by the number of students and my batchmates who turned up this early, given that we had a blast till the wee hours of the morning,” said Mr. Ramakrishnan who came second, followed by Mr. Praful Agarwal, fondly called ‘Uncleji’ by his batchmates. “My passion for fitness helped me shed 20 extra kilos and follow a healthy lifestyle,” he said.

Among students, Satendra Sangwan a PG student from the Department of Physics took the first place. He was followed by Lt. Col. Ganesh Chawla, a Defence Sponsored UG candidate at the Department of Electrical Engineering, for whom this marathon was “just another morning run”.

The third place was taken by Tushar Kshirsagar, a UG first year student of Aerospace Engineering, who confessed turning up “just for the T-shirt”. His honesty was greeted with loud cheer, whistles and claps from the gathering. Karan Atariya, a post-graduate student of the Electrical Engineering Department bagged the fourth position

“It is extremely inspirational to find the Director participating in the run along with the students. During our time here, we could never expect anything like this. I hope this continues for the coming years. It brings a kind of fluidity and makes things easier between the students and the higher authorities,” said Mr. Ajit Kumar Alok, a 1995 alumnus, and currently a senior official of the Indian Railways.

Talking about the happiness index involved in a marathon, Prof. Saamdu Chhetri of IIT Kharagpur’s Rekhi Centre for the Science of Happiness, said that he feels that a marathon like this should not be competitive, but be “cohesive” instead. “In an event like the Annual Alumni Meet, where the alumni have come together to relive old memories and enjoy to the fullest, instead of competing against one another, it would have been wonderful had they held their hands together and completed this marathon. There’s a beautiful African saying which says, if you want to go far, go together; if you want to go fast, go alone. It is a wonderful initiative by the Institute to bring together the current batches along with their predecessors,” said Prof. Chhetri.

Prof. Priyadarshi Patnaik, Head, Rekhi Centre for the Science of Happiness also spoke on the lines of Prof. Chhetri. He pointed out that the marathon was a good opportunity to discuss with both past and current students and find out how transformation can take place.

The event ended with the past and present students exchanging pleasantries, sharing the morning snack and hooting loudly, “KGP ka tempo high hai”.

Pictures courtesy: Student Alumni Cell

Yeh Papa ka college hai…

Mr Ajit Kumar Alok in front of his department with family

“Papa yahan khelta thha?” lisped a 3-year-old Ghrishneshvar, as he pointed out to the Tata Steel sports ground, just opposite to the Ramanujan Complex. He, along with his elder sister, Ujjavalaa, both toddlers, were at IIT Kharagpur campus for the first time with their parents and elder brother Aayush, who is in IIT-BHU. Their father, Mr Ajit Kumar Alok, a 1995 alumnus of the Electrical Engineering Department of the Institute, was here to attend the 17^th Annual Alumni Meet held at the campus from 10^th to 12^th January 2020.

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon when The KGP Chronicle caught up with these two pre-schoolers at the Arena. They had just come from Lala Lajpat Rai (LLR) Hall of Residence, which was their father’s address from 1991 to 1995. Excited to know that their ‘Papa’ was just like them – he also carried a bag to college. “Humko bhi jana padhega?”, “Will there be a playground with jhula in my college? – came in questions one after the other. Too young to understand the concept of a campus, what really mattered to them was whether their father felt homesick. The fact of staying away from home for four years didn’t quite go down well with them. Aayush kept smiling all the while keeping a hawk’s eye on his younger siblings.

For their mother, Mrs Alka Sinha Alok, it was also her first time on this campus. “It feels wonderful to be able to converse in Bengali after such a long time. I am originally from Chittaranjan, near Asansol, but due to my husband’s transferrable job, we stay in Punjab and there is absolutely no scope of speaking the language,” she let out a sigh of relief. She missed her friends who were the wives of her husband’s friends in Bangalore. “They had some prior commitments, and so couldn’t come,” she regretted.

Mr Alok in front of the Institute main building

Mr Alok is a senior employee with the Indian Railways. His job requires him to shift his base every three years. “For me, it is my job, but for my family, it gets very taxing, especially for the children. But then, they are slowly getting used to a cosmopolitan culture, which I think should mould them into better human beings,” remarked Mr Alok. Thus when the daughter pointed out to a Punjabi dish on the menu which she didn’t quite like, but loved the mishti doi, it did not come as a surprise.

