An Indian professor became the topic of conversation amongst Netizens for his wardrobe choices. Professor Chetan Singh Solanki from IIT Bombay was having a quiet moment in a luxury hotel in New Delhi when someone clicked his picture which led to a discussion on social media.
The professor in a post on social networking platform, LinkedIn, explained that he was waiting in the hotel lobby of Hyatt, New Delhi before delivering a talk at The Economic Times Energy Leadership Summit on September 25, 2024.
During this time, someone snapped his photo which showed him wearing torn socks. Addressing the attention, he wrote, “Someone snapped this photo of me at the hashtag#Hyatt in hashtag#Delhi, during a quiet moment before delivering my talk at the The Economic Times Energy Leadership Summit on 25th Sept. Yes, my torn socks were exposed! I need to replace them, I will and sure, I can afford to – but hashtag#nature cannot. In nature, everything is finite.”
Solanki, a professor at IIT Bombay, is known as ‘Solar Man of India’ or ‘Solar Gandhi’. He is known for his efforts in pushing for the adoption of solar energy and environmental sustainability. Talking about his responsibility as a social worker, he wrote, "Just as a businessman seeks to maximize the return on financial investments, as a social worker, I aim to maximize the impact of my time, creating the greatest possible change."
However, Netizens had mixed reactions to the professor’s explanations. One of the users questioned if this was a move for publicity and wrote, “I will fly Mumbai to Delhi in plane, book a cab to Hyatt, sit in a centrally air conditioned lounge, will use high end gadgets and talk about carbon emission by using torned socks gimmick just to gain attention and publicity.”
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Meanwhile, others lauded Solanki for trying to educate the masses. One of the users said, "Powerful way to highlight the urgency of sustainability while embracing imperfections and limitations."