My Tech Blog

Here is the second post in the series of posting named "Houses Around the World".

About Me

Hi, welcome to my tech blog, let me start by telling you something about myself. My name is Subash Chandra Nayak ... ppl prefer to call me Nayak. I am 23 year old guy currently in my 5th year Dual Degree (BTech + MTech) course at IIT Kharagpur. I am doing my BTech in Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering with MTech specialization in Automation and Computer Vision. I am originally from a small village near Sambalpur, which is situated at the western part of Orissa. I have grown up in a rural background far from the rush and run of city-life. I have thoroughly enjoyed the bliss of green and pure environment, the simple living style of rural people. My father is a farmer. My mother is a good housewife and a brilliant homemaker. I too have a small brother . I have done my schooling up to class X in a small rural school near my village. Then I went to GM College , Sambalpur, one of the best college in Orissa, for class XI and XII. Finally I have come IIT Kharagpur to do my BTech after qualifying in IIT-JEE. I am at the end of my KGP days after spending 5 best years of my life. Me got placed at nVidia Bangalore, and will be joining there after completion of my degree at IIT Kharagpur

My Hobbies

My hobbies?.......Hmmm... Swimming, Water polo, Programming, Web Designing (a little bit). Very recently I have started watching movies (preferebly imdb top 250), reading novels, and jogging (to burn extra accumulated fats). Swimming....It's my life. I knew swimming before I went for class I. I spend around 1-2 hours a day in swimming pool. My favorite stroke is Back-stroke. I have a keen interest in Water-polo. During winter when swimming pool is closed I usually go for light exercise like jogging. I know little bit of web designing, enough of HTML/Javascript to tweak my blogs and homepage, to explore my artistic side. I am a geek

If you are interested in my CV, then look here. (Coming Soon) Who am I? Writing about myself is a bit difficult task for me. But taking clue from anildigital's this post, i am rather writing "100 things about me" !!!!

1. My name is Subash Chandra Nayak
2. I am currently a 5th year Dual Degree (BTech + MTech)
3. I am studying Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering at IITKGP (Indian Institute of Technology)
4. My Mtech specialization is Automation and Computer Vision
5. I am from a small beautifull village near Sambalpur, Orissa, India
6. I was born on 18th April 1983
7. I am an aquarius
8. My hobbies are swimming, waterpolo, programing, web-designing, blogging, collecting e-books link and ofcourse Zzzzz
9. I can swim 1500 meter at a stretch :))
10. I love programming
11. I have programmed in C, C++, Java, Visual Basic, Matlab, HTML/PHP/Javascript, Shell Script, and Verilog HDL
12. My favourite programming language is C++ and Matlab
13. I like pointers [it is fun playing with them, debugging them]
14. I think I am a geek
15. I wrote my first program in C
16. I am an IT enthusiast
17. I love blogging, and reading blogs
18. I have a strange hoppy of collecting ebooks-link (I don't know how it started ... I have collected good a number of e-books link and there is a high probability that you have arrived my blog site in search of e-books link)
19. I love watching Cricket (especially when INDIA is batting and now-a-days while bowling too)
20. I love internet
21. Firefox is the ONLY browser that I use
22. I like to travel
23. I believe in God, but don't belive in those crappy rituals, rules and regulations that are forced upon people in the name of spirituality
24. I live in Kharagpur
25. I am proud to be an INDIAN
26. I hate hypocrites
27. I respect those people who are passionate, who belive in struggle
28. Home-cooked foods are my favourite food
29. My favourite actor is Amitabh Bachhan and Shahrukh Khan
30. My favourite television channel is BBC
31. I love watching cricket, but hardly play cricket
32. My academic interests are Computer Vision, VLSI Design/EDA, Bio-inspired Computing
33. I have a inclination towards Soft computing approaches
34. I love Bio-inspired computing techniques like (Genetic Algorithm, Evolutionary Strategies, Evolutionary Algorithms etc etc... )
35. I am a workaholic
36. I f*#@# ing hate lies
37. I suck at remembering names (Thats one of the reason I don't like biology and is one of the reason to opt for IIT rather than Medical)
38. some people dont agree with me because i like calling a spade a spade...they can kiss my ass.
39. I believe in Karma.
40. I dream of having my own business someday.
41. i love my parents and would die for them.
42. I love watching the great india laughter champion/challenge
43. I need another 2-3 days to finish the list (hopefully)

Here are some pictures of houses around the world:- Here are some pictures of houses around the world.

The Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT Kharagapur) is a premier educational institute of India located in Kharagpur near Kolkata, West Bengal,India. IIT Kharagpur was the first IIT to be established. Like the other IITs it is one of the leaders in India in the fields of technology and science , one of the most respected educational institute and as declared by the Indian Parliament an institute of national importance.

Contents [hide] 1 Institute history 2 Motto 3 Campus 3.1 Institute 3.2 Halls of residence 3.2.1 Azad Hall 3.2.2 Bidhan Chandra Roy Hall 3.2.3 Gokhale Hall 3.2.4 Homi Jahangir Bhabha Hall 3.2.5 J C Bose Hall 3.2.6 Lala Lajpat Rai Hall 3.2.7 Meghnad Saha Hall 3.2.8 Mother Teresa Hall 3.2.9 Nehru Hall 3.2.10 Patel Hall 3.2.11 Radhakrisnan Hall 3.2.12 Rajendra Prasad Hall 3.2.13 Sarojini Naidu Hall 3.2.14 Vidyasagar Hall 3.2.15 Zakir Hussain Hall 3.2.16 Ashutosh Mukherjee Hall 3.2.17 Old MBM Hostel 3.2.18 Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya hall of Residence 3.3 Chhedi's 4 Annual events 4.1 Fests 4.2 Spring Fest 4.3 Kshitij and beyond 4.4 Robotix 4.5 Hall Day 4.6 Illumination and Rangoli 4.6.1 Evaluation criteria 4.6.2 Traditional celebration 4.7 Gymkhana election 5 Miscellaneous 6 External links

Institute history

In 1946, a committee was set up by Sir Jogendra Singh, Member of the Viceroy's Executive Council, Department of Education, Health and Agriculture to consider the setting up of Higher Technical Institutions for post war industrial development in India. The 22-member committee headed by Sri N. R. Sarkar, in its report, recommended the establishment of four Higher Technical Institutions in the Eastern, Western, Northern and Southern regions, possibly on the lines of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, with a number of secondary institutions affiliated to it. The report also urged the speedy establishment of all the four institutions with the ones in the East and the West to be started immediately. The committee also felt that such institutes would not only produce undergraduates but they should be engaged in research, producing research workers and technical teachers as well. The standard of the graduates should be at par with those from first class institutions abroad. They felt that the proportion of undergraduates and postgraduate students should be 2:1.

In accordance with these recommendations of the Sarkar committee, the first Indian Institute of Technology was established in May 1950 in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal.

Initially, the IIT started functioning at 5, Esplanade East, Calcutta and very soon shifted 120 km south east to Hijli, Kharagpur in September 1950. The present name 'Indian Institute of Technology' was adopted before the formal inauguration of the Institute on August 18, 1951, by Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad.

IIT Kharagpur is possibly the only major technical institution in the world that started life in a prison house. IIT Kharagpur started in the pre-independence Hijli Detention Camp where freedom fighters were imprisoned and executed. The office building at the camp, which during World War II served as the headquarters of the 20th Bomber Command of the United States 20th Air Force, initially housed classrooms and the library. It is has now been converted into the Nehru Museum.

Pandit Nehru in his first convocation address in 1956 said "Here in the place of that Hijli Detention Camp stands the fine monument of India, representing India's urges, India's future in the making. This picture seems to me symbolical of the changes that are coming to India."

On September 15, 1956, the Parliament of India passed an act known as the Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) Act declaring this institute as an Institute of National Importance. It was also given the status of an autonomous university.