“Yahan papa ko khana koun khilata thha?” asked Ujjavalaa, while fiddling with the drums in one segment of the Arena. Now that was a real googly. The close to 12,000 students on campus make friends who ultimately become second family to them. Their father himself did so, which is why he was back for the Annual Alumni Meet… to be with his long lost friends. But that is something beyond the comprehension of little Ujjavalaa. For the pre-schooler, it is impossible to imagine a world without parental love and attention. Hence her innocent query.

Currently residents of RCF Kapoorthala Punjab, the Aloks would be moving out of the place very soon since Mr Alok has already been transferred to Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh. “I will miss my friends at Oxford Junior School,” said the two munchkins in unison, “but will have new friends in Ratlam,” chipped in Ujjavalaa.

The family had a wonderful time in the campus. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves running along the tree-lined campus roads, enjoying swing and see-saw rides at the children parks and dancing to the tunes of Balam Pichkari on the Gala Dinner Night with bonfire and DJ, on Saturday 11^th January 2020.

Three decades and counting!

“September 24^th 1982. I joined IIT Kharagpur as a Lower Division Clerk, giving in to my parents repeated requests. Today, after spending more than two-thirds of my life here, I do not regret the decision of my parents.

Rubber Technology Center had started the year before, in 1981. With no one to look into office work there, I was posted in that department as secretary to the HoD. My job profile consisted of mainly typing and maintaining office records. I stayed there from 1982 to 1987. With my promotion in 1987, I joined the Recruitment Section for a few days and was later transferred to the Deans’ Office. In 1989 I was posted in GATE office initially and then SRIC office. I served there for perhaps the longest time – from 1992 to 2006 – a good 14 years!

During my tenure at the SRIC office I was in the team of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system which happens to be synonymous with IIT Kharagpur. This system was started by Prof R. N. Banerjee. We, as a team, were thinking of introducing a new system of documentation. ERP was initially a project mode of SRIC headed by Prof Banerjee and we were involved in providing all information to this pilot project for its smooth functioning – details of accounting, administration and project monitoring – all had to be fed into the project, which was further programmed by Prof Banerjee with the help of his students.

Since then, ERP has become an integral part of IIT-KGP system and has been upgraded continuously since the time of its inception.

It was during my tenure that the modernization of the SRIC office took place. What you see today is a complete rehashed version of what it was during the early 90s. A lot of brainstorming went into how to give the office a modern, corporate look. Under the leadership of Prof Damodar Acharya, the then Dean SRIC and Dr D Gunasekaran, the then Principal Administrative Officer (who was also the Registrar of the Institute), we visited a few corporate offices in Kolkata, to get an idea of a modern office set-up. We also concentrated on the work culture and environment, alongside a new corporate model. Workstations, with individual desktops were introduced along with in-service training for employees and new recruits. This included computer training, soft skill development training, training in office administration, rules’ implementation training and others.

After I took charge of the Establishment Section in the year 2006, the Institute took a policy to modernize all its administrative section on the lines of SRIC office. This called for a lot of effort, which had to be put in so as to get the desired infrastructure of a corporate office within IIT.

The best part of my service here at IIT Kharagpur would be the purchase of a piece of land from the Government of West Bengal to set up a Research Park, which will be operational very soon. I was one of the signatories in those official papers back in 2008.

We worked as a team under the leadership of Prof Samir Kumar Lahiri, the then Deputy Director and Prof. Anil K. Bhowmick, the then Dean SRIC, during IIT Kharagpur’s Golden Jubilee in 2001. It was a year-long celebration with an exhibition at Science City Kolkata, for three consecutive days. That huge event saw the participation of all departments of IIT Kharagpur, few industries and several colleges in Kolkata.

The work culture of the Institute was always highly appreciated by the guests / visitors to the Institute. Maintaining and nurturing a positive attitude to work and towards colleagues, I feel, is the need of the hour. Good conduct always pays off and it costs nothing. What do you say?”

Image credit: Suman Sutradhar, Mr Animesh Kumar Naskar

And the winner of the 54th Inter IIT Sports Meet is….

“Yesterday is not ours to recover but tomorrow is ours to win or to lose.”

Lyndon B. Johnson; 36^th president of the United States of America.

