From open lorry trips to the Indo-China war, the earliest batches of IIT-M has an eventful time.

Did you know that the first and second batches of Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) finished their studies the same year? Did you know that for two months, students of the first batch were transported in open lorries from the hostel to the workshop? Did you know hostel residents lived nauseatingly close to a cremation ground which was very much active?

As IITM celebrates its Foundation Day on July 31, marking a milestone in a journey that began this day in 1959, students of the first and second batches refresh their memories about such singular experiences.

“IITM’s first batch finished its course in 1964. The second batch — technically the 1965 batch — also finished in 1964, six months ahead of schedule,” says K. Narayanan, who is from the second batch. Why? The significance of war-preparedness was felt after the 1962 Chinese aggression, which had taken the country by surprise. The need for quickly producing more engineers who could be pressed into military-related technical work was felt too.

“The Indian government wanted to turn out more engineers for construction activities, especially in the border areas that could help meet military objectives,” explains N.R. Dave, who studied B.Tech. Civil Engineering as part of the second batch. “The syllabus for the 1965 batch was rushed through and the final examinations were conducted in December 1964,” explains Mr. Narayanan. “Due to this, we were called the ‘emergency’ batch,” says Mr. Dave.

Mr. Narayanan, who graduated as a chemical engineer, joined Indian Oil’s Guwahati Refinery in 1965. “In 1965, the Indo-Pak war was on us and the engineers at the refinery had to go on night patrolling. During the day, we received military training. They wanted to train us to be able to defend the refinery,” he recalls.

Illustration: Satwik Gade

Scene from IIT past: Stidents being transported in open lorries

Graduates employed in Indian Oil, Guwahati, underwent military training

Students used to ride their bicycles up to Adyar river and take the ferry to reach AC Tech





While students from the early batches were being prepared for such a serious mission, life at IITM was often idyllic, sometimes out of the ordinary and always interesting.

S. Srinvasan, who graduated as a mechanical engineer with the first batch, says, “In the first one-and-a-half years, classes were conducted at AC Tech at Guindy. Students stayed in two hostels, both outside the IITM campus. One hostel was at Guindy and the other, in Saidapet. The IITM provided the students with bicycles. From the Saidapet hostel, we would sometimes ride up to the Adyar river and ferry the bicycles across the river and reach AC Tech.”

Education was spiced up with unusual elements. “As we studied only science, we were treated to a lecture on Shakespeare once a week, to break the monotony. A.L. Krishnan from A.M. Jain College would take this class,” says Mr. Srinivasan. In the initial years, workshops and training were organised at various places around IITM and, Mr. Narayanan recalls, students were transported in open lorries to these places. “The management provided this service for two months – until they gave us bicycles,” says Narayanan.

Life took on a whole new character once the hostels began to come up on the campus. “From the Cauvery hostel, we had a clear view of a cremation ground. We would see bodies being burnt,” recalls Mr. Dave.