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Seen in the image is a section of the audience at Open Air Theatre (OAT) during the visit of Dr. H. E. Heinrich Luebke (President of the Federal Republic of Germany). A section of the audience at the Open Air Theatre. K. M. Kripanarayan writes in the 15th December 1962 edition of Campastimes, in his article titled ‘President Luebke Lays the Foundation Stone of I.I.T. Madras’, “The student gallery was packed to the full in spite of the Davis Cup Match”. Das Bundesarchiv from Germany has documented a video of the President’s visit to India. Titled Der Staatsbesuch in Indien, the…

Seen in the image from the left: Dr. H.E. Henrich Luebke (President of the Federal Republic of Germany), Mr. R. Natarajan (Registrar), Mr. Y. S. Ramaswamy (Superintending Engineer) and Prof. B. Sengupto (Director). The visit to IIT Madras of President Luebke is described by Prof. R. Krishnamurthi in an article titled ‘3rd December 1962 – A Red-Letter Day’ in the Fourth Annual Number thus: “At exactly 4:30 p.m., the West German President and Mrs. Luebke entered the dais. With a pleasant smile, Dr. Luebke got on the platform followed by Mrs. Luebke, Dr. A. L. Mudaliar, Professor Humayun…

In the image, a student from Queen Mary’s College, the winner of the Inter-Collegiate Entertainment competition 1964, receives the Prof. R. G. Narayanamurthi trophy from Mrs. Shanti Sengupto (Wife of the Director). In the early years of the Institute, the academic year was speckled with events. From Convocations and Institute Days to Sports Days and Summer Schools, there was no shortage of activity at the Institute. One among these many events was the ‘Literary and Cultural Week’. This event, as the name suggests, was a week-long inter-collegiate event that was hosted by IIT Madras. A…

Seen to the left of the image is Prof. B. Sengupto (Director, IITM). The location is possibly the Central School playground or the institute stadium. The details of the event that has been photographed here are yet to be determined. Speculatively, the event could have been a Sports Day, Institute Day or the visit of a dignitary for a convocation ceremony considering the presence of the person in NCC uniform on the right of the image. It was customary for a guard of honour to be presented by the IIT NCC to the chief guest of a convocation in the 1960s.   

In the photograph, the President of the Gymkhana, Prof. R. K. Gupta (Humanities Department), and Director, Dr. A. Ramachandran, are seen with the Dramatics Club outside the Humanities and Sciences building. Seen seated (from left to right) in the image: K. S. V. Raja, G. Natarajan, Prof. R. K. Gupta, Dr. A. Ramachandran, Frau and Herr Davids, Raj Mitra Manglick and Ranthi Dev. Seen standing in the first row (from left to right): Vinod Shan Bhag, N. V. Krishna, Yogendra Sheoran, Anil Gadi, T. V. Krishna, Chandra, Shoban and Mitreyan. Also seen standing in the second row (left to right): Joseph…

Seen in the image from the right: Prof. B. Sengupto (Director, IITM), Mr. Walter Scheel (Minister for Economic Co-operation, Federal Republic of Germany) and a student who demonstrates planing at the Central Workshop. Mr. Walter Scheel, the Minister for Economic Co-operation, Federal Republic of Germany visited IIT Madras on 4th December, 1963. In 1962, Dr. h. c. Heinrich Luebke, President of the Federal Republic of Germany also visited the Institute. During his visit, Mr. Walter Scheel, was given a presentation about the campus and escorted around the campus by Prof. B. Sengupto (…

Also seen in the image, second from left, is Mr. Gerhard Fischer (Consul for Germany in South India) and seen at the back (right most corner) is Mr. Y. S. Ramaswamy (Superintending Engineer). Seen in the middle is Prof. B. Sengupto (Director, IITM) and to his left is Mr. Walter Scheel (Minister for Economic Co-operation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany). Mr. Walter Scheel, the Minister for Economic Co-operation, Federal Republic of Germany visited IIT Madras on 4th December, 1963. In 1962, Dr. h. c. Heinrich Luebke, President of the Federal Republic of Germany also…

In the image, H. E. Theodore Heuss (former President of the Federal Republic of Germany) (third from left) shakes hands with a student. The student at the extreme right of the image is Mr. Vijay Batra (from the first batch of students).   On 17th November, 1960 the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, H. E. Theodore Heuss, visited IIT Madras. At the CLRI campus Prof. B. Sengupto explained the ‘IIT Madras’ project to the President using a map of the Institute. The President also visited the IIT campus and the workshops. He also met the faculty members and the first batch of…

This photograph was taken during the Institute’s annual cultural event Saarang. It is likely that this photograph was taken during Saarang’s ‘Choreo-nite’, which is a dance competition. According to a report in The Hindu, the Choreo-nite, among other events, drew the largest crowds. It appears that the dancers are performing Mohiniyattam, an Indian classical dance developed in Kerala. This assumption has been made on the basis that the performers are wearing the traditional off-white sarees with gold coloured borders. The dancers have not been identified. If you know who the performers…

This photograph was taken during IIT Madras’ annual cultural fest Saarang. Saarang was previously called Mardi Gras but the name was changed in 1996. This photograph appears to have been taken at a competition, possibly dramatics, but this has not been confirmed.  According to a report in The Fourth Estate, seven plays were staged. The report mentions “One of the judges did point out that the quality of the competition had dipped in the four years he’d been coming.” The participants in the photograph are yet to be identified. If you do know the identities of the persons in the…

This photograph was taken during IIT Madras’ annual cultural fest Saarang. Saarang was previously called Mardi Gras but the name was changed in 1996. This photograph appears to have been taken at a competition, possibly dramatics, but this has not been confirmed.  According to a report in The Fourth Estate, seven plays were staged. The report mentions “One of the judges did point out that the quality of the competition had dipped in the four years he’d been coming.” The participants in the photograph are yet to be identified. If you do know the identities of the persons in the…

This photograph was taken during IIT Madras’ annual cultural fest Saarang. Saarang was previously called Mardi Gras but the name was changed in 1996. This photograph appears to have been taken at a competition, possibly dramatics, but this has not been confirmed.  According to a report in The Fourth Estate, seven plays were staged. The report mentions “One of the judges did point out that the quality of the competition had dipped in the four years he’d been coming.” The participants in the photograph are yet to be identified. If you do know the identities of the persons in the…

This photograph was taken during the Institute’s annual cultural and social fest, Saarang. In the photograph, we can see a group of girls performing a dance. It is likely that the performance was a blend of classical and contemporary dance judging by the costumes they have worn. It is likely that this photograph was taken during Saarang’s ‘Choreo-nite’, which is a dance competition. According to a report in The Hindu, the Choreo-nite, among other events, drew the largest crowds. The dancers have not been identified. If you know who the performers are, please reach out to us.

Through a report in The Hindu, we know that a ‘Choreo-nite’ was held during Saarang in this year. Along with events such as the quiz, light music and others, Choreo-nite was one of the popular events which drew a large crowd. At this event, dance groups from various colleges compete to win the prize. It is likely that this photograph was taken during Choreo-nite. We do not know who the dancers in the image are. If you do know who the individuals are, please reach out to us.

This photograph was taken during IIT Madras’ annual cultural and social event. It shows several individuals seated in front of the audience. We know from reports in The Hindu and The Fourth Estate that plenty of events and competitions were held during Saarang in this year. Some of the popular competitions and events were Choreo-nite, Western music (called Powerchord) and light music. It is likely that this photograph was taken at one of these events, but this is not confirmed. The individuals in the photograph have not been identified. It is possible that they are the judges and…