The 54th Inter IIT Sports Meet 2019 concluded on December 22 evening after 8 days of tireless efforts by more than 2000 participants from 23 IITs across the country. The closing ceremony witnessed some spectacular winning moments in the presence of Prof. William Kumar Mohanty, Convener, 54^th Inter IIT Sports Meet, Chief Guest Shri Ashok Kumar Dhyan Chand, son of Indian Hockey legend late Dhyan Chand, Prof. P. K. Das, Acting Director and Dean, Post Graduate Studies, and Prof. Somesh Kumar, Chairman, 54^th Inter IIT Sports Meet.

The last nine days were filled with boundless passion, emotion and drama surrounding the victories and failures of the contesting teams. As the competition drew to a close, the final few days saw a renewed burst of emotions with the knockout matches. Over a little more than a week, a lot many records were broken and new ones were created across the two IIT campuses – Kharagpur and Bhubaneswar, which hosted the meet – as athletes gave in their best in their quest for glory.

On the last day of the meet, Prof. Mohanty addressed the gathering and welcomed Shri Ashok Kumar Dhyan Chand, Indian Hockey legend. Prof Mohanty congratulated all the participants for their terrific performance. He specially thanked the IIT Kharagpur medical team who were on their toes, catering to the needs of the players, many of whom were injured during the games. He encouraged all players to excel in their respective games, understand their shortcomings and work on them, while at the same time giving their best to academics.

Impressed by the enthusiasm of the players, Ashok Kumar Dhyan Chand said, “I’m amazed to see students who are jewels in their respective academic domains, to have such passion for sports.” He added, “Sports is not about winning or losing. It is all about participation. During my father’s time, there was no such opportunity for players. Yet, they went out, played their game on foreign grounds and won several accolades”.

Addressing all participants, he said, “I congratulate all of you and hope you will achieve everything in life from these wins and losses. Let these shining medals and trophies give you all the strength to face life’s challenges, just as you dealt with them on field.”

IIT Kharagpur showed off brilliant performances by winning Gold in Athletics (Men), Chess, Basketball (Women), Football (Men), Waterpolo (Men). The Institute secured the second position in overall Aquatics, Athletics (Women), Table Tennis (Men), Volleyball (Men), Swimming (Women), Weightlifting and Tennis (Women). The Bronze came in for March Past, Hockey (Men) and Swimming (Men).

In the final standings, IIT Delhi came second with 92 points and IIT Madras finished third, with 87.1 points. IIT Kharagpur scored 122 points. All events, on and off the field, in the host and co-host campuses of Kharagpur and Bhubaneswar respectively, were taken into account.

Former Indian Cricket Team Skipper and the current BCCI President, Sourav Ganguly, could not make it to the occasion due to prior commitments. He sent across his best wishes to all the participants via voice message. He promised to come next year.

Indian cricketing legend, Mr Kapil Dev also took to an audio message to congratulate the participants. “Play the game with all honesty, and you are sure to win”, he said.

Each moment in sports and each decision contributes to one’s victory. At the end, it is consistency that matters. Every match is a learning curve, and those who learn right emerge the winner.

IIT Kharagpur contingent lifted the Champion’s trophy amongst a roar of claps, cheers and whistles and made for the victory lap to the tunes of DJ Bravo’s famous ‘Champion’ song.

Photo credit: Inter IIt Sports Meet Facebook Page, Click KGP

I Came. I Saw. I Played.

“When I came here in July this year, I found a few students playing football at the Tata Steel Sports Complex. That intrigued me. I also wanted to play, since I come from a country where football is widely played. We won the FIFA World Cup last year, you see! I didn’t know who to approach or how to go about it. I have a friend who also works in the same Mechanical Engineering lab as mine. He was playing in the IIT Kharagpur football team. I told him of my desire to play for IIT Kharagpur. He told me to come to play with them. Since then we have been playing in BC Roy.

We started practicing for the Inter IIT from August this year. Initially, I could not go for the practice because I had a lot of work, and then I was not here for quite some time. I returned in October and it is from then that the rigorous training sessions started. It was from that practice session that 25/26 players got selected for the team. We had several meetings, practice camps and I had to extract time out of my lab sessions to attend all of those. Inter IIT Sports Meet is a big thing. Intense training started in the beginning of December, and there been no rest since. We had to come for practices every single day and spend hours on the field.

Just a few days before Inter IIT, 15 players were selected to play the matches and the rest were for the reserve bench. I feel extremely privileged to be a part of the playing team. So far the matches have been good. We had a brilliant run against Ropar in our last match. And I hope we will continue to have a good run.

