At a recent Dean ACR event at IIT Bombay, a special moment unfolded as IITB alumnus, Mr. Sanjay Dasgupta (B.Tech., Chemical Engineering, 1990), returned to campus after 34 years. Joining him was his father, Major General A. K. Dasgupta, who played a pivotal role in the early days of IIT Bombay.

In a heartfelt conversation captured below, they reflected on the generational bond they share with the Institute – from General Dasgupta’s involvement in surveying the campus in 1959 to Sanjay’s own transformative experience as a student.

This conversation not only explores the unique contributions of both father and son but also highlights their deep connection to IIT Bombay, culminating in a seminar hall dedicated to the Major General’s name. The dialogue offers a glimpse into the early days of the Institute, personal anecdotes, and the spirit of giving back to a place that shaped both their lives.

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Sanjay Dasgupta:

Hello. I’m Sanjay Dasgupta. I did my bachelor’s at IIT Bombay from 1986 to 1990. After 34 years, this is the first time I’m coming back to campus and it’s wonderful to be welcomed here. Sitting with me here is my father. He’s retired major general Ashok Kumar Dasgupta. He served in the Corps of Engineers in the Indian Army and then served in the DRDO, where he worked with Dr. Abdul Kalam.

Today we had a wonderful ceremony to inaugurate a seminar hall that has been dedicated in my father’s name and we would like to thank all the staff over here and in the director’s office for facilitating this. This campus holds so many special memories for me and it’s truly a homecoming, coming back here after so many years. My journey as a student shaped my career and life in countless ways and it is really a privilege to share this moment with you all, especially alongside my father, Major General Dasgupta.’

He has the distinction of being involved with IIT Bombay in 1959 when he prepared the survey map of IIT Bombay while he was an engineering student at the College of Military Engineering. A lot of the existing IIT Bombay campus we see today is based on the survey map. And I thought it would be wonderful to have him take us through that journey so that we could get a little bit of perspective of what things were like in 1959 before the campus was built.

So, Baba, I’m just going to ask you a few questions and since you have a wonderful memory please share these thoughts with us.

Major General A.K. Dasgupta:

All your life you ask so many questions, go ahead!

Sanjay Dasgupta:

So could you tell us about what you were doing at the time or right before the time that you started this work on the survey map of IIT Bombay in 1959?

Major General A.K. Dasgupta:

Yeah, it so happened that I was doing my engineering – my first semester in the College of Military Engineering – and our commandant was Brigadier S.K. Bose. But before even the semester finished, he was transferred here to take over as the founding director of IIT Bombay. So we didn’t know much about him then but anyway, later on, he had tasked the College of Military Engineering to create a survey map of IIT Bombay. Every year, the Civil Engineering class had to go out on a camp to produce a geodetic map actually on the field, by doing a field survey. So the IIT Bombay survey map job fell on us which we were very happy to do. So that is how we came here from CME. There were about 60 of us and out of that there were about 38 of us student officers and the rest were support staff. We set up our camp here – these were tented accommodations because the whole area was totally barren. Nothing existed except for a few trees, barren land, and, of course, Powai Lake which was the most outstanding feature.

Sanjay Dasgupta:

So you all came together as a class from the College of Military Engineering, and set up your tents and army mess here. So how long did you spend here?

Major General A.K. Dasgupta:

We spent about 5 weeks. 4 weeks was the time given to complete our survey activities. Then 1 week was for compiling all the plane tables for preparing the map.

Sanjay Dasgupta:

In what capacity did you specifically work here?

Major General A.K. Dasgupta:

I was the so-called Chief Technical Officer. It sounds very big but it actually means that everyone did their work and I just got the credit for putting the map together. As the Chief Technical Officer I was responsible for completing the map.

Sanjay Dasgupta:

So let’s shift gears a little bit. The first director of IIT Bombay, Brigadier Bose, and as I understand he was also from the Corps of Engineers and the Commandant at College of Military Engineering, CME. He then moved to IIT Bombay to essentially take the role of the first director. Can you just share some anecdotes about him? Did you have any interactions with him? You were a young officer then. What was he like? Talk to us about him.

