September 27th, 2026
A Boy from Kalimpong Remembers Kharagpur
IITKGP Foundation
What was IIT Kharagpur like more than six decades ago? Christopher Keen Ahoy, Architecture and Regional Planning ’64, offers a vivid glimpse in his memoir, A Boy from Kalimpong.
Ahoy arrived at IITKGP in 1959, traveling from Howrah to Kharagpur in a third-class, unreserved compartment of a steam-powered train. He arrived covered in coal soot—and stepped into an IIT campus that was still taking shape. Radhakrishnan Hall, where he was assigned, was under construction, and the Institute itself had an unmistakable sense of being new, ambitious and full of possibility.
His memories capture an IIT experience that feels both familiar and very distant from campus life today. There was no motorized transportation on campus. Students relied on sturdy Hindustan bicycles to get to classes, visit other halls or make the occasional trip into Kharagpur. A rotating table fan, a clay matka for keeping water cool and a blanket were among the treasured possessions of students.
Radhakrishnan Hall became home. Ahoy remembers cultural competitions, gardening, music and the friendships that made a new student feel less alone. Three of his friends from St. Xavier’s College were also assigned to RK Hall, providing a familiar circle during those first uncertain weeks. He eventually served as the hall’s general secretary and was even awarded the tongue-in-cheek “Freedom of RK Hall,” which came with a lifetime invitation to return for the hall’s famous South Indian meals.
Among his most enduring memories is Professor M. N. Rao, the founding warden of RK Hall. When Ahoy’s family later faced serious financial difficulties, Rao arranged a stipend to help him continue his education. More than 60 years later, Ahoy still writes of his former warden with gratitude, remembering not only an accomplished professor but a mentor who cared deeply about his students.
1964 Class: IITKGP Architecture and Planning (Seated Students Include Ahoy in middle; Standing Faculty/Staff)
After graduating, Ahoy's journey took him across the Pacific and into a new chapter in North America. He received scholarships from five leading universities in the United States and Canada and chose UC Berkeley. He completed his master's degree in just nine months, eager to begin working and eventually bring his family to North America—a process that took a decade.
His subsequent career included architecture and senior facilities leadership at UC Berkeley, the University of Alaska, the University of Nebraska, and Iowa State University. At Iowa State, his work in facilities planning and management was recognized with a State Baldrige Gold Award in 2009.
Yet it is Kharagpur that continues to surface in his memories. Looking back after more than six decades, Ahoy describes his IIT years as some of the happiest of his life. He sees the experience as central to the values that shaped his career and his commitment to service.
His story is a reminder that IITKGP's legacy is not only found in buildings, degrees or professional accomplishments. It also lives in friendships, mentors, hall traditions and memories that alumni carry with them wherever their journeys lead.
Ahoy ends his memoir with a simple message to the institution that helped set his journey in motion:
“Thank you, IIT, for transforming my life.”