The Time a Final Examination Was Postponed

In 1996, a "boat race" was part of the third design course in mechanical engineering. Students designed and built model boats powered by small steam engines, then raced them for glory (grades). That year, the boat race was held in the cooling pond in front of the P.K. Kelkar Library. The race had just begun, the judges were strutting back and forth with their sheaves of scoring sheets, when pandemonium broke loose. In the heat of the moment, everybody had forgotten the large bee hives that hung from the concrete sun shades of the Library. The fumes from the kerosene-burning steam engines had agitated the bees and they swooped down on the assemblage of contestants and spectators. Students ran leaving their boats, the judges their score sheets, and Prof P.K. Das, the instructor of the course, just ran away, no one knew where to. In more ways than one this event was a first. Never before had an IITK exam ended in such chaos and, of course, bolting faculty may never be seen again!

IITK is writing its story. To most people who have been associated with IITK, this institute is special in many ways. We hope to bring out this unique flavour in the book and, for that, we need contributions from everybody who has a story to tell. Irrespective of the nature of your association with IITK, you must remember at least one story --- anecdotes from the classroom, the playing fields, the hostels and the offices of the faculty and staff. Before these are lost or forgotten and before the photos in your old albums fade away, the Institute hopes to record them. Your Institute asks you to delve deep into your bag of memories and pull out those reminiscences.

You can contribute in many ways:

Perhaps you have an anecdote or a photograph that illustrates life on campus or the essence of the IITK experience, or is related to some significant development on campus. Perhaps you were among the students who contributed labour to the construction of the swimming pool or took the first glider flight, or brought out the first student journal. Perhaps you were on campus when "the strike" took place. If you have been on the faculty, perhaps you remember something special about your first reactions; perhaps you have an interesting story from your interactions with students, inside or outside the class, or from your experiences as a family man on campus. Or, you may like to share your personal views on the spirit of IITK or the contributions this Institute has made.

Send your contributions by e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or write to:

All contributors to the final book will be acknowledged by name. The Advisory Committee will decide on the exact nature of the acknowledgement. Do not send articles, as the book will not be a collection of articles. Other than that, there is no constraint on what you may contribute.

For those sending in photos:

All photos are welcome. However, it will help if they meet the following criteria:

Digital Images : .jpg/.jpeg format with a minimum resolution of 600 dpi with at least 80% image quality.

Scanned images :

• minimum resolution of 1200 dpi

• true colour mode (16.7 million colors)

• saved in .jpg/.jpeg format with at least 80% image quality.

Prints: Prints should be free from scratches, spots etc. and on good quality photo paper.