“What is the Burning Temperature of a Cigarette?”
Outside the hallowed college gates, there were many cars and SUV’s representing various brands- all safely parked in a never-ending queue. Inside the college premises, there were several cars parked adjacent to the old chemical plant. Once upon a time a small cycle-stand proudly graced that area. Back then, besides the cycle stand, Principal Ganpule Sir’s light green coloured Bajaj Scooter and few 100 cc bikes would be parked. The only car if ever was parked would be a govt vehicle - a shining white ambassador with red beacon on its roof, assigned to the humble and visionary leader, Late Shri Datta Patil.
Entering the hallowed gates of K.E.S. Engineering College, to the resounding welcome of drums and dhol was exciting and euphoric. Decades ago, students entered the same gates with excitement and lot of anxiety. At that time there were no drums or dhol to welcome them. The clanking sound of metal, produced by a hammer vigorously hit on a hanging iron plate would welcome them and even wake students from their slumber in classes. Apparently, the sound of school and college bell will always remain musical, and immortal isn’t it.
Walking on that famous tar road connecting the main gate and buildings, looking around those majestic old buildings, the temporary shamiana built on the other side, and finding several alumni roaming around the premises brought back memories of a bygone era. Sadly, the beautiful Karnala thumb point was no longer visible from the college premises. A big flyover stood as a barricade between the college gates and the famous monuments - Railway Quarters, Tapree, Pen Friend and Petrol Pump.
I was steadily observing the changes around and suddenly heard few alumni’s calling my name, including Prof Mahajan Sir. My classmates from Construction engg, were standing alongside Prof Mahajan Sir. I was surprised that those lads still remembered my name. Even from a distant, I could recognize their faces but was struggling to remember few names.
Prof Mahajan Sir looked dapper in his pristine white Nehru
Jacket. I started walking briskly and immediately Prof Mahajan stepped forward
and called, “Nishant” and extended his arms to hug me. I quickly rushed
and touched his feet. He tried to catch my arms, and we hugged each other. He
said, “Nishant, Congratulations, we have done it.” I said, “The
entire organising team did it.” “Thanks for your immense support and
guidance Sir.” He wiped his eyes and smiled.
This was the first time any professor from KESEC had ever hugged
me. I was feeling blessed. Life was turning full circle. It was the quintessential,
unassuming, witty, and helpful Prof Mahajan Sir, with whom I had my first
conversation after joining college. I distinctly remember that intriguing
question which he had specifically asked me during my first semester. He had
asked me, “What is the burning temperature
of a cigarette?”
That question failed to dissuade me from smoking and instead triggered curiosity in my mind. Prof Mahajan gave me the correct answer and followed it with his prolific advice, “Beta, learn to be curious if you wish to be a good engineer.” That question and his advice became my mantra in life. We chatted for few more minutes and then I took his permission and rushed across to embrace all my batchmates.
It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
I was struggling with names and quickly decided to endearingly call them, “Arrey, Beeann Stoakess - Kasa Aahes?”, “B.S.D.K., “Kaisa Hai tu “, “Kaa Bey, B.S.D.Wale, Banaras se kab aaya.….” They all started laughing and didn’t mind at all. One of them even retorted back “Nishant, Beannn Stokesss, you haven’t changed.”
It's about showing up AS yourself.
Suddenly we all had turned 19-year-old. The idea of using profanities gave me ample time to rake my grey cells and recall their names. Perhaps it also helped established my identity amongst my batchmates. Maybe that is what reunions are really for. It's not about showing up to show off how far you've come or how great you look — it's about showing up AS yourself. It was exciting & humbling to meet everyone and pose with them for few photos. By now I was able to recall their names and the wonderful identity card made by Jitu Gupta came to my rescue throughout the day.
Reminder of a privilege
Meeting my classmates and all other batchmates from different disciplines served as a terrific reminder of privilege: of having had the chance to attend engineering college in the first place and sit in the same class and canteen with all of them. Back then and as the reunion programme commenced, it allowed us to explore and be foolish together. It had reunited us to forgive and forget any ill feelings that we carried. We were friends and had gone silent for decades and again picked up in mid-sentence, being ourselves and simultaneously rediscovering our younger selves.
