Dr. Vikram Sarabhai giving away a degree to a student
Administrators , Faculty , Institute Events
A total of 388 degrees were conferred in the year 1968. This included 292 B. Tech. degrees, 18 in M. Sc., 52 in M. Tech., 19 in DIIT and 7 in Ph. D. As seen in the photograph, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai was known for wearing Kolhapuri chappals. In an article in Times of India, Arun Ram writes that Vikram Sarabhai was a “handsome man in white kurta-pyjama and Kolhapuri chappals”. (‘Vikram Sarabhai: Man who left aristocracy for astrophysics’). K. S. Jayaraman makes a similar observation in an article on Millenium Post: “Sarabhai always wore white khadi kurta pajamas paired with Kolhapuri chappals”. (‘"ISRO a personal history" | ISRO’s climb from Kerala fishing village to Mars’). Kolhapuri chappals or simply Kolhapuris are made in several districts of Maharashtra and Karnataka. The chappals carry a long history, as Khursheed Dinshaw observes in an article published by Heritage India. Dinshaw writes: “Worn by everyone, from the Maharaja of Kolhapur to rural folk, these chappals have a story that dates back to four hundred years. Comfortable, hardy and aesthetically designed, they express the very essence of a traditional craft.” (‘The art of Sole Dressing- Kolhapuri Chappals’). Kolhapuris are made from buffalo hide and vegetable dye. It is reported that the making of a pair of Kolhapuris could take up to six weeks. The footwear gathered popularity in the USA during the 1960s and the 1970s.
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