Annual Alumni Meet – The KGP Chronicle

Happiness Run : The 2.2 Marathon

12^th January 2020, 6:30 AM. Technology Students’ Gymkhana was bubbling with some 100-150 students, both past and present. A very unusual scene, especially on a Sunday morning. Packets of Glucon-D were being constantly poured and mixed into 20-litre water jars. T-shirts were being distributed and students were seen warming themselves up. It was indeed a big day. Each had to complete the 2.2 Marathon beating the rest to win the coveted title of a Marathoner.

The 17^th Annual Alumni Meet of 2020 saw a host of IIT Kharagpur’s ‘young’ bunch, aged 18 years to almost 68 years gear up for their favorite sport – the 2.2 Marathon. The Director, Prof. V.K. Tewari, was also present to encourage the students and participate in the run that was to start and end at Gymkhana with the distribution of prizes and a complimentary snack. By 7:10 AM, the runners had settled themselves on the starting line. The marathon began with the sound of the clapstick.

Prof V. K. Tewari, Director IIT Kharagpur flags off the Marathon

Within 40 minutes, a few contenders, both alumni and current students were back at the Gymkhana. Visibly tired and taking deep breaths, they settled down for others to finish and gather at the venue for prize distribution. “Alumni-students interaction is a big, big thing,” said Prof. Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur, taking to the microphone. “They are a support system for one another. If you do not turn up today for your seniors, you should never complain if your juniors do not turn up years later when you visit the campus,” he added. He himself had completed 4.1 km a couple of years back, and seemed highly enthusiastic about sports. This time again, he made sure to complete 2.2 km without a pause. He thanked the Gymkhana members, its officials and all students who made the initiative possible.

“It is really refreshing. It is bringing back a whole new rush of memories of the place. We used to run loops around Jnan Ghosh Stadium almost every evening. That was a kind of ritual for me from 1991 to 1995. I find the campus beautiful. I came here for the first time in 25 years. I couldn’t resist the temptation of visiting my second home after so many years. I flew down from Atlanta as soon as I received the invitation,” remarked Mr. Kartik Ramakrishnan, Senior Vice President at Capgemini, Atlanta. His fitness quotient was proven when he bagged the second position among the alumni in the 2.2 marathon.

The winner of the marathon among the alumni was Mr. Amitabh Ghule, Director at Thames Capital, London, UK, who “wouldn’t have come had I been a student. Honestly!” he added tongue-in-cheek.

“It is a wonderful initiative. I’m impressed by the number of students and my batchmates who turned up this early, given that we had a blast till the wee hours of the morning,” said Mr. Ramakrishnan who came second, followed by Mr. Praful Agarwal, fondly called ‘Uncleji’ by his batchmates. “My passion for fitness helped me shed 20 extra kilos and follow a healthy lifestyle,” he said.

Among students, Satendra Sangwan a PG student from the Department of Physics took the first place. He was followed by Lt. Col. Ganesh Chawla, a Defence Sponsored UG candidate at the Department of Electrical Engineering, for whom this marathon was “just another morning run”.

The third place was taken by Tushar Kshirsagar, a UG first year student of Aerospace Engineering, who confessed turning up “just for the T-shirt”. His honesty was greeted with loud cheer, whistles and claps from the gathering. Karan Atariya, a post-graduate student of the Electrical Engineering Department bagged the fourth position

“It is extremely inspirational to find the Director participating in the run along with the students. During our time here, we could never expect anything like this. I hope this continues for the coming years. It brings a kind of fluidity and makes things easier between the students and the higher authorities,” said Mr. Ajit Kumar Alok, a 1995 alumnus, and currently a senior official of the Indian Railways.

Talking about the happiness index involved in a marathon, Prof. Saamdu Chhetri of IIT Kharagpur’s Rekhi Centre for the Science of Happiness, said that he feels that a marathon like this should not be competitive, but be “cohesive” instead. “In an event like the Annual Alumni Meet, where the alumni have come together to relive old memories and enjoy to the fullest, instead of competing against one another, it would have been wonderful had they held their hands together and completed this marathon. There’s a beautiful African saying which says, if you want to go far, go together; if you want to go fast, go alone. It is a wonderful initiative by the Institute to bring together the current batches along with their predecessors,” said Prof. Chhetri.

Prof. Priyadarshi Patnaik, Head, Rekhi Centre for the Science of Happiness also spoke on the lines of Prof. Chhetri. He pointed out that the marathon was a good opportunity to discuss with both past and current students and find out how transformation can take place.

The event ended with the past and present students exchanging pleasantries, sharing the morning snack and hooting loudly, “KGP ka tempo high hai”.