I play as a midfielder and as you know, this game calls for a lot of running for the entire 90 minute duration of the match. A few of our teammates have been injured, but that is part of the game. That, however, has not been able to put our spirits down. We are planning to smash the opponents with renewed vigour. I think it will be a great match against Delhi this evening. See you then, at 5 pm, today at Tata Sports!”

Olivier is working on ‘Biogeochemical Characterization of Water’ under the supervision of Prof Aditya Bandyopadhyay in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at IIT Kharagpur

54th Inter IIT Sports Meet Flags Off at IIT Kharagpur

IIT Kharagpur, 15^th December: IIT Kharagpur flagged off its 54^th Inter IIT Sports Meet on 14^th December 2019. The nine-day event is co-hosted by IIT Bhubaneswar with more than 2600 students participating from 23 IITs.

The mega event held at IIT KGP is witnessing tough competition across eight games – Athletics, Basketball, Chess, Cricket, Football, Hockey, Lawn Tennis and Weightlifting while IIT Bhubaneswar is hosting four events – Volleyball, Badminton, Table Tennis and Squash. Tyra, the Royal Bengal Tigress is the mascot for the 54^th Inter IIT Sports Meet 2019.

Prof Sriman Kumar Bhattacharya, Director, IIT Kharagpur and Chief Patron of the 54^th Inter IIT Sports Meet remarked on Brand IIT’s achievement in both academics and all-round ability of the students in diverse aspects and areas that sets IITs apart from other institutes. Students are the brand ambassadors and the onus is on them to keep their brand name high, he said.

12 distinguished sportspersons from KGP campus, took to lighting the torch for the ceremony. Former Skipper of Indian Women’s Cricket Team, Jhulan Goswami sent across her best wishes to the participants via voice message, saying, “I would like to congratulate all the participants who have come here today, and are going to perform. I extend my best wishes to you all, and once again, from the bottom of my heart. I shall come next time and spend some quality time with you people.” The event will be graced by sports stars like former cricket captains Kapil Dev and Sourav Ganguly, swimming champion Bula Choudhary and para swimmer Prasanta Karmakar among others.

Inter IIT Sports Meet started in 1961 with IIT Bombay as the first host. With the increasing number of participants, the number of disciplines in the games have also increased over the years. This year, chess has been added as a competitive event. Squash for girls has also been added as a demo event.

IIT Kharagpur has completely renovated its Sports Facilities. A new synthetic track has been built at the Jnan Ghosh Stadium. New floodlights have been also installed both at the Stadium and the Tata Steel Sports Complex. The tennis and basketball courts have been given an all-new look.

The competition has started taking shape right from day one with the march past following the flag hoisting ceremony. IIT-ISM Dhanbad secured first place in the event. Prof Rajeev Shekhar, Director, IIT-ISM Dhanbad, hoped the participants would compete with the never-dying fighting spirit.

The opening ceremony was celebrated by several professional performances including rhythmic yoga performance by Majida Khatun, second runners-up for Rhythmic Yoga at the Under-17 category for 2019 National School Games, football juggling by Amit Biswas, a young football juggler, with speech and hearing impairment and a medley of folk songs and dances across all states of India, ending with the anthem of Atletico-De-Kolkata.

Pictures – Click KGP, Inter IIT Sports Meet Facebook Page

Around the Campus in 60 minutes…

“How big is the campus, and how long would it take to see everything around?” asked an inquisitive voice. Pratyush Bansal, a 9^th grade student from Global Indian International School, Singapore had come as a participant to IIT Kharagpur campus on the event of the Young Innovators Program 2019.

Launched in 2017, the Young Innovators Program or YIP is in its third year with almost three times more participants from India and abroad. With more than a hundred students, the task of touring the 2100 acres campus within an hour was indeed a challenge.

The day was windy with erratic spells of drizzle at regular intervals, owing to a depression over the Bay of Bengal. As the bus just rolled out of the Vikramshila complex, the children were shown the huge, expansive Tata Sports Complex to their left. They were surprised to find a ground as huge as this where IITans play both soccer and cricket.

