Student Life in IIT Kharagpur
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The life of students in IIT Kharagpur is a lot similar to that of his counterpart in other IITs, though it has developed some typical features owing to the differences in living environments. It has also evolved a rich slang language referred to as KGP Lingo.
Culturally speaking, the student life in IIT Kharagpur is mostly famous for Illumination and Rangoli festivals, Spring Fest, Kshitij, Hall days and the General Championships.
[edit] Illumination and Rangoli
Illumination (popularly known as Illu) is a festival unique to IIT Kharagpur. It is celebrated and inspired from the day of Diwali, the festival of lights and is usually held on the day of Diwali itself.
It is organized in a competitive environment, with all the halls fighting for the prestigious prize. As a part of the competition, all 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. When lighted during the night with all other light sources switched off, the result is a breath-taking display, made lively by the flickering light of the lamps. Traditionally, themes from Ramayan and Mahabharat have been popular choice for it.
On the same day as Illumination, the Rangoli Competition is also organized. Gigantic Rangolis (around 12' by 12') of exquisite detail and subtle 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.
[edit] Evaluation criteria
The Illumination and Rangoli competition's evaluation is done on the following parameters:
- Theme
- Narration
- Ambiance
- Aesthetics and skill
[edit] Traditional celebration
The winners get a potful of Rasgullas. Champions - 300, First Runner-up - 200, Second Runner-up - 100, Consolation - 100. This is followed by a lot of Tempo Shouts, another tradition belonging solely to IIT Kharagpur.
[edit] Spring Fest
Held annually in January, Spring Fest is the largest college fest in Eastern India and the second largest in the country. Spread over four days, Spring Fest hosts a variety of competitions and performances by some of the best 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, Fashion Parade, Nukkad (streetplay), Quizzes, Vocals, Dances (both eastern and western), Face painting, and Perpendiculars(Presently known as Perpz - Live Dancefloor featuring DJ Mackling and DJ Dippy)
[edit] Kshitij
Kshitij, is the annual techno-management festival of IIT Kharagpur. It has participation from colleges all over India (and even some from abroad) apart from the 4000 strong student community within the campus.
Kshitij hosts a galaxy of events aimed at boosting the technological and managerial skills of students like technical competitions, workshops and seminars by professionals. It provides a chance for the best brains to meet and think over what new can be pursued in the field of technology and management. Kshitij boasts of having played host to a number of celebrities like Shiv Khera, Arindam Chaudhuri, Richard Stallman, Subir Raha, etc.
For more details log on to http://www.ktj.in
[edit] History
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 swelled to 1400, including participants from outside India.
[edit] Robotix
The Annual Robotics competition held during Kshitij aims to bring forth the technical talent in the country. Started in the year 2001, Robotix has come a long way and boasts of being one of the largest competitions of its kind in India. From humble beginnings in year 2001, when only 7/8 inhouse students took part, Robotix 2006 proudly boasts of over 650 participants. Robotix 2007 is looking forward to international status, welcoming robotics enthusiasts from all over the world to take part and help make Robotix 2007 a grand success.
[edit] The Scholars' Avenue
The Scholars' Avenue is the campus newspaper of IIT Kharagpur. Founded in 2005, it is a fortnightly publiction managed and published by students of the institute. Apart from the hard copy which is circulated in the campus, the paper also maintains a website through which it reaches out to the alumni of the institute.
[edit] Hall Day
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 usually ends with a rock music/eastern music show by some professional group. It gives the students a chance to unwind and party wildly. Lights hang in mid air and a throng of people can be seen dancing in front of the stage.
Each hall names its Hall Day. For example RK Hall's Hall Day is called RespecK, VS hall's is called VesuviuS, Nehru Hall's is called Zephyr, etc. The most crowded of all the Hall Days is Essence, the Hall Day of the girls' hall (SN/IG Hall).
[edit] 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.
