The Golden Years : Musings of an Old Alumnus
By Kailas C. Sahu
On a rain soaked July afternoon in 1953, I reached the bare looking
vast IIT campus as a fresher a week after classes started. I had the hard choice between
well-known old colleges and the not much known Hijli IIT. 'Indian' was the deciding
attraction. I have hardly taken a better and more far-reaching decision in my life.
Azad Hall was in the making for our (third) batch. Till Puja holidays, we got cramped into
Patel (#1), Nehru(#2) and even into the Bachelors' flats. As each block / floor of our
Hall got completed, our resident assistant warden would announce in classes names of
students who can move in by the simple process of matching our roll numbers to room
numbers. We got a place and identity of our own. I remember the first day the mess opened
with great fanfare with shining new steel trays and tableware. Tempo was high even with
primitive facilities.
The first and second batches would remind us of great hardship they had gone through in
still earlier days, with rudimentary infrastructure, which seemed to have given them the
pioneer aura, and a great community feeling for the other constituents -- the teachers and
staff and their families who suffered still more deprivations. We soon were a part of that
very spirited lot almost enjoying the process of building new traditions and cultures in
Halls, Gymkhana and in classes.
We had distinguished international Professors through UNESCO and Commonwealth and matching
outstanding Indian Faculty members. The administrative staff was experienced and very
helpful -- a tradition which still continues substantially. Spirit of partnership
prevailed.
The driving force of course was our first Director Dr. J.C. Ghosh, the visionary
philosopher, scientist and humanist who laid the solid foundations of concrete and more
importantly and enduringly, of culture. Very few anywhere in the world have so
fundamentally and significantly changed the accepted education system, and affected lives
of so many for years to come in a span of just 3 years as Sir JC has done by founding the
basics of not only IIT Kgp but the IIT system as a whole. When he left towards the end of
our first year to become the VC of Calcutta University, we represented to the mighty Dr.
B.C. Roy, the Chief Minister, and at Delhi and went on a mass hunger strike. Only Sir JC,
after joining us at fasting, could talk us out of it.
Fortunately Dr. S.R. Sengupta, the able administrator, strict disciplinarian yet full of
immense love and commitment to the young Institute and its core values consolidated and
added activities and glory during his long stewardship.
To start with, the entire Institute was in old Hijli Jail building. Each room was a
department. The library was there too. In fact between classrooms on the first floor was
the Director's office with doors open. The great 'hangar' housed workshops along with few
hurriedly built tin sheds. Few old buildings, the bachelors' flats and few faculty houses
amidst vast 1400 acres of wilderness was the campus. Classes and examinations were held in
cramped rooms and even corridors sometimes on a shift basis till late evening.
However, literally and figuratively, a great institute was being made at a very fast pace.
The entire main building was at foundation level in July 1953 when we came. In next July,
most activities were housed there. We the Mechanicals, felt left out but later enjoyed our
splendid isolation in the history-rich hallowed old building for many years. Much later,
on February 9, 1973, when the then Director offered me a space in first floor of the old
building for the newly created Industrial Management Centre, I felt proud and happy to
move in. As its Head, I had the good fortune to sit in the same room which Sir JC used as
the Director.
The academic philosophy which was refreshingly different and even daring centred on faith
in individual teachers in the entire teaching and examining process. The teachers
experimented with syllabus, selected mode of examination (open or closed book) and the
details of the continuous evaluation process. Mind expanding humanities and social
sciences integrated with science and technology. Synergy of undergraduate, post-graduate
and research was realised. Interaction with industry, agriculture and commercial sectors
were planned through advisory bodies, practical training and placement services. It got
reflected in very strong teacher-student interaction on and off the class. We had 8
students in tutorials, sometimes held in the evening in the Halls of Residence itself. The
system aimed to develop "dispassionate objective outlook" together with
"principles of social justice to impart in students initiative and capacity to
invent" and to "use resources with maximum enterprise, intelligence and
vision" as well as to "create new knowledge". All quotes are from the
speech of the great visionary, Dr. JC Ghosh on the first birthday of IIT KGP on August 18,
1951. MIT was the spelled out benchmark and becoming a world-class institution was the
clear aim. Rarely before and since for an Institute of our type, policies, objectives and
tasks have been so clearly articulated and more importantly so effectively and completely
translated into enduring actions and results.