Reconnecting with a place, food or with others
I rushed and picked my i.d. card at the registration counter. Sripad stopped me for sound bites. I said hold on, “let me first grab my breakfast and will come back with ‘The Gayatri Gang’.” The breakfast counter was properly arranged with all food items. I eagerly picked up the Missal and it tasted different. Sadly, it was bereft of Appa’s love, care, his booming voice, and inimitable laughter that often accompanied the missal and made it even tastier. Eating missal in a plastic bowl, instead of the customary steel dish and not sitting on the bench in Appa’s hotel further diminished the taste. Anyway, I was glad that there was a semblance of Misal, as it brought back memories of Chavadi. Finally, a reunion is as much about oneself as it is about reconnecting with a place, food or with others.
A surreal environment
The area inside where the main function was being organized was massive, the stage was big and entire set up was exquisite. The place was already buzzing with alumni. I saw many seniors, and junior alumni, professors and non-teaching staff and started calling people as ‘Sir’ and ‘Madam’. Around the tent, there were lovely posters with names of popular locations and accommodation, where students stayed during college days. The place was full of excitement, noises, laughter, people talking, screaming, embracing each other, all of it - highly infectious.
The Bold & Beautiful
There were many alumni whose faces were indistinguishable and instantly recognizable. Some of them looked completely different. Everybody appeared energetic, suave, sharp, and dressed for the occasion. The ladies look elegant and beautiful. Few men missed their mane and had turned bald, several had receding hairlines, many had coloured their hair but failed to hide their wrinkles, some of them had finally learnt to immaculately oil and comb their hair, and few decided to age gracefully and emulate George Clooney’s salt and pepper look.
We were genuinely glad to see each other.
It was delightful to meet my batchmates from all three branches - Construction, Chemical and Electronics. There was a common bond amongst all of us. We travelled in the same ST Bus and train, watch the same late-night films, ate at the same canteen, restaurants, and mess, had fun and parties in each other’s rooms. It was amazing meeting them and learning about their success. It’s true that the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.
Affinity for Wada, Hostel, Building, Place and Group remains strong.
Ironically the village has lost its old charm and innocence. It has now transformed into a bigger town. Those old alleys do not look any familiar nor did people appear any friendly on the busy street and failed to arouse any sentiments. Fortunately, the wistful charm and sentimentality of those wadas, houses, buildings, hostel, and roads were abundantly visible in the college premises. There were people across batches representing various locations and these groups were easy to identify. There was Deo Ali Group, Dattar Ali Group, Chawdi Group, Prabhu Ali Group, Railway Quarter gang, North India, Kolhatkar wada, Chinchpada group, Lake View, Hostelites, Andheri, Parlekars, Borivali Gang, Goregaon Gang, Dombivalikars, Thanekars, Mulund, Penkars - Localities, Panvel, Alibaug group and people from Raigad district etc. Their bonding and loyalty remain fierce. It’s a pity that there were few alumni who continued to remain glued to their group and didn’t bother to network with alumni from other batches and groups.
Professors vividly remember mischievous students.
There was still some time for the programme to start and I decided to take a quick tour of our famous college building. A friend of mine met me in the corridor and decided to join me. I was happy to see him. He always excelled in studies. As we reached the registration counter, a thin man wearing orange Indian traditional attire stopped me. I immediately recognized and touched his feet. We hugged each other. Another Professor embraced me, and I was again feeling blessed.
Prof Pujara looked the same except for his grey hair and silver moustache. He was delighted to see me and happily introduced me to other faculty. We were engrossed in talking and my friend kept eagerly looking at the Professor, with the hope that Professor will recognize him. Finally, my friend introduced himself. I experienced another revelation. Professors remember mischievous students more than the obedient scholars. My friend quickly turned around and said he must make an important call. I realized that some individuals remain resentful, jealous, and envious.