As the bus moved on its first gear, ADDA was spotted on the right. “What does the word mean?” asked a few. “In the local language, it means casual chit-chat and gossip” replied one of IIT Kharagpur’s student volunteers. Crossing the clock tower on the Tikka Circle, the bus moved on to the Halls of Residence. The constant rustling and mumbling of the students in the bus reminded all of our schooldays, especially the picnics and excursions. One child could no longer contain his excitement – “Can you please show us Sundar Pichai’s department?” he asked. “Yes, of course. But before that, this is where he stayed”, said Rishabh, a volunteer, pointing out to Nehru Hall. The children strained their necks out of the window to get a glimpse. The bus moved on to Madan Mohan Malviya or the ‘MMM’ Hall of Residence. The students’ jaws dropped on hearing the hall capacity of 3000 students!

Completing a round of all the Halls of Residence, the bus took the 2.2 route, going past Jnan Ghosh Stadium, Technology Students Gymkhana, Swimming Pool, Basketball and Volleyball courts and entered the main academic campus. Most students wished to get down for a snap of the main building, but were discouraged by the bad weather. Passing the Central library, the bus crossed ECE, Physics and Mining Engineering Department and halted in front of the Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering. A few children screamed with glee as they were able to identify Sundar Pichai’s department. Cameras and mobile phones captured numerous shots.

“IIT Kharagpur grows its tea in its campus itself,” remarked Prathmesh, a student volunteer.

“Are there hills in the campus?” asked a participant, given that tea is known to grow on hilly slopes.

Their doubts cleared up as the bus took a turn towards Nalanda complex and stopped briefly near the tea garden. The astonishment on the faces clearly indicated their curiosity to know the science behind tea cultivation on plain ground.

After around 15-20 minutes at the DIY Lab at Ramanujan complex, the children headed to the most sought-after location of the campus – the Nehru Museum. Formerly Hijli Detention Centre, this massive colonial architectural marvel has now been converted into a science and technology museum and attracts both students and teachers alike from schools in the surrounding neighborhood.

“Were there real prisoners in these cells?”

“Hey, just look at the locking mechanism! The inmate can never open this.”

“Goodness! This stone ages back to World War II?”

“What kind of a fighter jet is it? Any idea?”

Questions like these and many more floated around the old IIT building as students waited outside for their turn to visit the museum.

It was an interactive session of sorts inside the museum. The young bunch indulged in different hands-on experiments, which included the flow of solids and liquids in a given medium, the probability curve, rolling contact, the swinging of pendulums, the magnet-testing equipment, the elliptical carom board, the formation and conduction of electricity in clouds and so on.

With the recent launch of Chandrayaan 2, the students found the aerospace enclosure of the museum highly interesting. The principle of aerodynamics and propulsion installed in the equipment in experimental boxes drew the maximum crowd.

The last room of the museum is dedicated to some of the best photographers of the campus – both students and employees of the Institute.

“Are these pictures taken by IIT students?” asked Sanjiv. He represented NSN Memorial Senior Secondary School, Chennai. “Can’t be,” guessed Surya, his teammate, adding, “Where’s the time left for IITians to indulge in hobbies after studying through day and night?” Student volunteers broke into a fit of laughter!

Apart from an otherwise strict academic curriculum, IIT Kharagpur takes pride in having among its students some amazing photographers, filmmakers, a keen Everester or two and others who have dared to ditch regular engineering jobs and chase their dreams instead. The Young Innovators Program seeks to trigger that passion in these blooming minds where they learn to think differently, carve their own path and stand out in the crowd.

It was suddenly time for all to head towards the Kalidas Auditorium for the inaugural program.

Gaaner Opaarey – My Parallel Universe of Rabindrasangeet

The first person to introduce me to Tagore’s music was my mother, a trained Rabindrasangeet singer herself and alumna of ‘Geetabitan’ an eminent music institute in Kolkata. Thus, one could say, I was born listening to Tagore’s songs. My mother introduced me to my first gurus – Shri Sailen Basu Roychowdhury and his wife, Smt Kamala Basu – both renowned Rabindrasangeet exponents of the time.

I believe, whenever a child is exposed to something over a sustained period very early in life, it leaves an indelible impression on her mind. It becomes difficult for the child to dissociate herself from that influence even later in life, no matter how hard she may try. That is exactly what happened to me. After I trained under the Basus for several years, I met and started to learn from Acharya Jayanta Bose – a classical singer who taught me the basics of vocal symphony and voice training. However, in this too, I was driven by my desire to improve my versatility as a singer of Rabindrasangeet.

My father had been an ardent fan of Smt Ritu Guha, one of the legends of Rabindrasangeet and wanted me to learn from her. Baba took me to her place, where my very first rendition of a song I had learnt from one of her recordings impressed her. She suggested I undertake a 5-year certification course from Dakshinee, the reputed Kolkata institution that she too was an alumna of.

