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The mini reunion was good. A total of 7 ppl (Arjun, Gajju, Ramki, IVK, Vasanth, Anil Aletti and me) from our batch and Rupam (our senior) met up. A lot of last minute drop-outs which was expected given the dynamics of the current world! Here is a brief (rather very long) re-cap of those two days!
Four of us (Ramki, Arjun, Gajju and me) met at the in-gate around 11 AM. We guys first went up to Alak and took a tour of the hostel nit-picking on each and every small addition and of course re-collecting our days in that campus. Not many juniors were around in the hostel as it was vacation time except for some 4th and 5th year guys. Unlike our times, campus placements take place around December. The main reason being that once students are placed the enthu for doing the BTech project comes down and hence the delayed placement dates. Of course it is a bad assumption that the enthu for doing those projects existed at first place!
The notice board hasn't changed one bit! The same old and similar notices, some scribbles and graffiti on them etc. The mess bills are put up in the locked notice board but these are now computerized bills with no pen-mark on them! Talking about mess, there is now this one common mess for all the hostels called "Himalaya" next to Gurunath. No more individual mess in each hostel.
Some history to this change: The quality of food in individual mess was declining and hence the call for private caterers to each mess. A contract was given to private caterers and how it worked was that the students have to pay around 8K upfront at the beginning of the sem. for their usage during the semester. This was getting too much to handle and it got progressed to Himalaya. Himalaya has 3-4 caterers - one on each floor - and the students get to pick one at the beginning of each month. All electronic access to these mess floors! In short, the system evolved from individual mess to privatization to globalization. And I can bet that the quality still remains the same! BTechs and MTechs have different timings for the mess too many people at the same time. Of course, the current students are deprived of late meals, and just can't imagine walking/cycling upto Gurunath for each and every meal - particularly dinner/bfast.
So what is happening to the current mess room? It is as good as a haunted house. If only some hostel secretary can take initiatives they could have a couple of TT tables and a Badminton court! A fall out of this whole thing is that no more water in the hostel! Students but mineral water ( i.e., the water cans) and they have a small water processing unit in every wing which can provide hot as well as cold water. And to protect this unit a wooden framework is made and kept on the corridor where we guys used to play wing cricket!
With all the money poured in by the alumni, the bogs and rooms are an improved lot. Tiles, taps in individual bogs, cupboard for the shelves, internet connections in every room, etc. The most striking thing was the presence of a washing machine in B3. It seems that there are 3 washing machines - one in each floor and surprisingly it was working! So no more dhobi!
All the rooms have a computer and students spend time on those virtual and network games. G-Chat, Yahoo chat have replaced the wing cots. Didn't notice newspapers in the wings as well. Very few souls don't have a cell phone and its only for those the PA system is being used. The CR (Common Room) is all tiled and some 5-6 chairs sprayed around and with some 15 chairs in one corner. No more of those dirty carpets, stinking pillows etc. A "working" flat-screen big TV with all cable channels and remote, newspapers and magazines, carrom table/board fills this sparse room. The old TT room has now been renovated and we now have a new TT table and a computer lab as well. The computer lab is all A/c (and am sure this is one place with demand during summers) and has 6-7 working and connected machines.
A small "island" of grass hill fills the entrance and the basket ball court has been moved and is now at the place where we used to have the volley ball court (which used to be the cricket ground for alakites). A new volley court has been setup in the garden area. Our hockey/footer ground hasn't gone any change except for the goal posts which are now at an angle of around 60 degrees instead of being vertical! There are around 5-6 flood lights for the ground!
With so many changes there are also things that have not changed! The outside of each and every wing -- just looks the same... some dirty clothes, buckets, studds and shoes, wrong pairs of slippers, unwashed clothes on the ropes, etc. And ofcourse the students in the hostel haven't changed one bit -- one wrinkled collar-less t-shirt (which is usually one of those shastra, saarang, etc.), waiting-to-be-but-never-washed short.. a typical IIT hostelite but more tech-savvy (mobile, computer etc.).
For some reason, when you enter the hostel and see the juniors it feels as if you are in your fourth year with the juniors around. Time seems to be fixed in year 1999-2000 :-).
We found the Alumni Affairs Secretary (which is now a new post in every hostel) and had a long chat with him as well as some current hostelites (3-4 of them) hearing about their life-style and sharing some of our hostel life-style. In short, the current set-up doesn't encourage personal communication and people skills seem to be on the decline. Most people these days do not app and take up jobs or appear for IIMs.
We guys went to Wang's Kitchen (in Adyar) for lunch and almost towards the end of the lunch Vasanth and Rupam joined us. Rupam had to leave immediately though. The rest 5 of us went back to the hostel - stopped on the way at Gurunath, which now has a few more stores in that place - a fast food outlet, another shop which has some memorabilia etc. We got a TT ball and went back to Alak to play some TT. (It seems that TT Ball has to be brought by students and only TT bats are provided in the TT room). Had some fun time playing TT. It was already 5 PM.
Arjun and Vasanth left around 5:30 PM. Gajju, Ramki and I spent some time in the Cafe Coffee Day (which is now in-campus and close to GC, next to the old-library, which is now the Department of Management studies). There is also a new book house (Tata Book House) close to GC. Anil (Aletti) joined us around 7:30 PM and after some light snacks at Hot Chips (where Palms used to exist).
Next day it was IVK, Rupam, Gajju, Anil, Arjun and me. We guys spent a lot of time chatting in the CR and went for lunch to Malgudi. It was a sumptuous lunch. Gajju, Anil and IVK watched a movie while Arjun, me and Rupam had other work to get done. Met up again at 7 PM, and it was time for Anil to leave (fly to Hyderabad). The rest of us (IVK, Arjun, Gajju and me) went to Copper Chimney for dinner and we departed.
Ohh, forgot about those new "housing-board" looking hostels (Pampa, Mahanadhi, Sindhu, Tamaraparani). They are located behind Ganga and SAC. These are big 7-storeyed buildings looking more like apartments. They don't have a ground inside and once inside it feels as a little claustrophobic. It was kind of sick looking. The entrance and the lifts make it look like some hi-fi hotel though.
Vels gate has been closed for good -- reason being some prostitution issues! Tarams gates are open though. A few more new buildings have come up on-campus (like the alumni affairs building opposite Godav).
It was a good get-together. Have met the others before except for IVK and Anil. IVK now has this polished outlook and never did I hear him say "your head" :-)!! But he kept repeating "horrendous" a lot of times though. Anil is struggling to keep his last bit of hair in his head. The competition for getting bald seems to be getting very interesting these days with almost everyone in the fray.
Others in the get-together please do add your bit to the mail. And sorry for the delayed update! Shall post some photos on the website (y2kalak.net) soon and inform the group.
Karthik.