Pictures courtesy: Student Alumni Cell

Yeh Papa ka college hai…

Mr Ajit Kumar Alok in front of his department with family

“Papa yahan khelta thha?” lisped a 3-year-old Ghrishneshvar, as he pointed out to the Tata Steel sports ground, just opposite to the Ramanujan Complex. He, along with his elder sister, Ujjavalaa, both toddlers, were at IIT Kharagpur campus for the first time with their parents and elder brother Aayush, who is in IIT-BHU. Their father, Mr Ajit Kumar Alok, a 1995 alumnus of the Electrical Engineering Department of the Institute, was here to attend the 17^th Annual Alumni Meet held at the campus from 10^th to 12^th January 2020.

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon when The KGP Chronicle caught up with these two pre-schoolers at the Arena. They had just come from Lala Lajpat Rai (LLR) Hall of Residence, which was their father’s address from 1991 to 1995. Excited to know that their ‘Papa’ was just like them – he also carried a bag to college. “Humko bhi jana padhega?”, “Will there be a playground with jhula in my college? – came in questions one after the other. Too young to understand the concept of a campus, what really mattered to them was whether their father felt homesick. The fact of staying away from home for four years didn’t quite go down well with them. Aayush kept smiling all the while keeping a hawk’s eye on his younger siblings.

For their mother, Mrs Alka Sinha Alok, it was also her first time on this campus. “It feels wonderful to be able to converse in Bengali after such a long time. I am originally from Chittaranjan, near Asansol, but due to my husband’s transferrable job, we stay in Punjab and there is absolutely no scope of speaking the language,” she let out a sigh of relief. She missed her friends who were the wives of her husband’s friends in Bangalore. “They had some prior commitments, and so couldn’t come,” she regretted.

Mr Alok in front of the Institute main building

Mr Alok is a senior employee with the Indian Railways. His job requires him to shift his base every three years. “For me, it is my job, but for my family, it gets very taxing, especially for the children. But then, they are slowly getting used to a cosmopolitan culture, which I think should mould them into better human beings,” remarked Mr Alok. Thus when the daughter pointed out to a Punjabi dish on the menu which she didn’t quite like, but loved the mishti doi, it did not come as a surprise.

“Yahan papa ko khana koun khilata thha?” asked Ujjavalaa, while fiddling with the drums in one segment of the Arena. Now that was a real googly. The close to 12,000 students on campus make friends who ultimately become second family to them. Their father himself did so, which is why he was back for the Annual Alumni Meet… to be with his long lost friends. But that is something beyond the comprehension of little Ujjavalaa. For the pre-schooler, it is impossible to imagine a world without parental love and attention. Hence her innocent query.

Currently residents of RCF Kapoorthala Punjab, the Aloks would be moving out of the place very soon since Mr Alok has already been transferred to Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh. “I will miss my friends at Oxford Junior School,” said the two munchkins in unison, “but will have new friends in Ratlam,” chipped in Ujjavalaa.

The family had a wonderful time in the campus. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves running along the tree-lined campus roads, enjoying swing and see-saw rides at the children parks and dancing to the tunes of Balam Pichkari on the Gala Dinner Night with bonfire and DJ, on Saturday 11^th January 2020.

We’re Home

Times of India (Alumni Outreach) Times of India (Alumni Gift) Business Standard (DSA)

IIT Kharagpur is celebrating its 16th Annual Alumni Meet scheduled on January 11-13, 2019. Alumni Meet is an occasion when close to 300 alumni visit every year from the batches celebrating their 50th, 40th and 25th year of graduation. This year it was no different as the Institute welcomed the alumni from across the globe starting from the evening of January 10.

A Beautiful Painting of our beloved KGP by Mr. Chandrakant Ekkirala (EE| LLR Hall |1994)

The boys and girls who once cycled around the hallowed boulevards of the campus are now heading various corporations essaying the roles of top managers and board members, running their own entrepreneurial ventures, bureaucrats, leading experts in various domains of technology and finance, award-winning researchers and even artists and performers. You could see former RBI governor Dr. D. Subbarao sharing a hearty laugh with his batch-mate. Then there was entrepreneur Anuradha Acharya, founder and CEO of Ocimum Bio Solutions and Mapmygenome, walking down to the Dept. of Physics where she was a student. And then you could see the Director of the Institute Prof. P P Chakrabarti thanking alumnus Chandrakant Ekkirala for a painting by the latter gifted to him. Did we just hear from a global expert in Physics, Prof. T Venkatesan, Director NUSNNI, National University of Singapore share the latest happening in physics with a wide-eyed greenhorn?

Inauguration Video of 16th Annual Alumni Meet

The 3-day event is lined up with fun and frolic including visit to the departments and halls residence, a tour of the campus, musical night where the alumni and students perform together, illumination – where they come together to create a canvass art with lighted up diyaas or earthen lamps which is the culture of celebrating Diwali at IIT Kharagpur, a marathon across a 2.2km stretch and entertainment programs.