[edit] Patel Hall
Patel Hall of Residence is named after 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 whole of the IIT community. It is situated in the PAN Loop (Patel-Azad-Nehru loop, officially called the Oval 3) of the Scholar's avenue. The overall capacity of the hall is about 300 students. Motto of the Hall is Lux et veritas vincant (translated as "Let Light and Truth Prevail"). Patel was referred to as "Basti" (Hindi: slum) circa 1970-1985. However, this nickname has fallen into disuse in recent years. Notable Patel Hall alumni include Professor P. K. Datta (AE), and Professor S. Ramanujam (ME), both of whom completed their undergraduate studies at IIT Kharagpur.
[edit] Ashutosh Mukherjee Hall
This Hall is named after Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee. It used to host the students of Vinod Gupta School of Management, but since 2005, they have been shifted to MMM Hall.
[edit] Azad Hall
This Hall is named after Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, a freedom fighter of Indian independence struggle. It is one of the oldest Halls of IIT Kharagpur. It is located in PAN loop of IIT Kharagpur. The overall capacity of this hall is about 300. Azad Hall is one of the farthest hall of residence from the KGP educational campus. This Hall was the first to start the illumination festival in the campus which gradually transformed into an inter hall event. Azad hall organizes Khoj, the annual treasure hunt competition which primarily aims at increasing campus awareness amongst the freshmen.
[edit] Bidhan Chandra 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 post independent modern West Bengal, this hall is exclusively for male research scholars of the institute. The scholars from different departments and centers 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 organizes a drawing competition among the local children of different age-groups. The competition is attended by hundreds of participants.
[edit] 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 against to government owned mess in other Halls.
[edit] Homi Jahangir Bhabha Hall
This is a hall, named after Homi J. Bhabha for first-year students with a capacity of 168 students. It is a hexagon-shaped building with an extension taken in from J C Bose Hall. It was inaugurated on July 24, 1998 by R P Goenka, Chairman, Board of Governors. It is situated near Gymkhana swimming pool and stadium (hubs of student activity). The hall has been converted to a senior hall since the 2006 academic session.
[edit] J C Bose Hall
This Hall is named after Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose (an Indian physicist. This Hall is allotted to M.Tech and Ph.D scholars.
[edit] Lala Lajpat Rai Hall
Christened after Lala Lajpat Rai (an eminent freedom fighter, scholar and educationist), this hall of Residence was founded on March 18, 1967. LLR's motto is "Once a Lajpatian, ever a Lajpatian". This hall is distinguished for the maximum number of PGMs (President's Gold Medalists) it has produced.
[edit] Meghnad 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 Meghnad Saha, an eminent scientist. Among all the halls of IIT Kharagpur, the M S Hall has the highest capacity of 400 students. It generally houses the 1st year undergraduate students along with some research scholars.
[edit] Mother Teresa Hall
This Hall is named after Mother Teresa. It is a girls' M. Tech. Hall.
[edit] Nehru Hall
Nehru Hall of Residence is named after Moti Lal Nehru, father of Jawaharlal Nehru. It is located in a 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 300 residents. It is the Hall which has won the Social and Cultural General Championship the maximum number of times next to Radhakrisnan Hall.
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". This hall is the only hall to be discussed in the Parliament of India for the opium that grew in its backyard.
[edit] Old MBM Hostel
As MBM (Masters of Business Management) in the name suggests, it was the hall that housed the Management students when Vinod Gupta School of Management was founded.
[edit] Radhakrisnan Hall
Radhakrishnan Hall of Residence, or commonly known as R.K.Hall, is named after Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (a renowned scholar and statesman), and President of India from 1962 to 1967. This hall has won 22 Sports GC (General Championship) and 20 Social-and-Cultural GC's, more than any other hall. RK alumni occupy some of the most important positions in industry and academics like: Vinod Gupta, founder InfoUSA; Prof. PP Chakravarti, Dean SRIC, IIT Kharagpur; 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).
[edit] Rajendra Prasad Hall
The Rajendra Prasad Hall of Residence (commonly known as RP Hall) was founded in 1954. It is named after Rajendra Prasad, the first president of the Republic of India. The residents of RP Hall are known as RPians. RP Hall has won the Sports GC 8 times in the last 12 years. Its motto is "Gentlemen By Choice". The Rajendra Prasad Hall is one of the oldest halls on campus at IIT Kharagpur.