The Indomitable Gayatri Gang
I rushed and gladly joined The Gayatri Gang and together we were ready for the sound bites. Sushant Naik, Alexander Fernandes, Ajit Nair, Ajay Jaywant, Chetan Shelke, Avinash Mishra, Ramesh Oruganti, Vidyadhar More, and me partially represented The Gayatri Gang. We were terribly missing our other roommates, based in different continents - Avinash Sawant, Bosco Vaz, Sobby Jose, Navin Khanna, Aniruddha Sane, Umesh Seshadri and Late Naresh Patil – the hostel canteen mess owner.
Viva - Voce
The group interview reminded of ‘viva- voce’, except that the interviews those days were akin to interrogations. The host Asavari was elegant, chirpy, and kept asking many questions. Guess (Chandu) Shripad must have informed her to rag people. We enjoyed the grilling and Sushant gave terrific replies. Alex sang well and we forgot to sing the popular song – “Goa Roads, take me home” composed by the talented, Murali Naik and Wimpy, our batchmates.
All Happy Families are Alike!
Asavari told me after the interview, that surprisingly every alumni, whether as individuals or even collectively in groups gave similar answers. They all stated that the college taught them hardship, adaptability, resilience, frugality, survival, innovation skills and blessed them with their best friends. The college also provided few alumni with their life partners. To me the replies weren’t surprising at all. I simply smiled at her and the immortal words of Leo Tolstoy crossed my mind, “All happy families are alike…”. During those years, the college had converted all roomies and friends into a big happy family.
By now the reunion had started teaching me few lessons. It was giving me an opportunity to reflect. I thought I’d share a handful of lessons I’ve learned, and I apologize for the length.
Strong Bonding and Foundation
The college building has become old but as David Allan Coe says, “It's not the beauty of a building you should look at; it's the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time.” Looking at the overwhelming attendance of over 700 people, it was evident that the college has created a solid legacy, built a strong foundation and an inseparable bonding amongst alumni, faculty, and staff.
Never Miss a Reunion
This was the first time I was attending the K.E.S.E.C Alumni Reunion. I had skipped earlier reunions due to work exigencies and some trepidation. I suppose I wasn’t entirely comfortable measuring myself against batchmates. My room partners and I meet frequently and so never had any yearning to attend other reunion. After passing engineering, the next 15 -20 years are amid the peak juggling years of your career and you’ve got reason to skip the reunions altogether. Moreover, none of the earlier reunions were organized to celebrate any milestones like 25, 30, 40, 45, 50 years etc. Even for this grand reunion, despite being a member of organizing committee, I had solicited advise from Prof Mahajan Sir about attending it. Eventually the privilege of working on Samvidh Souvenir coupled with the joy of meeting many alumni and Prof Mahajan Sir’s advice had cinched my decision to attend the reunion.
The Grand Event
The SAMVIDH alumni mega reunion was organized to celebrate the 40th year of the foundation of our college and promised to be a grand affair. We came together in great clumps of batches. It eventually turned out to be unprecedented, spectacular, memorable grand event. An event that wasn’t to be missed. Full marks to the entire organizing team, all faculty, non-teaching and administrative staff and a big compliment and thanks to all alumni for attending in large numbers and creating history.
Tushar Desai was fabulous as MC. Tushar with his zeal and excellent communication skills ensured that the session didn’t become too formal nor trivial and ensured the entire session was lively and engaging. The event started with a brilliant, evocative welcome speech from Dr. Ajit Marathe. It was very kind of Ajit to use few of my Life @ KESEC quotes in his introduction.
Stimulating alumni panel discussion
The welcome speech was followed by a stimulating alumni panel discussion, splendidly moderated by the soft-spoken Sunil Tanksale. Sunil started hesitantly but soon came into his elements. The panelist comprised of an eclectic mix of professionals - entrepreneurs, corporate CXO’s, senior government official and represented all the three branches of engineering. The panel members were KESEC alumni- Dr. Ajit Marathe, Ravindra Bhave, J K Patel, Atul Vaze, and Sunil Tanksale. The panelists were bright, unassuming, and unequivocally shared their ideas of giving back to the college and promised to create a common platform to support alumni.
