What happens when a couple of ex-students meet up? They have lots of fun of course! To top it all, if there are hundreds of old students? It’s all the more masti. That’s what happened at Milana 2011, a reunion programme held at the M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology campus for the former students of MSRIT. This annual alumni meet, organised by the MSRIT Alumni Association saw the presence of hundreds of old students despite it being held on the day of the bandh.
It was not just a reunion! It was an evening of fun, food and fiesta as a number of cultural events were held. The students of MSRIT performed for their ‘super seniors’.
Be it Western acoustics, jugalbandi, violin recital or kathak, the youngsters made sure that the older students felt at home. And the older students couldn’t stop raving about the potential of the youngsters.
Bandh or no bandh, the spirit of MSRIT soars high at all times as the programme was extremely well-attended. N L Ramesh, a faculty member and the treasurer of the alumni association, was ecstatic at the response. He was one of the main organisers of the event.
“Initially, we had thought the response would be very bad due to the bandh. But around 600 students came with their families so the numbers crossed 900. The only drawback is that there was a delay in the event. We were supposed to begin at 4.30 pm, but began only much later. So a few programmes had to be cancelled unfortunately,” said Ramesh. “The students of the college put up an excellent performance and we were amazed at how professional they are,” he added.
The former students, of course, were thrilled to no end. Many students came from different parts of the country and some even came from countries like the
USA and UK.
Jasbir Singh, from the 1984 batch of electrical engineering, is the director of GMW. Currently residing in Chennai, he had come to the City for Milana.
“It felt so good to be reunited with friends,” he said. “It was great to meet people from the 1962 batch, which was the first batch,” he added. According to him, it’s extremely important to maintain contact.
“At our age, it’s difficult to make new friends. So it’s easier to look at the old ones and keep in touch with them.”