From its modest start in 1950, IIT Kharagpur has been engaged in a steady process of development and now has 29 academic departments, centres and schools and 17 hostels (called "Halls of Residence", or just Halls). The 2100 acre (8.5 km²) campus is a self contained township of over 15,000 inhabitants. Currently IIT kharagpur has about 450 faculty, 2200 employees and 2700 students on the campus.

Motto

The motto of the institute is yogah karmasu kousalam which is an extract from the Bhagavad Gita chapter 2 verse 50.

buddhi-yukto jahatiha, ubhe sukrta-duskrte, tasmad yogaya yujyasva, yogah karmasu kausalam.

for which possible translations are (a) A man engaged in devotional service rids himself of both good and bad actions even in this life. Therefore strive for yoga, O Arjuna, which is the art of all work. and (b) With this mental poise you will release yourself from good deeds and ill deeds. Devote yourself to this Yoga: it is the secret of success in work.

However, in the context of the Institute, the phrase is very often translated as Yoga is skill in actions

Campus

Institute

The institute building and the departments are laid out on the academic campus. On entering the IIT campus, the main gate is one of the first things that one sees. Beyond the gate is a circle and the institute building stands just behind it.

Halls of residence

The Hostels are laid out along Scholars Avenue which 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.

Meticulous care seemed to have been taken in the placement of these halls, one would notice that the girls' hostels are closest to the institute and the police station.

Cycling is the predominant mode of commuting to campus although some prefer walking and a chosen few sport motorbikes.

Azad Hall

It is named after Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. The hall has four blocks named A, B,C and D. There are three levels in all the blocks except A which has two. C block has the maximum number of rooms and hence maximum residents. Nomenclature goes by specifying the block name, level and then east/west/middle as location within the block. A schematic of the plan of Azad Hall gives a reasonable picture of what it looks like. The photograph was taken from the point marked X in the direction of the arrow (approximately).

The hall houses approximately 250 residents. The staff include around 20 mess workers and the staff in the warden's office. The hall has three wardens - Chief, Mess and Accounts. They are usually faculty members. The hall has an elected student committee which consists of a president, four general secretaries (Social/Cultural, Sports, Maintenance and Mess) and a number of secretaries. These members of the hall council are elected every year in the beginning of April. They are responsible for the smooth functioning of all hall activities.

The Mess is the place where hall residents meet everyday for breakfast, lunch, evening tea and dinner. The hall has a common room where a music system, a few board games and magazines are kept for common use. A library is located in B-Top-Middle where a number of textbooks and fiction material are stored - hall residents are allowed to issue these books. A TV room and night canteen are located at B-First-Middle. The hall music room is in C-Ground-East - the hall possesses electric guitars, a synthesizer, tabla, drumset and some other music equipment for use in competitions. The Guest room is in A-First. The space above the Mess is empty and is used as a place of relaxation by many.

The different blocks are connected at ground level by corridors and at the first floor level by catwalks that run above the corridors. Azad hall has also been known for years for its marvellous performance in the social and culture events and in the illumination and Rangoli events.

Hall Council Members For the year 2005-06:-

Hall President -> Gaurav Srivastav

SSM -> Kumar Saurabh

G. Sec Soc. & Cult -> Amish Anand

G. Sec Sports -> Arun Kumar Rout

G. Sec Mess -> Rahul Sinha

G. Sec Maintenence -> Debjyoti Sharma

Library Secretary -> Sudipto Mondal

Bidhan Chandra Roy Hall

Established in the early years of formation of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, the B. C. Roy Hall of Residence has a fairly long legendary history. Named after the eminent physician Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, the first chief minister and the architect of post independent modern West Bengal, this hall has come to be meant exclusively for (male) research scholars of the institute. Vis-a-vis to this exclusivity, the hall has been able to conserve a thorough cosmopolitan and national character, which is an integral part of the IIT system. The scholars from different departments and centers cutting across the regional and cultural boundaries enjoy accommodation here. In fact, the hall can boast of electing a president with non-indian nationality in the recent past. That way, B. C. Roy Hall of Residence may claim a distinct place for presenting a rare blend of perfectly homogeneous mixture of uniformity and diversity.

