At IIT Kharagpur, the week started with the Director, Prof. Sriman Kumar Bhattacharyya, delivering his welcome address to 1st year students and their parents at the Netaji auditorium. On the weekend, many of them had strolled through the campus, visiting the hostels and the other popular spots. The Director congratulated the parents and reassured them that they were leaving their children in safe hands and that there was every possibility that IIT KGP would soon turn out to be a “better place than home” for many of them. He said, “We take utmost care that the students live comfortably and have reasonably good food. We have all gone through the process and done well… your children will also do well.” Prof. Sudhir Kumar Barai, Dean, Undergraduate Studies, who also addressed the audience, spoke in a lighter vein, “I was reminded, when my child was born, that I would spend many sleepless nights as a father. You can well imagine what a huge challenge our Director faces, given that he has to take care of 1600 students.”
Mr. Ajay Saluja nodded his head in acknowledgement, a wide smile plastered over his face. He had come down from Betul in Madhya Pradesh with his younger son and wife to see off his daughter, who is now a First year student of the Department of Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture. “I have been to my daughter’s hostel during the weekend, and am now hoping she settles down well. I will be going back tomorrow.” A proud father, he listened attentively to the Registrar, Prof. B.N. Singh, as he congratulated and thanked the parents for choosing IIT Kharagpur and gave the parents a brief description of its academic faculties and facilities.
Like Mr. Saluja, most of the parents will be leaving the campus in a day or two. Together with their children, they have shopped for the bare essentials from Tech Market over the weekend. New bedding and pillows, blankets, phone charger, extension cord, some chocolates, chips, sweets and biscuits…anything that will make the parting a little easy.
Graphics : Suman Sutradhar
