Student Life in IIT Kharagpur

The life of students in IIT Kharagpur has evolved to include unique features quite different from those of their counterparts in other IITs. The student life in IIT Kharagpur is unique and is famous for the Illumination and Rangoli festivals, Spring Fest, Kshitij,Shaurya, Hall days and the General Championships.

Illumination and Rangoli

Main article: Illumination and Rangoli

Illumination (popularly known as Illu) is a festival unique to IIT Kharagpur. It gains inspiration from and is celebrated on the day of Diwali, the festival of lights. The process was started by Azad Hall as a celebration of Diwali but it later became a competition.

It is organised in a competitive environment, with all halls fighting for the prize. As a part of the competition, the halls build vertical panels of bamboo (called chatais) on which thousands of lamps (diyas) are mounted forming outlines of people/things that illustrate an event or a place of importance. The chatais are sometimes even of the order of 20 feet in height, and overall some 20,000 lamps are lighted. Traditionally, themes from the Ramayan and the Mahabharat have been popular choices.

On the same day as Illumination, the Rangoli Competition is also organised. Gigantic Rangolis (around 12' by 12') of detail and shading are constructed using coloured powders, crushed bangles, pebbles, etc. Interplay of light and shadow and ambient music are part of the display. This is also fought for on an inter-hall basis. The winners get a potful of Rasgullas. Champions – 300, First Runner-up – 200, Second Runner-up – 100, Consolation – 100. This is followed by a series of Tempo Shouts, another tradition belonging solely to IIT .

The Rangoli of Rajendra Prasad Hall of Residence of the year 2010 was also Featured on Comics.com Repley's Believe it or Not Edition

Know more about Illumination and Rangoli.

Awaaz

Awaaz is the Hindi media body of IIT Kharagpur. Since its inception in 2006, it has been a chronicle of ups and downs in the campus. The monthly newsletter reaches over 5000 students and faculties. Awaaz was started to act as a communication bridge between the students and the administration. Its cartoon character Panji dude has become a symbol to express students' grievances.

Spring Fest

Main article: Spring Fest

Held annually in January, Spring Fest is the largest social and cultural festival in the country.^{[citation needed]} Spread over four days, Spring Fest hosts a variety of competitions and performances by professionals (individual performers and bands) in India. Most of the colleges from eastern India and other parts of the country participate in the fest. Major events are Star Nite, Wildfire (Rock Band Competition), Rangmanch (inter-collegiate Dramatics competition), Fine Frenzy (Fashion Parade), Nukkad (street-play), Quizzes, Dances, Vocals (both eastern and western), Face painting, and Perpendiculars (presently known as Perpz – Live Dancefloor featuring DJ Mackling and DJ Dippy).

The official website of Spring Fest is www.springfest.in

Kshitij

Main article: Kshitij

Kshitij is the annual techno-management festival of IIT Kharagpur. It has participation from colleges all over India and some from abroad as well as from the student community within the campus.

Kshitij hosts many events aimed at boosting the technological and managerial skills of students like technical competitions, workshops and seminars by professionals. Kshitij has played host to a number of celebrities like Shiv Khera, Arindam Chaudhuri, Alyque Padamse, Prof. Kevin Warwick, M.Kasturirangan, Richard Stallman and Subir Raha.

Previously started as Ideon, Kshitij took off in its present Avatar in 2004, when 260 participants from outside the campus came for the Fest. In 2005, this figure increased to 1400, including participants from outside India.

Technology Robotix Society

Main article: Robotix (competition)

The Technology Robotix Society is a society under the Technology Students' Gymkhana, dedicated to the advancement of robotics in IIT Kharagpur and beyond. The Society is responsible for organising and managing robotics events each year during Kshitij. Robotix 2011 will be held from 28 to 31 January 2011. Six challenging problem statements are lined up to bring out the best in college students.

The Society is also responsible for the activities conducted under KRAIG(Kharagpur Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Group). Special classes are conducted for the first year members of KRAIG on weekends. Interested first years also work on projects, under dedicated KRAIG heads during a Winter Workshop held during the semester break(December), each year. The hands-on Winter Workshop has been christened the most productive period in fresher life.