There was a hubbub of excited conversation.
The panel discussion got over and people again started talking, so many stories to share, so little time. People spoke like they were on a deadline, talked in the shamiana, talked in college building, walked around and talked, muttered between speeches, skipped the programs to talk some more, and talked again over lunch and coffee breaks. In hindsight it was good that we came a day earlier and meet several alumni.
Life is Short.
The only time we were silent was when we heard the names of alumni’s who have passed away. Sadly, we learnt that 49 of our alumni’s have passed away. The silence fell sharply, but the faint susurration of their voices went on. People were shocked and in a state of disbelief while reading those names and wanted to know more. It still hurts to think of the ones I knew well, and even those I didn’t knew at all. It feels like we're way too young to go. We can’t take anything for granted.
Life is a great leveler. We’re not as different as we thought we were.
The college prepared us to experience failures and success, taught us to bravely face the trials and tribulations in life. Having a great business, job, career and all the luxuries does not make you immune to life. We all have our troubles. Most of the time, we only see our own, or what’s visible to the outside observer. But the reality is everyone has problems. It was shocking to learn about couple of alumni’s who went missing from college and still haven’t been found.
Who we are now, gets acquainted with who we were then!
It was delightful to meet my mentors - Arvind Nerurkar, Sandeep Sawardekar & Sandeep Mhatre. Bumping into Suhas Bagade and Pithya (Milind Jadhav) was equally exciting. We reminisce about the time spent together. It is true that Reunions are a form of time travel when who we are now, gets acquainted with who we were then.
You often don’t realize the effect you had on another person.
Meeting two of my batchmates and discovering that the conversations I had forgotten long ago were unforgettable turning points in their careers astonished me and at the same time made me feel proud and elated.
There are several alumni to whom I should be grateful for creating positive impact in my life viz: Shilpa Nagle, Raju Dhaduti, Bino George, Sandeep Singh (Chacchu), Rajeev (Dadu) Salvi, Arvind Nerurkar, Navneet Singh, Sydney Lobo, Late R.B. Singh, Wimpy Arora, Ramesh Oruganti, Avinash Sawant, Avinash Mishra, Amarkant Jain and all my roomies. Navneet a voracious reader, had once snatched the P.G. Wodehouse novel from my hand and categorically advised me to change my authors and start reading Ramamrutham. Bino subtly encouraged me to play volleyball and pursue MBA. Often people who touched you most deeply have no memory of that chapter at all.
There was no posturing or bragging, just sharing.
It was terrific interacting with several alumni entrepreneurs and other successful professionals from various companies. Many have created successful enterprises and business. Some of them have made successful career transition. Few have become independent consultants and subject matter experts. Many are working overseas, and I was happy to interact with few NRI’s who had specially flown for this reunion. There was no posturing or bragging, just sharing. After a certain age, you stop comparing or measuring yourself with others. I was experiencing joy and pride at the accomplishments of all alumni.
Insightful and Nostalgic Speeches.
When Professor Ganpule Sir walked in, we all stood up with respect and admiration. I saw few eyes getting moist and could feel the lump in my throat. Prof Ganpule our beloved and revered principal was my project guide and neighbour in Gayatri building. I had a quick conversation with him and was feeling divine. Even at the age of 89, Prof Ganpule Sir was discussing about prestressed concrete and Ferrocement structures. Take a Bow Sir and prayers for his good health and long life. Amen!
The speeches from other dignitaries and HOD’s were concise, interesting, and nostalgic. Prof Dinesh Joshi, Prof Sunil Joshi & Dharyasheel Patil - all spoke magnificently.
It was a great honour to see the draft copy of Samvidh Souvenir being released by the Chief Guest, Dr. Snehlata Deshmukh, former Vice Chancellor of University of Mumbai and Prof Ganpule Sir. Their speeches were inspiring, insightful, and poetic. Life again turned full circle. The last time Prof Ganpule Sir had approved my project report. I don’t think the Vice Chancellor would have got time to see that perspicacious project report! I was feeling immensely proud and privileged to witness both of them holding the souvenir and sharing their incisive messages in the souvenir.