Major General A.K. Dasgupta:

Actually, most of my impression or the knowledge that I have about him is from my time here. When he was the commandant in CME, we hardly had any interaction with him. At CME, all we heard about him was from others, his reputation, and the legacy that he left behind in CME.

Firstly, he was an excellent engineer. He was also a very good administrator. At CME he was very focused on one thing – academic excellence. So even though we were in the Army and we had to do our normal Army duties, we used to regularly attend classes in our Army uniform. So essentially, studying and excelling in the engineering college was foremost to him. He motivated everybody to have that culture of academic excellence.

He was also a very agreeable man, very easily approachable and open to ideas. So that is what we knew about Brigadier Bose during my time as a first-semester student.

So when we set up our camp here, Brigadier Bose often would drop in in the evening in the Officer’s Mess. Then he would discuss normal things, ask us how is the work going on, and if we had any problems. He would also share many of the problems that he was obsessed with. He talked about the responsibility he felt since he was the person chosen to implement Pandit Nehru’s idea of giving a scientific temper to India. Pandit Nehru had started establishing all these engineering, management, and other academies of excellence around India. So IIT Kharagpur was the first and IIT Bombay was the second and he was chosen to implement Nehru’s idea for IIT Bombay. He was obsessed with this and it was a dream that he had to fulfil. He also wanted to keep the reputation of the army and the country because so much responsibility and faith had been imposed on him.

Sanjay Dasgupta:

So Baba, shifting gears a little bit. I remember from my time as a student here at IIT Bombay that there was a lot of wildlife. I remember being chased by a monkey and there were many snakes, and then there was a cat sighting. And by cat, I don’t mean domestic cats! What do you remember from your time in 1959? What was it like with a lot of animals? Do you remember any interesting anecdotes?

Major General A.K. Dasgupta:

The only thing I can say is that the snakes back then would have lost their venom to a certain extent because we were warned to be very careful about them. And one of our officers, Thule, when he was doing the plane tabling near the water line because the lake had to be mapped out, was bitten by a snake. Of course, we were ready for it because we knew that the area was marshy and snake-infested. Thule was immediately given all the anti-snake bite treatment and taken to the hospital and he survived. But the story goes that the snake was not that lucky!

Sanjay Dasgupta:

And there was also a lot of presence of the film industry at IIT Bombay back then, wasn’t there  RK Studios? This must have been a beautiful spot for shooting. Do you remember any encounters with the film industry while you were all young and dashing officers in the Indian Army?

Major General A.K. Dasgupta:

Of course there were! Now at the work site that I mentioned earlier, we had these theodolite for the triangulation. So you had these theodolites stations and that is a powerful telescope. These telescopes were focused on the green room that they had set up for the filming. So that was one. But the other more interesting was that one of our officers knew somebody at RK studios. So he organized a visit there. But the chief instructor said, “Nothing doing and unless you finish your plane tables, nobody would be allowed to go!” So everybody had to finish their plane table before the appointed day of the visit and deposit them with me. The next day I told the chief instructor that yes, they had done their job. So I put up those plane tables together and made the contour lines. Now these contour lines are continuous. So with the next plate also, one contour line must meet the same contour line. But I found that was not the case. In fact, contour lines were hanging, you know, not meeting. So I knew something had happened. And then I found out that just to get the pass for going to visit RK Studios, the officers had drawn the contour lines in a freehand! Obviously, the chief instructor was very annoyed.

Sanjay Dasgupta:

Were there any consequences?

Major General A.K. Dasgupta:

Yes, there were consequences. The people were made to do it all over again by working till late in the evening, as long as the visibility was there.

Sanjay Dasgupta:

And they were not able to go to the studio in the end?

Major General A.K. Dasgupta:

No, no, they went to the studio. They went because I kept quiet. I passed on the information to the chief instructor after the visit. Otherwise, the visit would have been cancelled.

Sanjay Dasgupta:

What was it like in the studio?

