Why all this ‘nautanki’?

Once I was invited to a convocation function. I reached the venue on dot. The invitation card had the minute-to-minute details of the programme on its back. It described the time of the arrival of the chief guest, the time of presentation of guard of honour, the time of marching of the academic procession, the time of reading the valedictory address and tea without which no function is complete.

The chief guest was late by half an hour. The Principal appeared to be quite tense as the gentry was asked to be in their seats five minutes before the time of arrival of the chief guest. He walked up to me and asked if I would like to join the academic procession. I said I did not mind. He got a gown and a hood delivered to me and now I was ready to be part of the procession.

The drill started when the chief guest came. I walked up to the dais in the procession and occupied a seat amongst the luminaries of the day. In a short while, the candidates who were to receive the degrees started coming in batches of ten and the Principal would announce from one side of the dais: “Sir, by virtue of the authority vested in me as … I present to you these ladies and gentlemen, who having been qualified for the award of degree of ….”

And the chief guest would proclaim mechanically from the other side of the dais: “I confer upon you the degree of … and expect you to be worthy of the same. I also ordain you to wear these robes as the insignia of the said degree.”

When the candidates had received their degrees, the dignitary read out his written address. It was a solemn occasion and everyone was expected to observe silence and decorum. I too was sitting quietly like a statue but my mind was rattling and rocking, seeking answers to so many questions. What was the sanctity of an academic gown? How did this ritual start? What was its necessity and relevance today?

I recalled what I had read years ago. Long gowns were worn out of necessity by scholars to protect themselves from cold in the Middle Ages. Again, medieval scholars had to take certain vows at the church and they were enjoined to wear a clerical dress of black or other dark colour. The academic dress for graduates first started in the 12th century when universities began to come into existence in Europe. It was in the later half of the 14th century that Oxford and Cambridge universities began using a standard form of academic dress. The modern gown was a modified form of 'roba', a garment resembling a long black cape. Now what is the relevance or sanctity of wearing these gowns? It will be amusing to know that some English medium schools hold a function similar to convocation for their children when they are promoted from one class to another. And of what avail is the mandate given to graduates and post-graduates ‘to prove themselves worthy of the same’? Will they ever recall this advice and act on it? I doubt. And what if the chief guest who awarded the degrees himself happened to be having no degree!