Entrepreneurship Cell

Main article: Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Kharagpur

Entrepreneurship Cell (E-Cell) is a student's organisation, functioning under STEP (Science and Technology Entrepreneurs' Park), from within the Institute, with the aim of promoting entrepreneurship among students throughout India. It provides mentorship and support to startup companies and helps them with financing, through Venture Capitalists and incubation,through STEP and SRIC, IIT Kharagpur.
E-Cell is ranked first among all the student-level entrepreneurship bodies in India in terms of its activity and influence on students.
It conducts two major events, the Global Entrepreneurship Summit(GES), which is a three-day event, held in January at IIT Kharagpur and Entrepreneurship Awareness Drive(EAD), a 10-day event, consisting of Guest Lectures in 10 cities spread across India. The Knowledge Camp is also conducted annually for the benefit of students within IIT-Kgp, while the Innovation Platform and Fund-aKGPian programs continue throughout the year, to recognise and support innovative ideas among students of IIT-Kgp, besides numerous workshops and Guest Lectures throughout the year.
Prof. Sunil Handa, Padma Shri Prof. Anil K. Gupta, Sanjeev Bhikchandani, Vinod Dham, Arjun Malhotra are some of the speakers, who have delivered lectures within and outside IIT -Kgp, due to the efforts of E-Cell.
E-Cell has been instrumental in the establishment of School of Engineering Entrepreneurship (SoEE), the first of its kind in India.

The Scholars' Avenue

The Scholars' Avenue is the independent student-run campus newspaper of IIT Kharagpur. Now in its fifth year, copies of The Scholars’ Avenue are delivered to over 6000 students on campus and soft copies are mailed to all the faculty and 8,000 odd alumni. The team is drawn entirely from among the students of the institute, and its mission is to report and analyse events that affect the campus, and to be the voice of the IIT Kharagpur student community. The issues contain regular features such as editorials, guest articles by faculty and reports on campus research advancements. Apart from this, the team also maintains an events calendar, posts regular news updates and carries information on scholarships on their website.

Spectra

"Spectra" is a student initiative that aims to strengthen and promote the roots of fine arts among the students of IIT Kharagpur.^[1] With many talented artists and exhibitionists as its members the society promises to be a valued treasure for the connoisseurs of fine arts. "Spectra" has been organizing various workshops on Photoshop, Photography, Film Making, Animation etc. in the campus since its foundation in 2007. It has also been organizing all the fine arts events in Spring Fest since 2009 under the banner of "Destination Artland". The details of its events can be found on their website.

Halls of Residence

The Hostels (known as Halls for historical reasons) are laid out along Scholars Avenue, a road that runs from the Institute gates all the way up to the B. C. Roy Technology Hospital. There are eight hostels in all for Undergraduate male students and three for women. In addition, there are a few Post Graduate Students' hostels. Almost every hall has a canteen, a stationery shop, and a fruit stall.

A Hall Day or hall social is an annual celebration day that every Hall celebrates sometime in the month of March. On this day, people of the Hall invite their friends from other halls for food and drinks and it among the rare occasions that boys are granted entry into girls hostel and vice versa. Each hall names its Hall Day. For example, RK Hall's Hall Day is called RespecK, LLR Hall's Hall Day is called Elements, VS hall's is called VesuviuS and Nehru Hall's is called Zephyr, Patel Hall's Hall Day is called Patel Utsav.[1]. The most crowded of all the Hall Days is Essence, the Hall Day of the girls' hall (SN/IG Hall).

Ashutosh Mukherjee Hall

This Hall is named after Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee. It used to host the students of Vinod Gupta School of Management, but in 2005, they were shifted to MMM Hall. In 2007 the girls of Vinod Gupta School of Management were shifted back here. Presently it has been turned into a boys hall and it houses students of LLB (Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law), MBM (VGSoM), M.Tech, Ph.D. and PGDST.[1]

Azad Hall

Named after Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, a freedom fighter in the Indian Independence Struggle,the Azad Hall of Residence is one of the oldest Halls of IIT Kharagpur. Its a place of residence for the undergraduate students from their first year at the institute.It has five b blocks A,B,C,D and E with a total of around 400 rooms. Along with a mess which caters for the boarders, the hall also has volleyball,football,badminton, basketball and cricket practice facilities. The common room of the hall serves as a multipurpose arena for watching television, playing indoor games like table tennis or practice for the Inter Hall Social and Cultural competition. The motto of the hall is "Pranipatena Pariprashnena Sevaya", part of a verse from the Bhagvad Gita. This Hall was the first to start the Illumination festival in the campus, which gradually transformed into an inter hall event. Azad Hall organises Khoj, the annual Treasure hunt competition which primarily aims at increasing campus awareness amongst the freshmen.^[2] Famous alumni of this hall include Arun Sarin, former CEO of Vodafone and Anup Verma, Director Asia-Pacific Region of Oracle.