The hall, located just opposite the main gate of the institute campus, houses 160 boarders in its five separate blocks at a time. Being the breeding ground of tomorrow's scientists, technologists and researchers, the hall participates in a wide range of extra-curricular activities including the inter-hall football and cricket championships, Rangoli and Diwali. The creative brilliance and aesthetic excellence of the hall boarders (and the concerned staff) exhibit itself during the gardening competition each year. The hall can claim to have one of the best garden in the flower session among its competitors. Besides taking part in the inter-hall competitions, the hall boarders participate in a series of intra-hall sports activities. The hall day celebration, annual celebration of Dr. B. C. Roy's birthday, fresher's welcome of the new boarders in each semester are among few of them. Of late, the hall has introduced the tradition of bidding formal farewell to the outgoing scholars of the hall. Each year, the hall organizes a drawing competition among the local children of different age-groups. It is the most flowery event in the calendar of B. C. Roy Hall as hundreds of children participate in this competition.

Link: http://www.bcroyhall.iitkgp.ernet.in

Gokhale Hall

It is named after Gopal Krishna Gokhale.

Homi Jahangir Bhabha Hall

This is a hall, named after Homi Jahangir Bhabha for first-year students with a capacity of 168. 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 students enjoy a reputation for being active participants in campus life.it is the most beautiful hostel on the campus and has spacious rooms.the hall has been converted to a senior hall.the hall has an active participation in the gymkahana activities.it also can boast of great acadamecians

J C Bose Hall

This is also an very old hostel, named after Acharya Jagdish Chandra Bose, currently being inhabited by first year students. Its a two story hostel unlike other halls which are three story buildings. The tempo of people is specially high in "C" block, in front of "A" block. Whenever there is an all out war between all the gangs of JCB and HJB then first to get mauled is the meekly "A", then "C" moves on to attack "D", where the gangs of JCB unite and attack HJB from the top of cycle stand. Poor HJB cant stand this attack and tries to cool the matter by throwing water from their top floor, but the battle-hardened "C" block residents refuse to get back and only return after winning the WAR. During the Holi time people use to set fires to dry grasses also. Once upon a time in a ground far far near to Cand A block there was a mighty fire, which blackened the whole ground and left a deep scar on that face of earth. When there is no war people prefer to give GPL's to a guy in "A" block, or pluck guavas from trees, play kabaddi, tree-climbing, pitto, cricket etc etc. Bhaating , cursing the mess food and Elec Lab staff is another favourite time pass of the residents of this block.

Lala Lajpat Rai Hall

As the name suggests, LLR Hall is named after Lala Lajpat Rai, one of the greatest freedom fighters. This hall has a capacity to seat around 300 students. LLR always had the recognition for its studious students. Most of the President's Gold Medals, which is awarded annually to the best student in academic performances, are won by LLR hall residents. As with any hall in IIT Khargpur this hall too has its own speciality. Referred to fondly as "Lallu", this hall has a certain peculiarity. Not very particularly known for its prowess in winning the Hall General Championship (GCs), it plays a key role in almost all the final results. One of the most peculiar things about this hall is its hard luck. Considered to be the luckiest hall among all the others, this hall almost always manages to win the final elections by putting up one of the most brilliant campaigns amongst all the halls. Founded on the 18th of September,1967 this hall structurally consists of 4 blocks (A1, A, B & C)and consists around 350 rooms. Housing the best mess (the dining hall)in the whole of the Institute, it still is a matter of jealousy amongst members of most halls. The members of this hall credit this to the unique structure of the hall and the meticulous management put into it. The music room it houses is the pride of the institute and most of the "Insti" music society practices take place in it. There are many features unique to this hall only- three separate canteens, "gateway to heaven" only to mention a few. Image:Images3.orkut.com/images1/mittel/49/80549.jpg [[1]]

Hall President- Nikhil Kumar Sharma

G.Sec Library- Tripurari Goyal

G.Sec Maintenance- Rakesh Shejwalkar

G.Sec Soc n Cult- Rajeev Ranjan

G.Sec Tech- Swaraj Dubli

G.Sec Sports- Namo Narayan

LLR Hall Website: http://www.llrhall.org/

Meghnad Saha Hall

Among all the halls of IIT Kharagpur, the M S Hall is the most beautiful and has the highest capacity (400 students).It generally houses the 1st year undergraduate students along with some research scholars