What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches —Karl Menninger.
One of my batchmates from electronics engineering persistently kept reminding Prof Ganpule about his mechanics lecture and the example he shared on linear motion -Two trains coming from opposite direction. I was admiring my batchmate’s elephantine memory. That batchmate kept on repeating the example like a broken record. Prof Ganpule seemed thrilled to come across a sincere student. He got excited and was almost on the verge of giving the solution i.e., the distance travelled by train A and train B, by presuming some speed and time. Thankfully other alumni intervened, took Prof Ganpule Sir aside and made him comfortably sit on the sofa. Well, “What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches”, and indeed Prof Ganpule Sir has been a phenomenal teacher, Principal and administrator who helped shape the college and our future.
It was the age of foolishness, It was the age of wisdom!
Sydney Lobo joined the group and was patiently waiting for his turn to meet Prof Ganpule. Several alumni had accosted Prof Ganpule Sir. Everyone was hankering to take selfies with Prof Ganpule Sir. Interestingly among those alumni’s, there were many including me, who would scamper in different directions whenever we saw the Principal walking around the premises. Back then it was the age of foolishness. Today we were all, rushing with excitement and veneration to take a picture with him. This clearly showed the love, respect, and affection we have for Prof Ganpule Sir. It is also the age of wisdom!
I told Sydney, “Don’t wait, just barge in the crowd.” He was being polite and decent. Sydney has changed. He was no longer the same Sydney, who would make rough tackles on the football ground. Eventually Sydney got a chance to speak with Prof Ganpule Sir. Patience is virtue!
Lavish Lunch
The vegetarian lunch menu was lavish, delectable, and awesome. The Traditional steamed white Modak’s and the Valachi/ Birdyachi Usaal (Field Beans or Hyacinth Beans) were remarkably luscious and mouthwatering. Everyone gormandized on the Modaks and Usaal. Never did we eat such scrumptious and lip-smacking food in Pen.
Ramp Walk
After lunch, Ajit Damle dazzled on the stage just the way he used to on the volleyball court. The idea to invite various batches on the stage was fantastic and precluded us from taking quick siesta. All the alumni were excited to be on the stage for the ramp walk. They came dancing with enthusiasm and willingly shared their interesting experiences. This created a competitive environment among batches.
Bhooshan Rege in his speech stated that Richard Feynman’s
wonderful technique of learning, teaching and thereby reinforcing the learning
was popular in Pen. His narration of smoking Bidi’s brought back fond memories
and reminded of our early lessons in frugality. It was touching to hear Ajit
Sathe appreciating and acknowledging the role played by both KESEC college and the
students hailing from different cities. Come to think of it was a symbiotic
relationship between all constituents.
Generally, people feel more comfortable speaking in groups and have lesser stage fear. I reckon the ramp walk deserved more time to encourage many alumnis to share their experiences, anecdotes, hilarious stories etc. Maybe the individual performances could have been kept for the evening. It would have been nice to see the faculty, non-teaching, and administrative staff walking on the ramp and sharing their experiences. Having said that it is always challenging to organize one day reunion and next time it must be organized over 2-3 days.
Women of Substance
The ladies panel discussion was interesting. At a certain age, inner beauty is far more important and physical beauty eventually fades. However, the ladies defied age - looked graceful with their chic insouciance and boundless vitality. Vinita, Kashmira, and Monisha gave candid replies. Sacchi spoke assertively about her career and shared anecdotes of successfully breaking the glass ceiling. Elizabeth with her poise, confidence, and sonorous voice, showcased the generational shift while Pritam Korgaonkar’s replies showed gratitude and simplicity. Smita’s answers were short and crisp.
The discussion brought to fore the grit, determination, and
sagacity of all the KESEC girls. It must have been daunting, and yet very
courageous and resilient of all the girls to not just survive but thrive in a
village and achieve significant personal and professional success. All the
KESEC girls and their parents deserve a big applaud. Kudos to all!
