Doing away with traditional gown and headgear, the convocation ceremony of IIT Kanpur commenced on Thursday with students wearing kurta-pyjama and stole as the official dress.
Professor Indranil Manna, director, IIT Kanpur, says, "For the first time students graduating from IIT Kanpur will be dressed in Indian attire. They will be wearing kurta-pyjama and carry a stole instead of a robe at our institute's 50th convocation ceremony. Our department of design is working on the design and the colour of the kurta-pyjama and stole. The idea is to promote Indian culture among future leaders who will be graduating this year from the prestigious institute."
While 1,600 students of graduate and post graduate levels will receive their degrees from chairman of Tata Sons, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the ceremony will also see professors donning golden coloured robes fully covering their suit.
IIT Kanpur will confer a doctorate on former sprint queen PT Usha, who missed a medal by a whisker at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
“I am really humbled. A recognition from a prestigious institute gives me enough strength to surge ahead. This will help me in realising my dream of bringing an Olympic athletic medal to the country,” she told Hindustan Times.
