Vision

APPROACH - Cell for Appreciation and Promotion of Art Culture and Heritage, has been established in 2022, under the Office of Dean of Students Affairs. As the name suggests, its main purpose is to undertake activities which promote holistic development of the students as well as the campus community.

A dedicated committee, consisting of members from IITK faculty, staff, student and representatives of campus community has been constituted to ideate, operate and manage the activities of the Cell.

Programmatic activities organized as part of the APPROACH Cell include,

• Music baithaks
• Music Appreciation
• Art Appreciation
• Lecture Demonstrations
• Heritage tours for students to Kanpur city and adjoining areas Workshops
• Short term courses
• Call local artisans to undertake demonstrations cum workshops
• Interactive knowledge sharing
• Talks on life skills
• Open for ideas

The aim is to undertake collective activities in several genres and disciplines inorder to give exposure to the participants as well as involve them in the process to inculcate respect and admiration towards the heritage and inheritance.

The aim is to undertake collective activities in several genres and disciplines so as to expose the participants and involve them in the process, so as to inculcate respect and admiration towards our collective heritage, art, culture and inheritance.

We welcome you all to join hands to nurture and hone in-house talent, showcase our artistic skills and participate in furthering the aims and objectives of APPROACH cell towards a more vibrant and fulfilling campus life.

Creative and performing arts of various genres form an integral part of human expression, emotional and mental development. Multi-faceted creativity is increasingly recognized as a crucial component of a country's success. There is clear evidence of relationship between creativity, art, and academic achievements. This synergy must be bolstered via systematic programs in appreciation of art and cultural heritage.

Patronizing of creative talents and providing the right ambience for their promotion and development must be an integral part of any academic institute, thereby enhancing the scientific temperament and outlook of students. While IIT Kanpur has always provided adequate momentum to such activities among students, and the campus community in general, this dedicated cell will systematically work towards the promotion of creative and performing arts and appreciation of our cultural heritage, not only among institute students and research scholars, but also among the larger community.

A holistic and multidisciplinary education system should aim at developing all capacities of human beings - intellectual, aesthetic, social, physical, emotional, and moral in an integrated manner. Such an education aims to develop well-rounded and grounded individuals that possess critical 21st century capabilities and skill sets in fields across arts, humanities, sciences, languages, social sciences, and covering professional, technical, and vocational fields. it is also important the students develop skills for social engagement, soft skills, such as communication, discussion, and debate, in addition to rigorous specialization in a chosen field or fields. The journey of becoming specialists should be accompanied with simultaneous appreciation of art, culture, and our collective heritage.

IIT Kanpur has always believed in the ethos and pedagogic objectives, as has been outlined in the National Education Policy 2020. It has always strived to achieve holistic development of its students. To further bolster this vision and augment the ongoing activities, APPROACH-IITK Cell has been created to better coordinate the desired goals.

About The "P.T. Narasimhan Classical Arts Fund"

The "P.T. Narasimhan Classical Arts Fund" was created in 2024 with the purpose of bringing several classical music and dance performances by different top-tier artists to the IITK campus every year. APPROACH Cell will be actively involved in realizing this vision. This fund honours the immense legacy of late Prof. P.T. Narasimhan at IITK as a world-renowned scientist, a founding faculty of the Chemistry department at IITK and an accomplished flautist in the Carnatic music tradition having performed in India and later the US. He was also responsible for bringing many leading artists to perform on the IITK campus. This fund was made possible by a foundational gift from Prof. Narasimhan's children, Dr. Nalini Murdter (MSc2/CHM/1979),

Dr. Vikram Narasimhan (MSc5/CHM/1984), and Dr. Nandini Narayan. IITK is deeply appreciative of their generous gift and the positive impact it will have on the realizing the goals of APPROACH Cell. We welcome you all to join hands to nurture and hone in-house talent, showcase our artistic skills and participate in furthering the aims and objectives of APPROACH Cell towards a more vibrant and fulfilling campus life.

Coordinators' Message

This page is dedicated in memoriam of Prof. Sameer Khandekar, the founder coordinator of The Approach Cell. He will forever remain an integral part of the cell.

On behalf of the APPROACH-IITK Cell committee, this is to welcome all the IITK students and campus residents to join hands with the cell as volunteers, resource persons, and participants in the various activities which we are planning. We do hope that the Cell will prove to be a vibrant platform to hone your inherent skills as well as interest in art, culture and heritage. We welcome ideas and suggestions from all of you - please do not hesitate to contact any one of us. Life has several dimensions and APPROACH-IITK envisions to provide you with ample opportunities to explore. Please do fill in the "Get Associated' form to tell us more about you and your interests. Welcome to APPROACH-IITK!" (Link)

Dr. Shatarupa Thakurta Roy
Associate Professor
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Kanpur 208016,U.P,India
Ph:+91 512 259 7145(off),8715(resi)
Mobile:9935266960
email:stroy@iitk.ac.in
https://home.iitk.ac.in/~stroy/