Front benchers in every classroom create notes but backbenchers always create memories.
Watching the event from the last row was quite nostalgic, refreshing and memorable. It provided me ample freedom to move around and chat with people. It also offered me a spectacular view of things happening around. Sitting with the three musketeers - Shardul Deshpande, Sydney Lobo and Surendra Desai was redolent of our ST Bus journey. As always, these blokes were modest, witty, chatty, but surprisingly the usual pranks were missing.
There’s a strong bond from shared experience.
Some things never change. It was delightful meeting Kiran Bartake, Sanjay Pandey, Prathosh, Amarkant Jain, Ramesh Oruganti, Avi Mishra, Ravi Khandelwal, Jitu Gupta, Aditya Jayraman, Jaideep Minocha, Rajesh Khanna, Hemant Karekar, Bhavesh Kookani, Ashwini Khanna, Rajesh Hajela, Rishi and all other hostelites. It brought back memories. All of them are still the same – self-assertive, sensible, helpful, and humorous. We may have not remained in continuous touch but apparently there exists a bond of friendship and mutual respect. It was nice meeting Potey who used to sell tea and snacks outside the hostel. Interestingly I met someone who still enjoys a friendly banter and there’s nothing wrong so long as the quality of banter doesn’t become disparaging. But then there are individuals who enjoy condescending others and perhaps miss growing up!
People change, but friendships endure.
People become more flexible, accommodative, less opinionated, and yet there are few who remain intransigent. Those who were aggressive and bully in college mellow down and those who were shy and silent become more social. Yet there are those who remain unchanged, friendly, and truly delighted to meet you. Meeting Vidyadhar More, Prasad Khopkar, Abraham Vargehese, Suman Khavale, Joji George, Amar Dighe, KP Kailash Pongde, Ajit Sathe, Gajendra Pawar, Uday Chauhan (Flux), Santosh Sawant, Rajesh Shringarpure, Damodar Rane, Ashutosh Kudalkar, Ravindra Shetty, Ajay Mokal, Santosh Tatkare, Kishore Koli, Ajit Paranjpe, Devendra Deshmukh, Jagdish Masand, Nilesh P, Vinay Survey, Kamlesh Nerurkar, Anand M, Sachin Patil, Abhay Patil, Raju Pichika and Prakash Zavare and the gang was quite nostalgic.
The Reunion Organising Committee
We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love. – Mother Teresa
The reunion provided a glimpse of meticulous planning and remarkable event management. All tasks and activities whether simple or complex were carefully designed and executed. Right from online registration to accommodation, social media branding, Souvenir, selfie stands, photos, lunch and entire event execution. One of the things that the reunion organising committee did was to make sure that cost was not a barrier to people participating. Those who could afford to donate more did so, people also generously advertised in the souvenir and donated for repair fund of college building. The best thing the organizers did was getting everyone involved. Every member of organising committee had volunteered and did their tasks lovingly and selflessly. Finally, reunions are about who you include, not who you exclude. The idea to have a 40th reunion and get all batches together was fabulous.
Tribute to KESEC
Now, 40 years later, let's just acknowledge that our time on the college campus was wonderful. We had fun. I know I did. I loved it. And, I hope, to one degree or another we learned to think confidently and critically about ourselves and the world, which is, after all, why we were here. For that we thank this special place- K.E.S.E.C. Pen. Hopefully the millennium batches representing the next generation of leaders would take the lead and organize the 45th or 50th reunion. Until then let’s revive our relationship, stay fit and remain connected.
Epilogue:
I have written this in the first-person singular. While
readers might find the repeated use of “I” and “my” off-putting and perhaps an
indication of an outsized ego, but essentially this is about my experience,
written to remind me of the Halcyon days when I might suffer from a certain
dementia in future.
I wrote names of all those whom I met during the event, and
I am very sure that I have inadvertently missed few names. Seems like I am
already having little dementia. My sincere apologies for missing those names.
Let’s try and reconnect.
