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Debanjan Sarkar
PhD Mathematics
IIT Madras is a residential institute that occupies a 2.5 km² (617 acre) campus that was formerly part of the adjoining Guindy National Park. The main entrance of IIT Madras is on Sardar Patel Road, flanked by the residential districts of Adyar and Velachery. The campus is close to the Raj Bhavan, the official seat of the Governor of Tamil Nadu.
The campus is located 10 km from the Chennai Airport, 12 km from the Chennai Central Railway station, and is well connected by city buses. Kasturba Nagar is the nearest station on the Chennai MRTS line.
Two parallel roads, Bonn Avenue and Delhi Avenue, cut through the faculty residential area, before they meet at the Gajendra Circle, near the Administrative Block. Buses regularly ply between the Main Gate, Gajendra Circle, the Academic Zone, and the Hostel Zone.
Much of the campus is a protected forest, carved out of the Guindy National Park, home to many animals that are not commonly seen in a busy city like Chennai. The campus has the pride of having one of the most elegant antelopes in the world - the Blackbuck. The campus is also home to large numbers of chital (spotted deer), bonnet macaque, monkeys and other rare wildlife. There is a lot of other smaller and exquisite life forms that play a major role in the biodiversity of the campus. The IIT campus has about 300 species of trees and plants with quite a large number of native wild species, which are unique to the tropical, dry evergreen vegetation.
IIT Madras campus is a haven for bird watchers in the city. There are about 100 species of birds seen at different times of the year. There are quite a number of resident species as well as few migrants like Forest Wagtail, Pied Crested Cuckoo, Golden Oriole etc. which are migratory.
A natural lake, deepened in 1988 and 2003, drains most of its rainwater.
IIT Madras is a place which gives students the rich and valuable exposure to multiple avenues related to academics, co-curricular and extracurricular activities. Each student discovers their true interests and passion and pursues the same. The various activities and occasions associated with the institute not only aim to bring the dormant skills of the students to the surface but also to train and let them experience organisational and leadership attributes. And this doubtlessly is the reason behind the success of the IITians and the peaks of excellence they often scale in any field of specialisation they choose to enter and explore, be it academics, industry, sports, arts, literature or politics.
Landmarks
Gajendra Circle
The first landmark that greets every visitor is GC or Gajendra Circle, which is about 2.5 km from the gate. The area from the main gate to GC is the residential zone of our campus where faculty and staff live. After GC you’ll enter the academic zone with various departments, laboratories, workshops and the computer centre, spread over a large area in a big array of buildings. Further into the campus towards the end, you will find the hostel zone with various facilities for students.
Himalaya
Himalaya is a giant building where all the messes are located. Infront is a beautiful lawn where you can relax in the evenings.
New Academic Complex
The new academic complex was constructed recently with a budget of 115 crores. It is equipped with all the latest technology classroom facilities. The view from outside is very scenic. It is presently hosting the Departments of Mathematics, Chemical Engineering, Metallurgical & Materials Engineering.
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V. Abhigna
B.Tech Mechanical Engineering
OAT
In between the GC and the hostel zone, you will spot a large arena called the Open Air Theatre, where the weekend movies are screened by the Film Club. Here, the best of the latest movies in English, Hindi, Tamil and other regional languages are screened. OAT is also the venue where the Saarang Pro-shows are held.
CLT
The Central Lecture Theatre is just opposite to the OAT in the middle of the Humanities and Sciences Block (HSB). This is an auditorium with a capacity of about 400, which is used for almost every in-house activity in the Institute. The Lit-Soc Schedule uses only this venue, not to mention the associations of the Institute which use this place all the time.
CRC, Raman and Ramanujan Blocks
These are the places where most of your common classes take place. These are the places you would want to memorise in and out as this is where you would be headed to, most mornings, half- awake. The ground floor of the Class Room Complex is air-conditioned and is open for the use of students till 1 AM during the quiz weeks to serve as hangout spots for the muggu junta apart from the library.
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J Sai
Nihal