Mother Teresa Hall

Nehru Hall

Located in a corner of the so-called PAN loop, Nehru Hall is one of the farthest halls of residence from the KGP educational campus. Here in isolation we developed a culture systematically propagated from generation to generation, that is at once unique and discreet and wild, in the spirit of frolic, friendship and sometimes even greater ties. Like the other halls of residence, Nehru Hall is ever vibrant with life, reverberating with excitement over inconsequential trivialities, almost ready to explode unable to contain its energy within its concrete boundaries. A naive visitor on a wintry night, is indeed, often amazed at the abrupt transition to warmth and bustle of relentless activity, as he steps inside from the cold and desolation outside.

As inmates, it was the pride we shared in our Hall, and our fanaticism in proving her preponderance over the other halls, that distinguished us as Nehruites rather than as KGPites. Today, though we are too solemned by age and experience to make exalted claims about the hall's superiority and uniqueness, she still is, and will always be cherished as a priceless memory, a precious symbol of carefree youthfulness left behind on a miniscule bridge of time. To us, Nehru Hall still evokes an intense sense of belonging, unabated either by time or distance, that was the very essence of our existence long ago... Once a Nehruite, always a Nehruite The hall has four blocks named A, B,C and D. There are three levels in all the blocks except A which has two. C block has the maximum number of rooms and hence maximum residents. Nomenclature goes by specifying the block name, level and then east /west /middle as location within the block.

The hall houses approximately 300 residents. The staff include around 20 mess workers and the staff in the warden's office. The hall has three wardens - Chief, Mess and Accounts. They are usually faculty members. The hall has an elected student committee which consists of a president, five general secretaries (Social/Cultural, Sports, Maintenance, tech and Mess) and a number of secretaries. These members of the hall council are elected every year in the beginning of April. They are responsible for the smooth functioning of all hall activities.

The Mess is the place where hall residents meet everyday for breakfast, lunch, evening tea and dinner. The hall has a common room where a music system, a few board games and magazines are kept for common use. A library is located in B-Top-Middle where a number of textbooks and fiction material are stored - hall residents are allowed to issue these books. A TV room and night canteen are located at B-First-Middle. The hall music room is in C-Ground-East - the hall possesses electric guitars, a synthesizer, tabla, drumset and some other music equipment for use in competitions. The Guest room is in A-First. The space above the Mess is empty and is used as a place of relaxation by many.

Yr. 2005-2006 Hall Council Members

Hall President - Mr. Kumar Navjot

SSM - Mr. Rajat Maheshwari

Library Sec.- Mr. Vijit Jain

G. Sec

Soc. and Cultural - Dhananjay Rastogi

Technology - Vikash Ranjan Parida

Sports - Ankit Sethia

maintenance - Ravi Jakhar

Mess - Ashish Aggarwal

Patel Hall

This hall is named after the late Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, 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, off the Scholar's avenue. Within the campus and even outside and also amongst all IIT Kharagpur's alumni, Patel Hall is synonymous with tempo (enthusiasm and vitality). The most striking thing about Patel Hall is the ever lasting high tempo amongst its residents.

Structurally, the hall is divided into four blocks (named as A, B, C and D). These blocks are of varying sizes in terms of stacks with A being the least in size and C being the largest. The overall capacity of this hall is about 300. The hall has a beautiful garden as well which has consistently fetched the hall a number of prizes in gardening competitions in the past.

Patel Hall also has a number of unique traditions related to the major festivals in India. During Diwali, Patel Hall is the only hall which illustrates its themes using panels of patterned "diyas" (oil lamps). The panels are constructed in a painstaking and precise manner by the residents themselves and are known to be the best designed in the campus.

Throughout its history, the hall has always excelled in sports activities (the most recent successes being the hall bagging the General Championship, Sports in 2004-05 and 2001-02) as well as academics with its residents occupying the top academic rankings in many of the departments in IIT Kharagpur.