Bidhan Chandra Roy Hall

B.C. Roy Hall

This Hall was established in the early years of formation of IIT Kharagpur. Named after Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, the first Chief Minister of West Bengal in post-independence India, this hall is exclusively for male research scholars of the institute. The scholars from different departments and centres find accommodation here. The hall, located just opposite the main gate of the institute campus, houses 160 boarders in its five separate blocks at a time. Each year, the hall organises a drawing competition among the local children of different age-groups. The competition is attended by hundreds of participants.[2]

Gokhale Apartments

Earlier known as Gokhale Hall, it is named after Gopal Krishna Gokhale (a notable freedom fighter). It houses married couples studying in IIT Kharagpur. It has a private mess, as compared to government owned messes in other Halls.[3]

Homi Jehangir Bhabha Hall

HJB Hall

This is a hall named after Homi J. Bhabha and known as HJB hall of residence in campus. Three storyed Hall consists of 2 blocks with a capacity of 240 students. It is a hexagon-shaped building with an extension taken in from J C Bose Hall. The hall named after the prestigious nuclear scientist was inaugurated on 24 July 1998 by R P Goenka, Chairman, Board of Governors. It is situated near Technology Students Gymkhana.

It was initially meant for participants of scientific conferences on the campus, but was later converted into a regular hall of residence where in freshly inducted undergraduate students were set up in this hall. Subsequently the hall was converted into a senior hall.[4] The motto of hall is "un pour tous, tous pour un". All for one. One for all. Derived from 'The Three Musketeers' by Alexandre Dumas.

The hall has its own website.

J C Bose Hall

JCB Hall

This Hall is named after Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose (an Indian physicist). This Hall was also used to host freshmen till 2003–04 session. Now, it is allotted to M.Tech and Ph.D scholars.[5]

Recently it has started participating in many of the inter-hall events. JCB Hall day is the most famous function other than these. This hall has also has its own website.

Lala Lajpat Rai Hall

LLR Hall

Named after Lala Lajpat Rai (an eminent freedom fighter, scholar and educationist), this hall of Residence was founded on 18 March 1967. LLR's slogan is "Once a Lajpatian, ever a Lajpatian".This hall is distinguished for the maximum number of PGMs (President's Gold Medalists) it has produced. LLR Hall organises VORTEX, the annual dance competition aimed to find dancing talents among the freshmen.^{[citation needed]}[6]

Madan Mohan Malaviya Hall

It is named after Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, freedom fighter. Among all the halls of IIT Kharagpur, the MMM Hall has the highest capacity of 1600 students. It has a mix of BTech 1st Year and MTech students. The hall has 4 blocks - SDS, RR, HK and DSK.[7]

Megnad Saha Hall

This Hall was founded in 2003, with the inauguration done by Murli Manohar Joshi, the then HRD minister of India. It is named after Megh Nad Saha, an eminent scientist. Among all the halls of IIT Kharagpur, the M S Hall has the 2nd highest capacity of 400 students. It is a full-fledged undergraduate hall. The symbol of this hall is a phoenix.The hall is made up of six building blocks connected to each other in form of hexagon.[8]

Mother Teresa Hall

This Hall is named after Mother Teresa. It is a girls' M. Tech. Hall.[9]

Nehru Hall

Nehru Hall

Nehru Hall of Residence is named after Jawahar Lal Nehru the first Prime Minister of India. It is located in a lonely corner of the PAN loop of IIT Kharagpur, and is one of the farthest halls of residence from the KGP academic campus. The hall houses approximately 450 residents.

The meaning of "being Nehruites" transcends the championships and academics feats that we achieve. It is the character that you develop in the three-four years you spend at this institution that makes you what you are. Yes, Nehru is an institution. Yoo NEHRU.....Tempo se....

Founded in 1954, it is the second oldest hall of the campus. Nehru Hall's motto is "Sa Vidya Ya Vimuktaye". The slogan of the Hall is "Once a Nehruite,always a Nehruite". [10]

Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Hall (MMM)

The latest hall in the campus of IIT Kharagpur is the Madan Mohan Malaviya Hall of Residence. Pronounced "Triple M", this hall was started on 27 February 2005 and completed by the time the 2005–06 students started on 22 July. This hall can house over 1600 students with two people sharing a room. It is divided into four blocks:

1. The HK (Dr. Humayun Kabir) Block;
2. The SDS (Dr. Shanker Dayal Sharma) Block — It used to house the management students of Vinod Gupta School of Management (VGSoM). It was co-ed initially, but since 2007, as the girls have been relocated, it is no more co-ed;
3. The RR Block (Dr. Raja Ramanna);
4. The DSK Block (Dayal Singh Kothari);

