Going back in time with Hugga

Uncovering Memories, Nicknames, and Moments Frozen in Time                 
- Bhuvanesh Santharam

Pictures: Mr. Saurav Kumar (2003 EE) and Mr. Aniket Singh

Courtesy: Glass Panels / Heritage Centre, IIT Madras

On 20 March 2025, I met Saurav Kumar at the Heritage Centre. He was in Chennai for some personal work and happened to drop by at IIT Madras. Saurav, an alumnus from the 2003 Electrical Engineering batch, had scores of pictures to share with the Heritage Centre. These pictures, taken on film cameras during his days as a student here, took me back two decades in time.                                                                                                    Aniket Singh and Saurav Kumar in Aniket’s room

Saurav contributed close to 160 images and patiently sat with me for a couple of hours so that he could help me identify the persons in the photographs. One thing that caught my attention was the wild, brazen nicknames Saurav and his group of friends had for one another. I cannot share some of the names here, as it would go against the magazine policy! However, some names that are safe to share are Dhuk Dhuk, Eiffel, Micro, Sweety, and Rani. Some of the photographs from the collection were taken by ‘Rani’ Aniket Singh. Saurav was nicknamed Hugga, but I will not tell you why!                                                                                                    Aniket Singh with his computer in his room

Jamuna 6th wing, from the left - (Standing) Akhil Sharma ‘Micro’, 'Dada' Chitrarup Saha, Saurav Kumar ‘Hugga’, Vijay Sharma ‘Morena’, Kokil Kumari Deuri, Takhat Singh Ranawat, and (Seated) ‘Chandu’ Chandrabhushan, Aniket Singh ‘Rani’, and ‘Prof’ Ashish Kapoor. The newspaper stand can be seen at the back.

The images reflected a simpler time, with hardly any gadgets, save for a couple of assembled computer systems, and a single Nokia mobile phone belonging to one of the students at the hostel. It may seem trivial today, but a mobile phone was a big deal back then. Students took pictures striking poses with the phone, which not everyone had access to. Can you imagine what a life without smartphones would have been like? One thing I can think of is that people must have had a much better attention span compared to today!                                                                                  Saurav Kumar with his new camera outside the Kodak shop in Adyar

When Saurav and his friend Manish Kumar Jain bought film cameras at the Kodak shop in Adyar, they went on a clicking spree, taking pictures outside the shop, which looks like an archaic building in pictures, and some other spots in Adyar, including Shakes and Creams. I am not sure how many of these shops still remain, but I am certain alumni will fondly remember some of them. I can only imagine the joy they must have experienced while clicking these images. Again, not everyone had access to cameras back in the day. Today, everyone with a smartphone is a photographer!                                                                          Vijay Sharma Morena seated on a Wing Cot with the newspaper stand behind him

Through my conversation with Saurav Kumar, I also came to know about the ‘wing cot’, an iron cot (without legs) placed on a raised platform in the corridor of each wing of the hostel. The wing cot was placed next to a newspaper stand on the wall. Students often lounged around the wing cot and read the newspaper, slept on it, or simply indulged in conversations. Saurav’s images gave me an insight into boys’ hostel life at IIT Madras in the early 2000s. Some pictures also offered me a glimpse into the history of IIT Madras.                                                                                               A view of the water tank near Jamuna Hostel under construction

A picture of the 1974 Water Tank near Jamuna Hostel under construction is a part of the collection. It shows the tank shrouded by scaffolding; a rare sight indeed! There are also some images taken from the top of the water tank; one that offers a view facing Taramani and Ascendas IT Park, and another that shows an aerial view of Jamuna Hostel.                                                                                                   Saurav, Amit Bardar and Vijay Sharma Morena at Quark

Quark features in one of the pictures, wherein Saurav and his friends are joyfully enjoying chicken noodles, naan and paneer butter masala. What really caught my attention was the fact that Saurav was able to recall the exact dishes they were gorging on even after two decades!                     Mandakini Hostel Night: The host, Amit Bardar ‘Bhatak’, poses for a photograph next to the chart prepared for him by his juniors.

An IIT Madras hostel tradition I learned about was the profile chart (not a horoscope!), wherein juniors would prepare a chart paper with information about the outgoing seniors. This information included a history of the seniors’ exploits and where they were headed to after their B.Tech. This chart paper would be pinned alongside other chart papers at a prominent location during hostel nights.

Saurav’s sharp memory helped us record snippets of stories from the early 2000s, which we may have never been able to access. It made me realize that history can come to us in many forms, through various channels. I wonder how many more alumni have stories and images to contribute to the Heritage Centre!
                                                                                                          A photo of Takhat Singh Ranawat with his computer                                                                                                                 Saurav Kumar with a Nokia phone and a guitar

Courtesy: Glass Panels / Heritage Centre, IIT Madras