IIT Bombay will host a “patriotic” rock concert to celebrate 70 years of India’s independence.(File)
THE INDIAN Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B), will Saturday host a “patriotic” rock concert to celebrate 70 years of India’s independence. The concert is in line with “Yeh India Ka Time Hai” – an initiative of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, under which, central universities will host rock bands to play patriotic songs. “We received a communication from the MHRD a couple of weeks ago but could not hold the concert due to lack of time. We are now planning to host the concert on Saturday evening,” said Soumyo Mukherjee, dean, student affairs, IIT-B.
The concert will be held at the convocation hall of the institute and Mumbai-based band, Manish J Tipu’s Neo Gharana, will play patriotic numbers for the audience. The band was assigned to the institute by the MHRD, said Mukherjee. “While it is not compulsory for students to attend the concert, we will encourage them to attend it,” he said.
A student organiser, who did not wish to be named, said: “The band will play well-known patriotic songs from movies and also play their original sets.” Pranav Thakur, the manager of the music club, said the club will ensure heavy publicity for the concert. “The convocation hall can accommodate 1,800 people and we are expecting the hall to be at least 70 percent full,” he said. The club had started publicising for the event through social media and different mailing groups. Posters would be put up early on Friday, said Thakur. This year, the central government had given elaborate instructions to schools and colleges to celebrate 70 years of India’s independence and 75 years of the Quit India Movement.
The month-long celebration entailed an oath-taking ceremony by students at educational institutions to free the country from corruption, casteism and terrorism. Schools were instructed to take students to homes of freedom fighters and martyrs.