For IIT Kharagpur, this annual reunion of the alumni has a huge significance. The alumni, who engage with their departments and halls of residence and with other units in the Institute, has been networking to forge corporate and academic collaborations. The faculty from the Institute, many of who are themselves alumni, engage with the alumni over these 3 days as part of their outreach initiative to collaborate with various top corporations and global universities. While many of them carry on with ‘addaa’ with these alumni, who were their former students and batch-mates.

“The Annual Alumni Meet is a time for the alumni to explore, discover and reconnect. Amidst the fun and laughter, the alumni also serve a serious responsibility towards their alma mater. Through a reconnection with the Institute, the alumni of IIT Kharagpur make sure that they further the development of the Institute in every way possible. Be it in infrastructure development, initiating scholarships and grants, placements, arranging for guest lectures or industry interaction, the Institute has always found its alumni by its side,” remarked Prof. Subrata Chattopadhyay, Dean, Alumni Affairs.

The halls of residence have been major benefactors this year, with 7 halls receiving more than Rs. 1.5 crore for developmental activities. The Institute has been encouraging the students and wardens to submit proposals for hall development activities which include modern furnishing and equipment for common rooms, messes, study rooms, canteens etc.

“1969, 1979, 1994 and 1997 batches have collectively donated Rs. 3.6 crore in endowment on the occasion of the Annual Alumni Meet this year. You will find unique initiatives like the Ritesh Ranjan Memorial Scholarship, which is collectively donated by the 1997 batch in the memory of their batchmate Ritesh Ranjan who passed away. This connect speaks volumes about the deep bond that the alumni have with their alma mater. We celebrate this bond during the Annual meet and form fresh connections every year,” Dean Chattopadhyay added. Read Full Story

A key initiative during the 16th Annual Alumni Meet was the awarding of the Distinguished Service Award. Ten alumni from India and abroad were honoured for their outstanding contribution to the Institute for facilitating global networking and reach, leading collaborative projects, fundraising initiatives. Each of these alumni contributes a significant amount of their time to work for alumni associations in various parts of the world and help strengthen alumni giving back and engagement with IIT Kharagpur.

Ratun Lahiri, a finance expert from London, who steered reviving the UK Chapter talked about how she led a group of young alumni in London and strategized personalized events to attract participation and engagement from the alumni in the United Kingdom. Today the UK Chapter is a 330 members strong association and will be registering as a non-profit organization soon under UK laws thus enabling tax exemption facility to the alumni who would like to donate to IIT Kharagpur through the organization. She also spoke about the London Summer 2020 event which the Chapter has planned to organize to promote the IIT Kharagpur brand through its alumni among major corporations and academia worldwide. Another award recipient, K Rajah echoed similar ideas with the newly formed Dubai chapter which has been galvanizing the Alumni in the Middle East, particularly UAE.

In Australia, awardee Davender Jain spearheaded joint conference for all IIT directors including IIT KGP with vice-chancellors of eminent Australian universities to promote research, faculty exchange and IIT brand in Australia. While in India, Sabesh Subramaniam, former President of Chennai Chapter, has been an active participant in the IIT KGP executive committee forums with valuable inputs for improvement and has been actively engaged in drumming up support and CSR funding for the Sandhi Project, together with United Way Bengaluru.

Among the other awardees were:

Arun Prakash Das, former Honorary Secretary, Treasurer and the President of TAA Kolkata Chapter. In the days prior to mobile and WhatsApp, Shri Das has worked tirelessly for the networking and get-together for Kolkata alumni

Prof. Probir Gupta, former Dean of the Vinod Gupta School of Management, and the founding Head of the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law

Meenakshi Kaul Basu, President, PAN IIT Bay Area Alumni and IIT KGP San Francisco Bay Area chapter

Partha Sarathi Chatterjee, an active volunteer for IIT alumni since 1991 in Houston, Texas. He has held various leadership roles – IIT Foundation Board member, President of IIT Kharagpur Houston alumni chapter, Steering Committee member of IIT 2013 Global Conference, Trustee and Board Member of IIT Alumni of Greater Houston.

V Ganesh, General Secretary of TAA Delhi Chapter. In addition to the contribution towards TAA, he helped enable employment for IIT Kharagpur graduates, both in the Indian Navy and in Larsen and Toubro. Ganesh implemented a program where every year, the senior members of TAA mentor the JEE rankers of the year towards various courses and opportunities at IIT Kharagpur.

Late Pran Kurup who was instrumental in starting the alumni initiative of IIT Kharagpur, in the US and was very active in organizing alumni activities and events, was awarded posthumously. His wife Ms. Lachmi Khemlani, also an alumna, received the award.

Varadarajan Seshamani, one of the first few members who founded the Bangalore Chapter of the IIT Kharagpur Alumni Association in 1971 with his office being the Chapter address where it operated for 23 years.