Ritu di referred me to Shri Sudeb Guhathakurta, the current Principal of Dakshinee and thus began my journey with the Institute. This was April 1,1996. Here, I had the opportunity to train under various stalwarts of the genre including Smt Meera Ghosh, Smt Rupu Boral, Shri Rono Guhathakurta etc.

The training and practice of my formative years now yielded dividends, as I was given an opportunity to perform on stage much earlier than most students were conventionally allowed. Soon, I started performing regularly at Dakshinee’s programmes. Carrying the Dakshinee legacy forward was a huge responsibility. It gave me goosebumps performing at Rabindra Sadan and Kala Mandir for the first time!. I was euphoric as my journey as a ‘performing’ artist had truly begun.

By then, I had earned a Bachelor’s degree in English and decided to pursue postgraduate studies in music with Rabindrasangeet as a major. Thus, Rabindra Bharati University happened, where I had the good fortune of learning from yet another bunch of stalwarts – Prof. Agniva Bandyopadhyay, Prof. Bulbul Sengupta, Prof. Mekhola Dasgupta, Prof. Shantanu Bandyopadhyay of Bishnupur Gharana and many more. During this phase, I also signed up for Maya Sen’s classes of Anandadhwani.

My MA programme at RBU and the certificate course at Dakshinee got over almost at the same time. I secured second position in the final examinations at Dakshinee. I always say that RBU taught me technicalities, whereas Ritu di and Dakshinee taught me rendition, the art of performance. I have had the opportunity to perform on various platforms – in India and abroad – all because of Dakshinee. I have performed in Delhi, Mumbai, Patna, Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Hyderabad, Allahabad, Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Colorado (USA). In 2002-2003 I recorded almost 60 songs and dance drama Chitrangada for Rabindrasangeet CD series Gitabitan Live 1 & 2 released by ISS Infotech USA.

In 2003 I moved to Ranchi with my husband. I could not detach myself from Rabindrasangeet. One of my acquaintances introduced me to Mr Subir Lahiri who was the Cultural Head of the Bengali Association of Ranchi. He suggested I should perform at an event organized by Ranchi’s Union Club. Thereafter, the Union Club regularly invited me to perform in all its programmes.

I moved back to West Bengal when my husband joined IIT Kharagpur in 2006. I started performing at various Tagore events and other programmes while shuttling between KGP and Kolkata. In 2009, I performed for the first time at IIT KGP, at an event organized by the Technology Club on the occasion of Durga Puja. Over the next few years I had the opportunity of performing at cultural evening of conferences conducted by different departments of IIT Kharagpur.

It was a pleasure and privilege for me to participate in the Induction Programme for freshers at IIT Kharagpur as a resource person for Music Appreciation in 2017. In 2018 I was awarded the Arundhati Devi Smriti Puraskar for Best Female Vocalist by Dakshinee. That is another milestone of my career in music. Very recently, the former Director of IIT Kharagpur, Professor Partha Pratim Chakrabarti felicitated me on behalf of Technology Students’ Gymkhana after I conducted a day-long workshop on Rabindrasangeet for students, scholars and music lovers on campus.

Receiving the Arundhati Devi Smriti Puraskar from Shri Buddhadev Guha

My introduction as a singer on campus gradually brought in students, mostly spouses of faculty members, and some faculty members themselves, who wanted to learn Rabindrasangeet. I realized that teaching students five days a week would make it easier for me to keep up with my reyaaz. I decided to turn my passion into my profession. I got endless support from all my teachers, especially Shri Sudeb Guhathakurta. He even suggested a name for my little school; and thus Chirontonee was born.

I do not expect Chirontonee to be a very famous institution. However, I have a certain vision for a future for Chirontonee.

Felicitation by Prof Partha Pratim Chakrabarti

Having resided in this campus for 14 years now, I am a part of a community which includes students, faculty members and other non-teaching staff. Through Chirontonee, I have had the opportunity to interact with KGPians from all walks, and I realize the immense pressure each of them faces in the regular journey of life, and the need for some respite and relief. I strongly feel the need to involve them in something creative, something that affords them a break from their regular routine. I’m striving in my own little way to bring all these individuals under an umbrella called Tagore, through Chirontonee.

