THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The special convocation ceremony for conferring D Litt on Adoor Gopalakrishnan,Mammootty and Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman at the University Senate Hall here on Monday was attractive for its colourful rituals.
The ceremonies began with a Senate meeting passing the authorisation for conferring D Litt on the three celebrities.
One of the specialties of the ceremony was the punctuality of the function.
At sharp 12.04 noon, the procession to the convocation hall began with University Registrar K.A. Hashim leading the way. He was followed by the members of the Senate, Deans of Faculties, Members of the Syndicate, Pro Vice-Chancellor J. Prabhash, Vice-Chancellor A. Jayakrishnan, Education Minister M.A. Baby, who is the Pro Chancellor, and Governor R.S. Gavai, the Chancellor. As the procession was on its move, the band rendered a march and everyone in the Senate Hall stood up.
Then, the Chancellor, the Pro Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor, the Pro Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar proceeded to their seats on the dais along the steps on the right. At that point of time, the band played the National Anthem. All present in the hall remained still until the Chancellor sat.
The next auspicious function was the conferment of the honorary degree on the artists by the Chancellor.
“This convocation of the University of Kerala has been called to confer the Honorary Degree of D Litt on noted filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, veteran film actor Mammootty and the Mridangam maestro Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman in recognition of their outstanding contributions to learning. Let them stand forward,” said the Chancellor.
The Registrar then escorted the recipients to their seats on the dais. The Vice-Chancellor announced the names of the recipients, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, followed by Mammootty and Umayalpuram Sivaraman, and the Chancellor said to each, who were standing, “By virtue of the authority vested in me as the Chancellor of the University of Kerala, I admit you to the Honorary Degree of D Litt in the University, and in token thereof, you are presented with this Diploma and I authorise you to wear the robes ordained as the insignia of the degree.’’
Each of the recipients then received the diploma from the Chancellor. The Registrar then laid before the Chancellor for signature, the record of degree that had been conferred. After that, the Chancellor addressed the gathering.
The acceptance speech of the award holders followed.
The ceremony was concluded by the Chancellor, by saying, “I dissolve the convocation.’’
Then, the band played the National Anthem. The return procession from the convocation hall was led by the Chancellor, the Pro Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor, the Pro Vice-Chancellor, the members of the Syndicate, the Deans of Faculties, the members of the Senate and the Registrar. The band rendered a march as the procession returned from the convocation hall. During the procession, everyone remained standing and dispersed only after the departure of the Chancellor.
trivandrum@expressbuzz.com
