bengaluru when the karnataka chitrakala parishath ckp tried to impose a dress code on its girls students recently they came up with a novel protest statues and sculptures on the campus were clothed in lingerie and bras dangled from trees windows and street lamps giving a shock to faculty members and visitors who walked into the campus the result the principal explained that the circular was not a diktat and withdrew it the problem started when the college authorities put up a notice for the first year students asking girls to dress with practicality and levels of respectability in mind as our college is a place of learning and culture students are not permitted to wear provocative clothing and clothes with offensive lettering according to a source girls were instructed not to wear sleeveless tops and shorts as they were distracting and could make male students feel uncomfortable opposing the rule a girl student said a dress code was nothing but curtailing of her comfort i hope it is just a routine notice because as students of sculpture it is not possible for us to work if our clothes are not comfortable we stand sit bend and need to be free it should be about comfort and personal choice boy students are standing by the girls in their protest initially we thought the college was infringing upon the students freedom so we took up this creative and nonviolent method of protest however the principal addressed all the students and assured us not to worry the issue has subsided now a first year student said chaya chandrasekhar an alumna of ckp said when we were students there was no question of wearing shorts and sleeveless tops to college as that was a different age altogether however the times have changed and the college must keep up with the needs of this generation moreover when it comes to art students need a free environment to be creative and artistic which includes the freedom to choose ones clothes im confident that the college will keep this in mind ckp professors refused to comment on the issue but a source said such notices are issued every year but this year the institution had put up the circular on the notice board of the freshers class it has been withdrawn now the source said surya harikrishnan