It is a scientific legacy that Kerala can be proud of, yet today it lies in obscurity on the sprawling campus of the College of Engineering Trivandrum (CET).
A 10m-diameter dome, part of an igloo-shaped structure, still retains traces of its former glory. The entrance to the edifice is enigmatic, almost like entering a cave full of mysteries.
“This was the first planetarium in India built by students on a college campus,” gushes J Sivadersana, a third-year mechanical engineering student at CET.
“It can also be credited as the country’s first mobile planetarium and Kerala’s first in any category, predating the Priyadarshini Planetarium.”
Sivadersana is part of Astro CET, the college’s astronomy club formed in 2019. Although members knew of the abandoned planetarium’s legacy, it was only after Keraleeyam in 2023 that they seriously considered restoring it.
“During the event, Dr S Indulal, former director of technical education and now a faculty member at Government Engineering College, Barton Hill, described it as a technological heritage of the country. That inspired us to revive it,” says Sivadersana.
Set up in 1976, the planetarium first opened to the public in January the next year during a science and technology exhibition at CET. The idea had emerged the previous summer when former civil engineering professor R Jayaraman proposed it during a lecture-discussion.
About 40 students and 10 faculty members worked for 45 days to complete the project at a cost of about Rs 1 lakh.
Its dome itself was an engineering feat. Built entirely at CET, it was fabricated from cold-rolled steel sheets joined solely with nuts and bolts through a collaborative effort between the civil and mechanical engineering departments.
Shaw Sumanam, managing director of Sumanam Engineering Services, was an electrical engineering student when he joined the planetarium project in 1977. “We worked day and night. The structure was waterproof and air-conditioned. It was truly one of its kind then,” he recalls with pride.
“A few years ago, when I visited the campus, I found the projector had gone missing. That was surprising because it was extremely heavy. The authorities should have taken better care of it.”
True that. What truly distinguished the project, however, was its projector.
“It was a 32-lens opto-mechanical projector, the first in India to be completely designed and built by students,” says Ashwin K, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student and head of Astro CET.
“Even today, most planetarium projectors are imported, using Japanese optics or German Carl Zeiss lenses. Imagine students building something of this scale back in 1977, when there was no precedent anywhere in India.”
Prof Jayaraman, who has passed away, had described the achievement in one of his blogs: “The 32-faced truncated icosahedral star projector had minute holes drilled on its faces to represent 230 stars of the Milky Way. Separate projectors simulated the sun and moon. Illuminated by 2,000-watt halogen lamps with forced-air cooling, it was a challenging project that our team completed in less than two months.”
G Arul Jerald Prakash, former director of the Kerala State Science, Technology and Museum (KSSTM) and Priyadarshini Planetarium, echoed that admiration in a documentary made by CET students in 2011.
“In 1977, only two planetarium manufacturers existed worldwide — one in Germany and another in Japan. India had none,” he noted.
“Setting up a commercial planetarium then would have cost several crores. Yet a college in India built one of professional quality almost entirely on its own. It is unfortunate that it was never properly upgraded.”
Notably, the planetarium project also reflected the excitement surrounding India’s emerging space programme. Thiruvananthapuram was rapidly evolving into a space hub under the nascent ISRO, and scientists from the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre guided the CET team during construction.
Despite its celebrated inauguration, the planetarium remained operational for only a few years before slipping into neglect. It was later revived in 1989 during CET’s Golden Jubilee technical exhibition.
“We refurbished it and dusted off the projector, which was surprisingly still functional. About 100 visitors at a time could stand inside and watch the shows,” recalls Mathew Joseph, an alumnus from the 1990 batch, who now heads AI Labs at CIMB Bank.
History repeated itself. Soon after the exhibition, the planetarium went defunct again.
Another revival came in 2011 when students cleaned the structure and borrowed projection equipment from Priyadarshini Planetarium after discovering that the original projector had become non-functional.
“The old projector was displayed as CET’s pride,” says Ashwin. “But once the exhibition ended, the planetarium slipped back into slumber.”
Where is the old projector now? It, unfortunately, remains a mystery.
Meanwhile, several institutions elsewhere in India established their own campus planetariums, some even describing themselves as the country’s first.
“That was probably what made us take Dr Indulal’s suggestion seriously,” says Sivadersana. “Our planetarium was clearly the first of its kind in India. We studied the original design documents, consulted alumni and experts, and prepared a comprehensive restoration plan.”
The initiative, called the ‘Star Dome Project’, has divided the restoration into five phases.
“The entrance has to be rebuilt, the dome restored and the seating redesigned for around 30 people,” says Ashwin.
“The projector remains our biggest priority. Even today, India doesn’t have an indigenously developed planetarium projector. Ours will be built here with custom-made optics, guided by experts from the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology. It will be a hybrid system combining analogue and digital technologies. We have already built a prototype.”
According to the project report prepared by Astro CET and faculty members, the projector alone is expected to cost Rs 16 lakh. “The entire restoration is estimated at Rs 48 lakh,” says Sivadersana.
“Completing the project depends entirely on raising funds. The alumni association is also involved. We hope the government backs the project.”
Alumni members like Mathew want long-term maintenance to become an institutional responsibility, with committed faculty coordinators. “This should not be thrust upon the students alone,” he says.
Associate Professor Deepa Rani R, one of the faculty members involved in the Star Dome Project, believes this revival will be different.
“The project extends beyond engineering into astrophysics,” she says. “Now we have a dedicated astronomy club driving it. There are also plans to introduce courses related to the discipline. That will keep sustained attention on the planetarium. The college administration is also fully supporting the restoration.”
With the planetarium’s golden jubilee nearing and CET once again reaching for the skies through the Star Dome Project, students and faculty hope this landmark of the state’s scientific heritage will finally be cherished. Never to fade away again.
Will Chief Minister V D Satheesan, who handles the science and technology portfolio as well, take note?