Major General A.K. Dasgupta:

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to go to the studio. But everyone else who went was so happy. They had seen the actors and actresses. I don’t know who was there. They all came back full of stories and they said that you have missed this opportunity. It just shows that students are students everywhere, whether they wear uniforms or not, they behave in the same manner.

Sanjay Dasgupta:

You briefly came and visited IIT Bombay when I was starting here. Before that, you were here in 1959. If you think about this entire journey, you and your coursemates created the pivotal survey map that led to the further planning of this amazing organization. I had a wonderful experience and got a terrific education here. And now I’m back here after 34 years. We now see a seminar hall that has your name on it. So please share with us what this journey has been like and how this feels to you.

Major General A.K. Dasgupta:

Yeah, that’s a long story. I had a very strong desire to join the IITs. In fact, when I did my graduation, that was the time when the first IIT Kharagpur was being set up. And some of our students joined the first course of the IIT Kharagpur. For various reasons, I missed that. So I always felt that I missed out on life. But later on, fortunately, I got into the Corps of Engineers and got the opportunity to do my engineering at the College of Military Engineering Pune.

And that was the time when I was told to do the survey map of the IIT Bombay. It was a major ambition of mine that had remained unfulfilled. So I was very happy and excited to be coming here. And then when I was made the chief technical officer, that gave me a little more pride. That was the first connection with IITB.

And later, my son came and joined the Institute where I had done the survey map. I was happy to see that the buildings were still standing. So the survey map could not be wrong!

I was very proud that my son could have gone to any other IIT but he wanted to come to come to IIT Bombay. So during his student days, I visited him once and it was in a much better state than what we had seen. I mean, we had seen it totally barren. There was nothing, no infrastructure, nothing.

My attachment to the IITs was not only boosted by my son’s admission but was reinforced by my daughter’s admission to IIT Delhi. So, here I am, the father, who could not attend the IITs now had both his children joining the IITs. So that made me very happy and proud. But now, after 70 years, I am back and I feel like this is closing the whole loop. And with my son naming a seminar room after me…that has solidified my connection to IIT Bombay. What could be a bigger present than that? I saw my name on the room and I was on cloud nine!

Sanjay Dasgupta:

Well, before we wrap up, I just want to share something from my heart. When I go back to my childhood – I think of the institutions that were foundational in making me who I am. Well, first is the institution of the family. My parents loved and supported me, and they sacrificed so that I could get this education. The second institution is IIT Bombay which gave me such an outstanding but subsidized education. So I felt it was very important to give back to this organization that did so much but never asked anything from me. I mean, how else could I have gone and done a PhD at Princeton University? From there, my whole career started. So I felt very, very indebted to this organization and I feel as an alumnus, it is my duty and my obligation to give back to this organization that has done so much for me.

So, combining that with the love and support of my parents is why we are here today. I was lucky to be able to do something similar for my late mother in Princeton, but only after she passed away. So it makes me very happy and blessed, Baba, to be able to share this with you while you’re alive and, you know, bring these two very strong principles together. Also, I’m very grateful to everybody here at IIT Bombay, the director’s office, and the Dean ACR office, for facilitating today’s event and giving us this opportunity. So I’m very grateful and blessed. Thank you.

Major General A.K. Dasgupta:

I am even more proud that you have been able to give back to your alma mater, which has made you what you are today. If we all could do that in a little way, I think it would be a different world and a better world to live in.

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IIT Bombay would like to thank Mr. Sanjay Dasgupta and Major General A.K. Dasgupta for their candid and interesting conversation and for giving us an insight into the history of the setting up of the campus. This conversation is a testament to the lasting legacy of IIT Bombay and its impact on generations of students, faculty, and contributors. For Major General A. K. Dasgupta, his role in mapping the foundation of the campus has come full circle, with a seminar hall named in his honour. For his son Sanjay, the deep-rooted connection to the Institute has instilled a sense of gratitude and responsibility to give back. This journey not only celebrates a family’s bond with the Institute but also reminds us of the importance of contributing to the legacy of IIT Bombay, an institution that has shaped the future of so many.

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