Patel Hall

Patel Hall of Residence is named after the late Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who is widely known as the Iron Man of India. Built in December 1951, it is the oldest hall in the IIT community. Housing over 300 students, it is situated in the PAN (Patel-Azad-Nehru) loop (officially called the Oval 3) near the Technology Swimming Pool. The motto of the hall is lux et veritas vincant (translated as “Let Light and Truth Prevail”) and the residents and alumni, better known as Patelians, live by this motto. Patel has four blocks, the A, B, C, and D, comprising 30 wings.

The Hall Council manages the hall under the warden's guidance. Headed by the Hall President, it has six General Secretaries, 15 Secretaries and 8 nominated Council Members. Captains head activities related to each socio-cultural, sport and technological event.[11]

The hall has its own [12] website.

Radhakrishnan Hall

RK Hall

Radhakrishnan Hall of Residence, or commonly known as R.K.Hall, is named after Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (a renowned scholar and statesman), and second President of India from 1962 to 1967. RK alumni occupy some of the most important positions in industry and academics like: Vinod Gupta, founder InfoUSA; Sandipan Deb, Editor Outlook Weekly Magazine; Prof. Prem Vrat, Director, IIT Roorkee. The gigantic messtop structure of "Geetopadesha" during Illumination festival (2002) in RK Hall is the tallest student-made structure in the history of IIT KGP (35 feet from the ground).[13]

The motto of the hall is "Attitude is everything".

Rajendra Prasad Hall

RP Hall

The Rajendra Prasad Hall of Residence (commonly known as RP Hall) was founded in 1954. It is situated nearest to the gate of the institute. It is named after Rajendra Prasad, the first president of the Republic of India. The Rajendra Prasad Hall is one of the oldest halls on campus at IIT Kharagpur. Traditionally, RP hall is known for its Illumination.In the recently introduced Technology General Championship, RP Hall has showed many brilliant performances.

The motto of the Hall is "Gentlemen by Choice".[14]

Rani Lakshmibai Hall

Rani Lakshmibai Hall is hall with Phd scholars, MBA , Msc.students. It will be solely a girls' hostel. It is located just to the left of Jnan Ghosh Stadium. Construction has been completed and will be used for accommodation from the 2008 batch. This hostel is named after famous patriot from Jhansi, Rani Lakshmibai.[15]

Sarojini Naidu Hall

Gate of Girls Hall Complex

The SN/IG Hall named after noted freedom fighter and "Nightingale of India", Sarojini Naidu and ex-prime minister of India Indira Gandhi is boarded by the B.Tech, M.Tech and M.Sc girls of IIT,Kharagpur. The Hall firmly believes in its motto: Sanskrita Striya Parashakti. Despite its feeble strength, the SNites have lived up to the names of the two legendary woman achievers of Indian History and have been actively participating and winning accolades in all the Inter Hall Events. Just last year(2006), it had won second position in Rangoli and had also put up a commendable job in illumination. Notable alumni of the hall include Dr. Parvati Dey who had been the Director of the Stanford School of Medicine, Dr. Nina Saxena, Dr. Chaitali Sengupta.[16]

Vidyasagar Hall

VS hall is an M.Tech and Ph.D. Hall. Vidyasagar Hall of residence was the fourth hall on the campus, conceived in 1960 and named after Pundit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (a noted scholar and social activist). The Hall started functioning from 28 September 1965, the birthday of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. Its existence started with a U.G. batch, then a mix of U.G. and P.G. and then completely Ph.D. scholars. Since 1995, VS has been a complete P.G. Hall. The hall has 365 single rooms and two single seated guest rooms. The Motto of the Hall is "Sheel Sanyam Vivek".[17]

Zakir Hussain Hall

This Hall is named after Dr. Zakir Hussain. It houses mainly the research scholars.[18]

Wing culture

All the Halls of IIT Kharagpur have internal sub-divisions which are described as follows:

• Blocks – A part of the Hall that belongs to the same building is called a Block. Naming of block is done alphabetically or on the basis of location within a Hall or even historical personalities.
• Wings – The part of a floor of a block that has around 12 rooms lined one after the other.

