The Golden jubilee celebrations of IIT Madras commenced on 31^st of July 08, it was a moment of pride to witness my Alma mater which means so much to me turning 50. It is a remarkable achievement and a great occasion to celebrate indeed.

Midst of all the excitement , I drove down the IIT campus sharing my nostalgic memories with a colleague of mine who was equally excited to see the 630 acre campus spruced up for the occasion. The spotted deer’s crossing the road or the rare species black bucks moving around the dust bins in search of food, monkeys swinging on the branches made me feel as if I am still living out of this campus .Certain things never grow old, they are ageless, my alma mater is perhaps one .Every time I come here, I see something new, this time heard about the research park, engineering blocks, new Bio tech blocks and so on. I am also told that even though there are many construction works going on, the net forest area in the campus is even on the rise by way of careful eco-planning by the authority.

Parking my car in the guided spot, I walked up to the administration office to pick up an extra invite for my colleague, since the chief guest was none other than our honorable Chief Minster Dr. Kalaingar Karunanidhi we had to walk past the tight security checks to the SAC centre where the celebrations were to begin.

The Student Activity Centre was colorfully set and was bustling with students, alumni, dignitaries, media trying to occupy the best position to capture moments of significance, volunteers guiding them through and top police personnel having a tough time checking the security arrangements.

In the hustle bustle, we managed to spot an ideal place from where we could get the complete view of the celebration and occupied our seats on time. I was scanning for familiar faces and I could see that most of them were doing the same, I was also lucky to catch up with few .I felt so good meeting Prof Ashok Jhunjhunwala after a long time .He remembers me well and speaks to me in Bengali. He joined IIT in my department as a faculty the year before I completed my course. His youthful zest, knowledge and encouragements to the students on experimenting new technology in our projects endeared him to all of us. So good to see him hale and hearty.

The dignitaries including several IAS officers, distinguished members and alumni had arrived on time and the entire stage was waiting for the arrival of the Chief Minister, who due to unforeseen circumstances was delayed by 30 minutes. Since Shri. Arjun Singh was indisposed and could not attend the session on his behalf HRD minister for the state Mrs. Purandeswari had consented to grace the occasion. The other dignitaries included Mr. Bernd Mutzelburg – Ambassador of Germany to India, Mr. R P Agrawal – Secretary, HR Education, MHRD, GOI, Prof VG Idichandy – Chairman, GJ Steering Committee

The program commenced with an Invocation song by student and faculty members. Welcome note was delivered by Prof. M S Ananth, Director of IIT, following which DR. R. Chidambaram - Chairman and Board of Governors spoke about the golden jubilee initiatives which included plans to set up development centres and new research park. Mr. Bernd Mutzeburg spoke about the German connections of IIT and his speech was well received. The Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development D Purandeswari while delivering the felicitation mentioned that the IITs can overcome faculty shortage by recruiting students on the verge of completing their doctoral research.

The presidential address was delivered by Chief Minister who stated that Government has state was aiming to become the ICT hub of South Asia, as envisaged in the latest IT Policy. “This goal is possible, with the high-skilled manpower and the presence of world-class institutes like Anna University and IIT help in developing the talent pool,” he said. “To add to our strength, the Centre has recently sanctioned three institutions, the IIM at Coimbatore, World Class University at Tiruchirapalli and Central University at Tiruvarur,” He also said, six new engineering colleges have been established this year across the state to accommodate meritorious poor students, he said. “Tamil Nadu is the number one state in providing technical education by creating 163 seats in engineering colleges per lakh of population,” he claimed.

The programme concluded with a vote of thanks which was delivered by Prof V G Idichandy. I could not stay back to witness the cultural programme by Kalakshethra titled Charishnu – which means desire to move. But I did not miss out the opportunity for stopping by for a quick bite at Tiffany, the student’s cafe at IIT which serves quality food at affordable price. Also, being next to the women’s hostel, an ideal makeshift romance spot. It was not there during my time!