Patel Hall has had an excellent record of producing engineers who have significantly influenced the technological and economic scene globally. The high level of professionalism exhibited by most IITians is evident in a much more apparent way in "Patelians" (as the residents of this hall are called). The unique culture and unbreakable unity of the residents of this hall has produced some of the best engineers and enterpreneurs from India.

This hall is also known among Kgpians as Basti. It is also known as "The Hall" due to its history in IIT Kharagpur, the unique attitude and "tempo" of its residents and the high quality of graduates that emerge from this hall.

Official Motto: "Lux et veritas vincant" ("Let Light and Truth Prevail") Unofficial Motto: "Once a Patelian, always a Patelian"

Patel Hall Website: http://www.patelians.org/

Radhakrisnan Hall

Radhakrishnan Hall of Residence, or commonly known as R.K.Hall, is named after the renowned scholar and statesman, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, President of India from 1962-1967. RK Hall has always stood as the foremost in the campus, be it sports, so-cults or the coveted illumination. Its glorious history boasts of 21 Sports GC (General Championship) and 19 So-Cult GC's, more than any other hall. The Hall's strength in sports can be judged from the fact that even the extra players in some teams are Inter-IIT players.

However, more than co-curriculars, RK Hall stands out for its unique culture, which is woven around the principle of unity, especially its Wing culture, where boarders of all years live together, giving excellent exposure and enrichment to an RKite's life. RKites of yesteryears occupy some of the most important positions in industry and academics. Some of the names which come to our mind are: Vinod Gupta, founder InfoUSA; Prof. PP Chakravarti, Dean SRIC, IIT Kharagpur;Sandipan Deb, Editor Outlook Weekly Magazine; Prof. Prem Vrat, Director, IIT Roorkee.

RK Hall has broken its own records year after year by laying gigantic Bamboo Structures during Illumination competition. The innovatory themes used by RKiites during the competition have not confined only to the subjects on Mythology but subjects vastly on Numerology, Politics, Humanities etc. How can one forget the themes on Golden Jubilee Indian Independance, Nari , Sankhya Jyothi, Sagarmanthan, Yudd Bhumi and others? The gigantic messtop structure of "Geetopadesha" during Illu - 2002 in RK Hall is the tallest ever structure in the history of IIT KGP. The panoramic view of that messtop is still fresh in the memories of many RKiites around the globe.

Rajendra Prasad Hall

Founded in 1954, The hall is named after Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first president of the Republic of India, in gratitude and admiration for the dedication and sacrifice with which he has served his country.

Ever since its inception, it has been continually setting new standards of excellence for the students of IIT Kharagpur in every sphere of activity. Having won the sports GC 8 times in the last 12 years, RP Hall has been setting new standards every year. Seamlessly integrating tradition with technology, it has cultivated an outlook ready to embrace the new without discarding the old. That is why, even after the years have flown by, in whatever corner of the world an RPian might be, waging the many battles of life, he shall remain, true to the RP culture, A Gentleman By Choice.

Sarojini Naidu Hall

The girl's hostel at IIT Kharagpur, commonly known as the SN hall, has two main buildings: Old SN (with C, D&E blocks) and IG (with F, G&H).

Life in SN is really centered around three areas: the mess, the common room and the quadrangle (in that order!). My first impressions of the mess include a large line of hungry girls in the roti line, a team of shouting mess-ammas at the counter, a thoroughly hassled mess-duty girl checking for preferences, two large mess tables with dal, rice and home-made pickle being passed from end to end, a bunch of cats eating off finished plates, and everybody talking in their loudest voice. Things really got interesting on special dinner days when the preference line started well before 7:00pm. The mess was also where the most interesting fundaes were given and learnt during OP and where everything ended with deafening hall tempo shouts. The common room was the favourite haunt for TV junkies and soc-cult enthusiasts. The room was too big to ever fill to capacity, so it was ideal for Saraswati pujas, Rangoli, play/ choreo practice and of course, MR!! The garden was best kept (and best loved) in winters, and everyone sat around to get some sun on weekends (...1st and 2nd years typically ended up having heated inter-batch shouting matches and some memorable water fights). It was also the site for all hall day activities.