Most of the halls have a student room of 12 feet by 9 feet. Additionally, there's a balcony of 9 feet by 3 feet in many halls. For most of the students, the life is confined to their own rooms or wings. This special attachment of boarders to their own wing is known as Wing Culture. This culture is reflected in many spheres of life, be it the daily chat sessions (known as Bhaating), the intra-hall competitions and even in the various treats given by the students. In the absence of a metropolitan environment, the wing-life in Kharagpur is pivotal in shaping the personalities of the young men and women who come to Kharagpur (undergraduate). The wing often becomes a surrogate family for its respective residents.^{[citation needed]}

General Championships

The various halls of IIT Kharagpur compete against each other over four types of General Championships (GCs). They are GC (Sports and Games), GC (Social and Cultural Activities), GC (Technology) and GC (Hall Affairs). Various events organised throughout the year are grouped under either of these accordingly. Each event contributes to the overall tally of points in a weighted manner based on the importance of the event.

GC-Sports and Games

Following competitions are organised under GC (Sports and Games):

• Cricket
• Football
• Basketball
• Lawn Tennis
• Table Tennis
• Athletics
• Hockey
• Badminton
• Swimming
• Water Polo
• Volleyball
• Chess
• Bridge
• Weight Lifting

These inter hall events are for men only. As the number of girls is far less, no separate women-only events are organised. However, an institute-level girls team exists that competes with other IITs.

GC-Social and Cultural Activities

Following competitions are organised under GC (Social and Cultural Activities):

• Debate
• Sketching
• Modelling
• Collaging
• Postering
• Cartooning
• Dumb Charades
• What's the Good Word
• Vocals (Eastern and Western)
• Groups (Eastern and Western)
• Instrumentals (Eastern and Western)
• Elocution (English, Hindi and Bengali)
• Dramatics (English, Hindi and Bengali)
• Quiz
• Choreography

GC-Hall Affairs

This GC differs from the others because it requires the participation of the whole hall, rather than a select team from each hall. It includes the following events:

• Illumination
• Rangoli
• Gardening Competition

GC-Technology

This is the most recent General Championship added to the triplet already present. It started in the session 2003–04 to reflect the technical aspirations of the students. It includes the following events:

• Biz Quiz
• Open-Soft
• Tech Quiz
• Ad Design
• Case Study
• Product Design
• Hardware Design
• Chem-innovation
• Mathematics Olympiad

Disciplinary Committee

Disciplinary Committee (or DC) on the IIT Kharagpur campus oversees all disciplinary violations. The committee comprises several members of the faculty and enquires into the nature and conditions of the violation of the institute code of conduct and has the authority to impose punishment.

Technology Students Gymkhana

Inside view of IIT Kharagpur Gymnasium

Gymkhana Entrance

"Technology Students Gymkhana" is the center of all the extracurricular and co-curricular activities ranging from sports to social and cultural activities. The Technology Students Gymkhana (TSG) is run by an elected student committee. The president is a professor nominated by the Director of the institute. The student head is the Vice President (VP) followed by the General Secretaries (G Secs)and a Public Relations Chair. There are 6 G Secs in 3 categories – G Sec (Soc. & Cult.), G Sec (Sports and Games) and G Sec (Technology). Then there are a group of secretaries whose functioning is supervised by the G Secs. The VP speaks on behalf of the students in the institute senate. He is a part of the institute administration where he represents the students. The G Secs are responsible for conducting Gymkhana Events, Spring Fest and Kshitij.

Gymkhana elections

The elections for the gymkhana committee are held in the last week of March, one month before the end of the academic year. The nominations are filed over a week and then displayed on notice boards. The students are allowed around three days to withdraw their nominations after which the campaigning period starts.

The candidates go from hall to hall campaigning and they have to present everyone with a calli chotha (a short manuscript describing their ideas and intentions). Soap Boxes are held for the major posts where the candidates are grilled on their knowledge about facts, figures and how things are done in the institute.

The Technology Student's Gymkhana website provides details of all ongoing student's activities.

References

1. ^ http://spectraiitkgp.in/about.php
2. ^ Khoj page, azadian.org "Azad Khoj", Azad Khoj 2010.

External links

• Technology Student's Gymkhana
• Robotix2011
• AIESEC IIT Kharagpur
• Entrepreneurship Cell of IIT Kharagpur
• Official website of Space Technology student's society of IIT Kharagpur
• Spring Fest:The annual cultural fest of IIT Kharagpur
• Kshitij:The annual techno-management fest of IIT Kharagpur
• IIT Kharagpur wiki
• Scholar's Avenue Official Website
• Official Website of IIT Kharagpur
• Official Website of Patel Hall of Residence
• Official Website of Azad Hall of Residence