No-Bag Day Becomes a New Campus Trend at IITs and IIMs: Why Students Are Loving It

At campuses where laptops, presentations and case studies are part of everyday life, students at IIT Bombay and IIM Lucknow recently found a much simpler way to change the mood. They left their regular bags at home and showed up to class carrying their belongings in objects that normally have nothing to do with college.

The idea is known as “No-Bag Day” or “Anything But a Bag Day”. At IIT Bombay, students celebrated it during their last lecture, turning the classroom into a playful farewell. At IIM Lucknow, a group of PGP students organised a student-led version of the activity, although the institute clarified that it was not an official campus event.

At IIT Bombay, the creativity quickly became the main attraction. Students were seen using buckets, cardboard boxes, umbrellas and even a bicycle to carry their books and other classroom essentials. Some found even more unusual substitutes, making the final lecture feel very different from an ordinary day.

That is probably why the idea works so well on college campuses. There is no complicated event plan and very little preparation is needed. The only real rule is to leave the conventional backpack behind. Once that restriction is introduced, students have to look at ordinary objects differently.

Students at IIM Lucknow described the activity as a small experiment in creativity. Their explanation points to something that gets missed when the trend is treated only as a funny social-media moment. Removing one familiar routine gave students a reason to approach an ordinary classroom day with a different mindset.

There is also a social side to it. A normal college day can become highly structured, particularly at institutes where students spend long hours moving between lectures, group work and academic deadlines. An unusual activity gives classmates something shared to laugh about, and that can make the final days of a course or semester more memorable.

The concept itself is not new. “Anything But a Bag Day” has been used internationally as a school or campus spirit activity, and Indian colleges have experimented with similar events before. In 2023, students at Chennai’s Women’s Christian College reportedly carried their belongings in unconventional household items during a No-Bag Day.

What makes the recent IIT Bombay and IIM Lucknow examples interesting is the setting. These are institutions strongly associated with intense academic schedules and competitive student life, yet the activity needed almost nothing beyond a willingness to play along. Sometimes a campus tradition starts with something this small.