SN Hall's history

Vidyasagar Hall

VS hall is an M.Tech and Ph. D. Hall. Vidyasagar Hall is one of the oldest halls on the IIT Kharagpur campus and Borders of the hall pride themselves with its rich tradition. Where the hall triumphs, the boarders excel! VSites have been known to make their mark all around the world by becoming leaders in their respective disciplines! Vidyasagar Hall of residence was the fourth hall on the campus, conceived in 1960 and named after the great scholar and social activist Pundit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. The Hall started functioning from 28th September 1965. From the day of its inception, till date, VS has played a significant role in the campus. The VS Hall has experienced the stay of M.Techs, PhDs and B.Techs, thereby giving an outstanding contribution to the Institute. Its existence started with a U.G. batch, then a mix of U.G. and P.G. and then completely Ph. D. scholars. For the last nine years, VS has been a complete P.G. Hall. One saying which reflects the hearty relationship among VSites is that V (We) comes before S (Self) in V.S.

Vidya Sagar Hall of Residence (http://www.vshall.iitkgp.ernet.in)

Zakir Hussain Hall

Ashutosh Mukherjee Hall

Hall of Management Guys and Gals. With some pretty faces showing up at SAM (The 'Sir' deemed to be politically incorrect after titles were abolished still lives on and Ashutosh Mukherjee Hall is still called SAM), the affection of guys towards SN Hall has been shifting to this Hall. The hall has now been converted to a Management Development Program (MDP) hostel and shall be undergoing a major revamp with Air Conditioned rooms for executives. The students of the flagship MBA program of the Vinod Gupta School of Management have been shifted to a brand new complex called 'Madan Mohan Malviya (MMM) Hall' where they now occupy the Shankar Dayal Sharma Block.

Old MBM Hostel

As the name suggests - it was the hall that housed the Management students when the Vinod Gupta School of Management was founded. More details will be added as and when information about its working is known by more people other than its present occupants.

Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya hall of Residence

The newest hall in the campus of IIT Kharagpur is the Madan Mohan Malviya hall of residence. Pronounced 'Triple M', this hall was started on the 27th of February 2005 and completed in record time for occupation by the 2005-06 batch on July 22nd. This hall, theoretically, can house over 1600 students with two people sharing a room. It is divided into four blocks:

1. The HK (H Kabir) Block - Housing around 360 undergraduate first year students.
2. The SDS(Shanker Dayal Sharma) Block - A co-ed hostel housing the management students of the Vinod Gupta School of Management (VGSoM). Currently houses 119 1st Year MBA students and will have an additional 85 2nd Year MBA students from 21st Nov.
3. The MTech Block
4. Empty Block - This block has currently been left empty.

The hall council was, unlike tradition, not elected but rather nominated and selected by the warden. The hall is confirmed to house all of the first year students from next year on.

Chhedi's

A description of IIT Kharagpur without that of chhedi's is not possible. Chhedi's - an institution within an institution - is an eatery in a thatched hut, located right by the railway tracks, close to institute. Chhedi's is known and loved for its late night tasty menu of a variety of specialties and its generous extension of credit to generations of students. Chhedi's offers two endemic gastronomic delights: Tinku ( Poached egg burger with what-not ) and Bread Bhujia ( Fried bread cubes with spicy garnish ) - both of which have devoted fan following. The lore is that the 24 / 7 Chhedi's had closed twice since inception 50-ish 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.

Annual events

Fests

The two fests of IIT Kharagpur are conducted very professionally. There are dedicated teams for both the fests who work from start of the year.

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 or five days, Spring Fest hosts a variety of competitions and performances by some of the best professional bands in India..Shaan, KK, Euphoria, Indian Ocean, Subha Mudhgal, Bombay Vikings, Strings, Jagjit Singh, Parkrama, Sunidhi Chauhan, Anup Jalota, Chitra, Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia among others. 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 many more. For more information visit http://springfest.iitkgp.ac.in

Kshitij and beyond

Kshitij, the annual techno-management festival of I.I.T. 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 inherent in today's youth. 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 Chaudhary, Richard Stallman, Subir Raha etc. From workshops to interactive guest lectures, brainstorming quizzes to fun events, Kshitij has it all.