The healing power of music is infinite and I shall consider myself blessed if Chirontonee can provide that succour for the community. If through this humble initiative of mine, I am able to inculcate positivity in the minds and lifestyle of a few, and bring them even some fleeting moments of joy and rejuvenation, I shall feel accomplished.

It gives me immense pride when my students travel across the globe for higher education and also earn accolades as Rabindrasangeet singers. They carry Chirontonee’s name across borders — what more could I ask for?

I can only thank Tagore in his own words: “Amaare tumi ashesh korechho emoni leela tobo… (You have made me infinite; such is your aura).”

Taare Zameen Par

Diwali was just round the corner when a galaxy of stars descended on the Structural Reliability and Research Facility (SRRF) Lab last Tuesday evening over mouth-watering snacks and a tête-à-tête with the International Relations Office of IIT Kharagpur. These students, enrolled for various postgraduate courses and programs at IIT Kharagpur, and hailing from Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Nigeria, Russia, Syria and France, participated in an engaging session that continued for over a couple of hours.

Prof Anandaroop Bhattacharya, Associate Dean, IR

“What is this Illu thing we are hearing in our halls? Is it something big here?” asked one student. He was visiting the campus for the first time and was highly curious about the upcoming Diwali celebration on campus.

After a formal introduction by the Dean and Associate Dean, IR, the students were asked about the issues they would like to address and the things they liked about IIT Kharagpur.

“The Lake!” came the unanimous answer. On being asked the reason behind their fondness for the water body, they replied that the lake reminded many of them of their hometown. The other places most of them loved to hang around were ‘Vegies’ and the Tech Market. Quite a number of them found the campus expansive and interesting and their hallmates “wonderful” and “helpful”. A few also wanted to explore the campus in a group of their own.

“I like Bollywood films and Taare Zameen Par tugged at my heartstrings. I want to learn Hindi to understand these films better,” said Charith Rajapaksha from Sri Lanka, an MTech student of Chemical Engineering. “If you come to Sri Lanka, I would show you whales,” he said, his face lit up with pride. Charith, who has been snorkeling for quite a while now, also added, “Dolphins are common in the area where we go swimming, but it takes real luck to spot a whale. That way, I have been lucky as I have seen whales quite a few times.” As he looked around, he could see appreciation in many eyes.

Apart from studies, grades and late night labs, the students showed a keen interest in sports. “Archery is the national sport of my country and I would love to learn that. Do you have any opportunity here?” asked Karma, a student from Bhutan, pursuing postgraduate studies in Physics. Like Charith, Karma dropped an open invitation. “Visit Bhutan either in autumn or spring,” said he, “It is then that the real beauty of the place unfolds. And don’t miss Tiger Nest Monastery in Paro. You know, the Duke and Duchess of England had hiked three hours to get to that place!” Boundless emotions flowed out as Karma framed a picture of his beautiful country for the assembled audience in front of him.

“We would love it if the Institute could organize a trip or two to Kolkata. That is the nearest metropolis and we have even charted out places to visit in that city. Victoria Memorial tops the chart”, was an appeal that went out in unison to the Dean. A few had already visited Kolkata on the occasion of Durga Puja and were fascinated by the enormous scale on which the festival is celebrated across the length and breadth of the city. They wanted to know if Diwali was also celebrated in the same manner.

“Even better,” informed Prof. Anandaroop Bhattacharya, Associate Dean, IR. “You will witness a spectacle that is unique to IIT Kharagpur fraternity. Illumination, or Illu, as we call it here, is a show of barely 15-20 minutes, but it is an experience in itself. Over two months of intense, sleepless labour delivers something you would never want to miss,” said Prof. Bhattacharya, himself an alumnus of RK Hall, which is famous for putting up an elaborate illumination every year.

International students in rapt attention

Some wanted to know if there was any opportunity to learn the local language. “Sounds interesting! We will look into the matter,” promised Prof. Baidurya Bhattacharya, Dean, IR.

One of students wished there were a wing in the hostel exclusively for international students. The logic? Given that they came from different cultures, international students took a little time to assimilate into the KGPian diaspora.

Others, however, seemed to be enjoying IIT Kharagpur’s free-spirited melding of diverse cultures. In fact, while gorging on the varied spread of paneer and chicken tikka, and vegetable pakodas, Manish and Santosh, both students from Nepal, chipped in, “Hum sab jab ek jagah hote hain, toh ek guldasta jaisa ban jate hain (When we all come together, we make a lovely bouquet).”

We couldn’t have put it more beautifully.