In the completely residential campus, in its Halls and Gymkhana, the other dream of the
founding fathers was being honed through traditions, programmes and action. The melting
pot was creating the 'Indian' perspective -- free from all narrowness of province,
language, creed, caste and religion in its composite Halls and common mess. Latent
creativity and managerial capabilities developed during intense inter Hall competitions in
the fields and stages. Hall Days besides putting Hall talent on stage culminated in huge
sit down dinners meticulously planned with seat numbers for nearly the entire campus. We
even had, a couple of times in a year, the common dinners for the entire Institute in the
Institute premises. Perhaps the last one I remember in this series was the one during
silver jubilee special inter-IIT meet. The entire campus community was invited and
involved in all Gymkhana activities in fields and auditoriums. It was the 'our IIT'
feeling even in campus ladies and children at inter-IIT meets and spring fests. The doors
and hearts of campus community were always open to students and fellow members of
community. We never had a culture of hierarchy within and outside the institute.
The 25 years from inception put our Institute firmly in the hearts and minds of people in
our country as well as a place of honour in the academic community the world over. Based
on the strong common basic values, sister IlTs were carving out niches on their own --
nationally and internationally. Under great leaders in BOG, Institute and Departments, the
IIT system reached the pinnacle of glory. There has been no looking back since then.
Besides the obvious cream of nation input, the best teachers and administrative support
and infrastructure the country can afford, the basic value and cultural system at IIT
creates this extraordinary range of flexible attitudes and talents, in students enabling
them to make all around contribution to nation and world building. No wonder, an IlTan is
at home anywhere in India or the world in terms of living, human interactions and work.
There are those who have migrated kilometres away to being entrepreneurs, administrative
officers, publishers, journalists, musicians and even bonsai specialists. Of course IlTans
are the hard core of science and technology in the country making waves from Bangalore to
Silicon Valley. An old IITan like me meets familiar faces almost anywhere in the wide
world. When we meet, we talk about good old days and of course about the Halls and current
tempo in general.
I joined IIT as a young teacher in October 1960. I had the good fortune to have played
many roles as assistant warden and warden (of my old Azad Hall), the founder head of the
Industrial Management Centre, President of Gymkhana, later Dean of students, and a senate
elected member of BOG. Each experience made me realize the basic strength of the structure
of our system and wisdom of its pioneers and offered me opportunity to make my small
contribution in this sacred institution building process. When we left IIT campus in
August 1996, looking back, it was a life full of excitement and growth on all fronts --
professional, social and family -- all because of the charming campus and great community
which has made it so rich. We came to campus as a young newly wed couple. All our children
were born and raised there, deriving all their knowledge and values from its wide,
tolerant, all-inclusive humanitarian culture and had the good fortune to learn under great
teachers of IIT, my alma mater. Their strong value base is the enduring contribution of
IIT Kharagpur and its campus.
As we enter the millennium, the golden years will turn diamond, platinum and still more
precious. The future is just great for IIT Kgp and the IIT system. We must remind
ourselves of our strong foundations of values and policies, and keep on modernizing
programmes and activities based on the basic values. The reciprocal of faith and freedom
are self-inflicted responsibility, sincere and devoted hard work. If all sections of IIT
community perform in this spirit, the Institute will keep on contributing still more
significantly to mother India and to the fast shrinking global village -- the space ship
mother earth. May God bless us in this noble endeavour.
Do not forget our emblem and the IIT song based on that: 'Yogah Karmasu Koushalam'. Let
the TMS present it on all significant occasions. It inspires!
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