Kshitij took off in its present avtar in 2004, when 260 particpants from outside the campus came for the Fest. In 2005, this figure swelled to 1400, including particpants from outside India. All we can say is that it's real nice that I.I.T. Kharagpur finally has a Tech Fest befitting its status as the numero uno engineering college in India.

Kshitij, incidentally is a joint effort by the students and faculty members of all technical departments and the Vinod Gupta School of Management, I.I.T. Kharagpur. For more information visit http://ktj.iitkgp.ac.in

Robotix

The Annual Robotics competition held at IIT Kharagpur 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.

There are six levels of problems this year [4th to 6th February 2005] that the participants may take part in. The simplest of them all is Power Boats - where the machine built by the participant has to race in water. Other problems are Canon Balls, Lodestones, Mission Mars and Conquerors. While Canon Balls tests the Mechanical and Electrical aspects of a machine, the Lodestones deals with the ability of the machine to sense. Mission Mars and Conquerors are soft events and are meant for those ready to spend timeless hours in front of the computer.

For more information, log onto http://www.robotixiitkgp.org

Hall Day

A hall day or hall social is held once a year in 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 is a lot of fun and everyone gets 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, Nehru hall's is called Zephyr. The most crowded of all the Hall Days is InSigNia, the Hall Day of the SN/IG Hall.

Illumination and Rangoli

Held during Diwali (October/November), Illumination (Illu) & Rangoli are unique in every sense. They are fought for on an inter-hall basis.

Diwali being the festival of lights, Illumination is a breath-taking display of lighted diyas (earthen lamps). Each hall has a theme of its own, which is portrayed by two dimensional figures with outlines marked by diyas. The underlying idea might involve "panelling" or "chatais". Each hall of residence uses around 20,000 diyas to crystallize the theme.

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.

Evaluation criteria

• Theme
• Narration
• Ambiance
• Aesthetics and skill

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!!!!

Gymkhana election

The gymkhana 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 bunch 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.

The elections for the gymkhana committee are held in the last week of March i.e. 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 fundae (knowledge about facts, figures and how things run in the institute).

Miscellaneous

It has been ranked the no. 1 engineering institute in India by India Today in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

The institute is a member of LAOTSE, an international network of leading universities in Europe and Asia exchanging students and senior scholars.

External links

• Official Homepage
• Kshitij 2005 - the techno-management festival
• Vinod Gupta School of Management
• Alumni Site of IIT Kharagpur
• Robotix 2005

Here are some more photos on Illumination and Rangoli 2005. Don't know the meanings of these two words?? These are the events that is unique to the lifes of students at IIT Kharagpur. Have a look at these blog postings to have an idea about what these are.

• Diwali 2005
• Previous Years' Diwali Celebrations
• The illumination of RK
• Ilu Ilu
• Illumination and Rangoli
• Illumination
• Long Overdue
• The Best Day in My Life
• Rangoli - Celebration of Colours
• Illumination Works
• Random Thoughts ...
• Diwali at IIT Kharagpur

And the Rangolis photos of 2005 are shared at my flickr page.

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Here are some photos of the famous illumination and Rangoli 2005 at IIT Kharagpur. The reason why it is s o famous and its significance will be discussed in my upcoming posts.

These days I am working on my another blog on computer vison :: 3D reconstruction. Hence I will be posting in this blog in a less frequent manner. If you have any interest in computer vision and/or Image processing have a look at my anothe blog at http://comp-vision.blogspot.com/

Inspired by one of my friend's blog, I too take one test on a website and got the following result.

You are a Social Liberal (71% permissive) and an... Economic Moderate (43% permissive) You are best described as a: Democrat Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Yet another comic strip with refference to IIT has came up in Dilbert. Here is the picture of it.