1st Alumni Meet of IIT-BHU 

On Monday the level of happiness was a little higher in the air for Indian Institute of Technology (earlier known as Institute of Technology), Banaras Hindu University as over 150 alumni gathered at Swatantrata Bhawan to celebrate their reunion.

IIT-BHU the Banaras Hindu University's technology wing is hosting its first alumni meet which will continue till January 1 after getting the status of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in 2012.

Former head of National Resource Centre for Value Education in Engineering, IIT-Delhi, Prof. RR Gaur along with Drugs Controller General of Government of India, GN Singh a pass out of 1981 batch and minister of state for railways, Manoj Sinha, a pass-out of 1979 batch were present for this auspicious occasion. And Prof. RR Gaur inaugurated the meet.

The used to be students were happy to meet their old friends and reliving the memories.
It was after 35 years that Jay Chaudhry, CEO and founder of a global cloud based information security company, had come back to his alma mater IIT-BHU. Jay Chaudhry travelled 8205 miles from San Jose, California, USA to India. He came all the way to meet his classmates and teachers from his batch of 1980. "I got to know about the alumni meet two weeks ago and had to adjust all the appointments just to be here. It feels great to be back here after a gap of 35 years. I must say most of the things are still the same," he said. "I relived my college days by visiting my room 146 in Morvi hostel and the hostel mess. While the city has become more congested, the BHU campus is the same old with greenery all around," shared a jubilant Chaudhry, also a recipient of distinguished alumnus award.

Minister of state for railways, Manoj Sinha said, "We have had several alumni meets in the past but this is the first one after getting IIT status. Every time I enter the campus, beautiful memories of the time we spent here come flooding back to me. IIT-BHU stands out of all other engineeting colleges and institutes as it not only produces engineers but also inculcates moral values in students."

Another alumni, Ramesh Chandra Tandon of 1970 batch, a retired employee of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) said, "This is my second visit after the platinum jubilee celebration of our metallurgy department. The campus has changed a lot like now there are proper parking arrangements unlike in our times."

According to IIT BHU spokesperson, the alumni is a huge success as above 700 alumni have registered in the alumni portal out of which 70 alumni have registered for the meet and a lot more are expected to register on spot. Distinguished alumni award recipients include Prof. Brij N Agrawal for academics, Jay Chaudhry for profession, MoS for railways, Manoj Sinha for public life and Anil Bharadwaj for research and development. Lectures will also be given in the alumni.