[edit] Sarojini Naidu Hall
This Hall is named after noted freedom fighter and Nightingale of India, Sarojini Naidu. It is a girls' only Hall. SN Hall is adjacent to the Indira Gandhi Hall of residence, named after ex-prime minister Indira Gandhi. It, too, is a girls-only residence, and was first commissioned in 1994.
[edit] 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".
[edit] Zakir Hussain Hall
This Hall is named after Dr. Zakir Hussain. It houses mainly the research scholars.
[edit] Wing culture
All the Halls of IIT Kharagpur have internal sub-divisions which are described as follows (please note that this naming convention is specific to IIT Kharagpur):
- Blocks - A part of the Hall that belongs to the same building is called a Block. Most of the Halls have 4 blocks: A, B, C and D, although in recently constructed Halls, naming is also done 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 (with optional double/triple room as the corner room).
Most of the halls have a student room of dimension 12 feet by 9 feet. Additionally, there's 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.
[edit] 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 organized 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.
[edit] GC-Sports and Games
Following competitions are organized under GC(Sports and Games):
- Cricket
- Football
- Basketball
- Lawn Tennis
- Table Tennis
- Athletics
- Hockey
- Badminton
- Swimming
- Water Polo
- Volleyball
- Chess
- Bridge
- Weight Lifting
As with the rest of the world, the events are for men-only. As the number of girls is very less, no separate women-only events are organized. However, an institute-level girls team exists that competes with other IITs.
[edit] GC-Social and Cultural Activities
Following competitions are organized under GC(Social and Cultural Activities):
- Antakshari
- Debate
- Dramatics (English)
- Dramatics (Hindi)
- Dramatics (Bengali)
- Sketching
- Cartooning
- Painting
- Modelling
- Dumb Charades
- What's the Good Word
- Creative Writing (English)
- Creative Writing (Hindi)
- Creative Writing (Bengali)
- Collaging
- Just-A-Minute
- Instrumentals (Eastern)
- Instrumentals (Western)
- Vocals (Eastern)
- Vocals (Western)
- Postering
- Elocution (English)
- Elocution (Hindi)
- Elocution (Bengali)
- Groups (Eastern)
- Groups (Western)
[edit] GC-Hall Affairs
This GC differs from the others because of the reason that it requires the participation of the whole hall, rather than a select team from each hall. It includes the following events:
- Illumination
- Rangoli
- Gardening Competetion
- Cleanliness Competition
[edit] 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 here. It includes the following events:
- Mathematics Olympiad
- Product Design
- Ad Design
- Biz Quiz
- Tech Quiz
- Hardware Design
- Chem-innovation
- Open-Soft
- Case Study
[edit] Disciplinary Committee
Disciplinary Committee (or DC) is one of the most feared things on the IIT Kharagpur campus that students face for any and all disciplinary violations. The committee comprises several members of the faculty and inquire into the nature and conditions of the violation of the institute code of conduct and have the authority to impose punishment.
[edit] Technology Students Gymkhana
"Technology students Gymkhana" is the center of all the extra-curricular 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). 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 overlooked by the G Secs. The VP speaks for 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.
[edit] 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 chautha (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 run in the institute.
[edit] Chhedi's
Chhedi's is an eatery in a thatched hut, located right by the railway tracks, close to institute. Its claim to fame is that this 24 / 7 shop has closed only twice since it started in its present location some 27 years ago - once for 4 hours (when the owner fell ill) and once for a day (after Indira Gandhi's death and subsequent riots), before Kharagpur police warranted that Chhedi's be shut down from 12 AM to 3 AM every night.
Chhedi's is known and loved for its late night tasty menu of a variety of specialties. Chhedi's has a unique tradition of naming customized recipes after the people who invented them. Examples include the Tinku burger and the Jassi burger.
[edit] Other Eateries of Fame
Nikhils - moved to right side as you approach the Cheddi railway crossing, Waldorf (now not frequented), Anarkali now renamed as Park Hotel are some of the other well known eateries around the campus. Ramdas, the kulfi joint, has vanished. Little Sister(LS) and Midtown are some places where one can find decent food, are the new additions.
