MIT faculty, classes in workshop: IIT Kanpur alumnus from first batch shares his experience

In an email interview, he tells us how he got admission to IIT Kanpur and about his life at the institute.

What was the process to get the seat, and how many courses were offered then?

My journey to IIT Kanpur started with a bit of uncertainty. I was underage by a few months for admission, but fate had other plans. We learned from one of my father’s friends that his son, who was also underage for admission into an IIT, got admitted to IIT Madras based on his board examination marks, as the age criteria were relaxed following their request.

First batches of IIT:  IIT Delhi | IIT Kharagpur | IIT Madras | IIT Bombay | IIT Guwahati | IIT Roorkee

This news was a game changer, and I applied to IIT Kanpur with a similar request to waive the age criteria. However, I did not hear anything from IIT Kanpur for a long time, and I began to lose hope. Reluctantly, I left by early July 1960 to join Ewing Christian College for the second year of the UP Intermediate course. A few months into my study there, I received an acceptance letter from IIT Kanpur.

My discontentment with opting for the UP Intermediate education system vanished as the incredible opportunity to join one of the new and prestigious institutions for higher learning in technology established by the Government of India came. I was very relieved and overjoyed. That is how my journey at IIT Kanpur started.

What did the first campus look like?

As the first batch, we moved to the new campus in March 1963, towards the end of our third year at IIT Kanpur. It was at a very nascent stage, with only a hall and a workshop completed by then. So, our first classes on the new campus were held in the workshop. After our summer vacations, when we returned for our fourth year, the lecture hall complex was completed, while the computer centre within this complex and new labs and facilities were under construction.

The academic buildings at IIT-Kanpur were designed by Kanvinde and Rai. (Photos: IIT-K website)

There was also a basketball court, and Prof Holt Ashley, an Aeronautics professor from MIT, had brought basketballs with him from the US. Holt, as Prof Ashley liked to be called, was an imposing personality, about 6 feet, 4 inches tall, but very warm and friendly. He gave us some basketball lessons, and soon we had a team practising and playing daily. We also played football, hockey, cricket, volleyball and tennis. During our annual sports day, we had an inter-year competition, and in December 1964, we went for our very first inter-IIT sports meet at IIT Kharagpur.

Please share some moments spent with faculty or classmates that you still cherish…

My journey to IIT Kanpur began towards the end of July 1960, when I landed at Kanpur Central with a few naya paisas in my pocket, which were introduced as a result of conversion to the metric system. There was a little blue truck waiting at the train station with the legendary Shishupal, our driver, waiting for scores of dreamy-eyed boys who arrived from all parts of the country.

The truck took us to the Government Central Textile Institute (GCTI) hostel in Gwaltoli, where we stayed for almost three years until our move to Hall 1 in March 1963. Shishupal and the little blue truck are cherished in our memory.

A professor taking lectures in IIT Kanpur. (Photos: IIT-K website)

Dr P K Kelkar, the first director of IIT Kanpur, was remarkable. He had all the characteristics of a great leader – imagination, boldness, resourcefulness, perseverance, integrity and humility.

Life at the Textile hostel was fun for the most part. There were badminton courts in the little courtyard and a playing field behind the hostel. I used to play most evenings and also did some friendly wrestling with friends. Sometimes, we would walk to the Ganga river, which was not too far away and take a bath or a swim. There was also a common room where we played table tennis, carrom and chess.

For entertainment, we went to Green Park whenever there was a Test match in town and watched movies in theatres. When we could afford it, we went to the restaurant Khayyam. We had picnics and other activities, as well.

Tell us about your first job and salary. Were you placed by the institute, or did you find a job on your own?

We graduated by 1965. Jobs were scarce, and the brand IIT was not yet established. Most of us either found a job or went abroad to the US and Canada for higher studies. I was fortunate to have been accepted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and given a Research Assistantship.

Our education at IIT Kanpur had prepared us well for the challenges at an institution like MIT.

During my semester at Bell Labs in 1966, I got to work on the world’s first colour picture phone for my masters’ thesis. In 1969, at MIT, the ARPAnet, the internet’s precursor, was starting, and I was fortunate enough to get involved.

I was able to connect MIT’s Multics system to the Net (Node #4), designing and building the hardware myself. As part of the very first Network Working Group with Vint Cerf, I chaired the File Transfer Protocol Working Group and authored the FTP and early versions of the email standards.

What were the festivals, debates or sports events on campus during those days?

We had an annual sports day with all types of games and races. We also put on our cultural program annually, with plays in Hindi and English and music, songs and skits. We celebrated various festivals like Holi and Diwali as well.