KOLKATA: Once again, it was time for sleepless nights and secret meetings at IIT-Kharagpur, time for one hostel resident to stop talking to another. And all this because of a unique competition, which has been going on for ages on the campus, to bring
Diwali to life.
There are 21 student hostel on campus today, many more than what it was when the tech school started 67 years ago. But the tradition of illuminating hostels has been there since inception. The idea was a hit and even the administration decided to encourage it by initiating a competition. The only criterion: technology should be used for the illuminations. Gradually, from simple styles, hostels graduated to themes and messages.
Illumination is coupled with rangoli, an exuberant combination of colours. The key feature of rangoli is the precision in the drawing, following scales and innovative use of colours for three dimensional effects.
“Nearly 11,000 students come together to put up the amazing spectacle across 21 hostels. Even our rangoli uses organics colours. You have to see to believe how they tie the diyas with the help of copper or steel wires,” said William Mohanty, faculty member and president of IIT-Kharagpur Gymkhana.
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