IIT Gandhinagar community celebrated Republic Day with a ‘Bada Khana’, community run and cultural performances
Gandhinagar: Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) celebrated the 71st Republic Day by hosting a ‘Bada Khana’ (a feast) for nearly 5000 people who are directly or indirectly involved in the campus development. All stakeholders, from the Director, to construction workers, contractors, project monitoring units, maintenance agencies, students, faculty, staff and their family members came together for a meal as one large family.
‘Bada Khana’ embodies IITGN’s inclusive philosophy by annually bringing together everyone involved in the development of its campus as a family.
At the flag hoisting ceremony led by IITGN Director Prof Sudhir Jain, who was awarded the Padma Shri for 2020, said: “Eleven years ago, we had a chance to shape IITGN differently from other institutions in this country. We have to give IITGN a constitution, not necessarily in writing, but verbally or in practice, to think internally how we want to live, manage our relationships at various levels, and maintain our ethos. We have to speed up, make greater improvements to make IITGN an example for other educational institutions in the country and thereby contribute in nation-building.”
Prof Jain described the Padma Shri Award as “a collective recognition of the entire community’s efforts, sacrifices, and hard work that has put IITGN on the current pedestal. I am most grateful and humbled for everybody’s participation in this mission.”
IITGN presented Staff Excellence Awards, Faculty Excellence Awards, and Campus Development Awards to various faculty and staff. For the first time, IITGN also felicitated the medal-winning participants of the Inter-IIT Staff Sports Meet 2019 with ‘Achievement in Sports Awards’. IITGN staff had won bronze medals in cricket and women’s shot put events during Inter-IIT Staff Sports Meet 2019 held at IIT Kharagpur.
The flag hoisting ceremony was followed by patriotic cultural programs by students and IITGN community. Winners of the Undergraduate Research Conclave (UGRC) and students in the Dean’s list were also felicitated during the event.
In the evening, IITGN students conducted tree plantation drive in the new hostels on campus. This was followed by an enthusiastic 5k Run and 2.5k Community Run/Walk with the theme of ‘Beat the Dean Challenge’, where participants were challenged to beat Dean, Student Affairs in the 5k run to win a medal. Many members of the community participated in the run to encourage and inculcate the habit of running.
The Republic Day celebration ended with the performance of a play called ‘Man Manch- A Journey…’ performed by Rongduli Sanskrit Kendra group supported by National School of Drama. The play was based on the life of an actor, how he struggles with his mind and how destiny delivers a roller coaster ride that leads to self-realisation.