Grand Coral Jubilee Alumni Reunion for BITS Pilani 1970-1975 BatchMembers of every major religion undertake pilgrimages and for the alumni of BITS Pilani which is one among the top ranking universities in India visiting their alma mater years after their graduation, is undoubtedly a pilgrimage.
By: Dr BR Natarajan Birla Institute of Technology and Science - BITS Pilani which has been ranked as one among the top ranking universities for the year 2009 by India Today, OutLook and LiveMint is located in the heart of the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan. BITS offers degrees in various disciplines presently not only at Pilani but also at Dubai, Goa and Hyderabad campuses. The Practice School and Work Integrtaed Learning programmes of BITS Pilani have set benchmarks for othes to emulate in Corporate college partnerships. Recently the NAAC - National Assessment and Accreditation Council had reaccredited BITS with 3.71 CGPA out of 4 and awarded “A” grade “Very Good” status. The alumni movement of the Institute has already seen the golden jubilee years. BITS Alumni Association (BITSAA) organizes each year close to Gandhi Jayanthi, the silver jubilee reunion of BITSians who passed out 25 years ago. Alumni of the Institute are spread across all continents from Australia to America. Lately Pearl and Coral Jubilee Reunions are getting into the reckoning. From the 70-75 batch (admissions 1970 - Graduation 1975), 69 BITSians from all over the world assembled at Pilani on 24th October 2009 evening for celebrating their Coral Jubilee Reunion. The alumni gathering indeed looked like a stellar constellation of Professionals from all walks of life. By putting their best foot forward to march out boldly and seize the opportunities to face the challenges head on, each one of them undoubtedly was a dreamer, performer, achiever and a leader in applying the interdisciplinary education they had at BITS Pilani to improve lives across society Irrespective of whatever degree they did at Pilani, wherever they came from and whatever their life journey had taken them to, there was one thing they all shared in common and that was passion for the alma mater. Each one of them agreed that their stay at Pilani had left an indelible mark on their lives. This batch like the other batches have indeed enhanced the reputation and raised the profile of BITS Pilani both nationally and internationally through their successes, contributions and support. On October 25, 2009, they went around the campus to visit the Sharda Peeth Saraswati Temple, Birla Science Museum, Student Activities Centre (SAC), various hostels, laboratories, Central Library etc. Prof Natarajan Vice President BITSAA took a nostalgic lecture for them in the Lecture Theatre Complex and gave an overview of BITS covering the happenings over the past 35 years. Same day evening, a colorful function aptly titled YAADEIN - A Musical Trip Down Memory Lane was held in the auditorium of the Institute, where they remembered and honored Prof B D Deshpande who had cared, inspired, encouraged and challenged them during their student years. As Guru Dakshina they have a citation and a cheque for Rs 2 Lakhs to him. Prof Deshpande had obtained from erstwhile Birla Science college in Pilani his MSc in 1951 and PhD in 1957. He joined BITS in 1957 and retired in 1987. During his stay at BITS, apart from being Professor of Biological Sciences Group at BITS Pilani, Prof Deshpande had been warden, chief warden and later Dean Student Welfare Division. The 81 year old emotion choked Prof Deshpande in his speech said that BITSians are undoubtedly a class apart and he had cherished every moment of his stay at Pilani. The nostalgic evening function also included performance by the Music Club of BITS Pilani who took the alumni and audience to peaks of nostalgia by picking songs from the yesteryear hit hindi movies such as Jawani Diwani Padosan, etc. The alumni not to be left behind took the stage and proved that their performance which included Dinesh Sharma, Azhar Kazmi, Dinesh Maheshwari, Prafulla R Deo and others was indeed nothing short of a stellar constellation of K L Saigal, Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Hemant Kumar, Mukesh and Talat. Yash Gandhi BITSAA Secretary welcomed the alumni for the auditorium function. Prof BR Natarajan Vice President BITSAA proposed the vote of thanks sprinkled with lyrics from Yaadein Yaad Aati Hain song sung by Hariharan for the Subhash Ghai film Yaadein, College Ke Din song O Sir and the immortal Proud to be BITSian Intel Sunit Rikhi poem recited by him as chief guest for the inauguration of OASIS 2007 http://prlog.org/ On 26 October 2009, in the Engineering Theatre of the Institute a symposium was held on “Synergies between BITS Vision and BITS-75 Charitable Trust”. Prof R K Mittal Deputy Director Administration read out the message by Prof LK Maheshwari Vice Chancellor and gave details of avenues for alumni to participate in institution building and brand building of BITS Pilani. Prof G Raghurama Deputy Director Academics gave an overview of BITS Vision document which is in final stages of preparation. Apart from Distinguished Alumni of BITS Dr Vijay Chandru and Prafullo Deo, Faculty members from BITS Dr NN Sharma, Dr RN Saha and Dr Raj Kumar Gupta gave their presentations. Proud to be BITSian Hanuman Bengani from BOC India Ltd and Suresh K Sharma from Innovolt USA gave the details of the trust while Prem Talreja from Sigma Designs USA moderated the entire proceedings of the symposium. For the alumni of BITS Pilani, visiting the alma mater 35 years after graduation for the Coral Jubilee Reunion is indeed a mission with passion. For BITSians, BITS Pilani is a place to be remembered forever. They are indeed proud ambassadors of Brand BITS Pilani. # # # About BITS Pilani: The Birla Institute of Technology and Science is a Deemed to be University established vide Sec.3 of the UGC Act, 1956 under notification No. F.12-23/63.U- End
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