Thunderous claps, roars of laughter, smiling faces and a atmosphere of happiness, all these
happened at an auspicious gathering here at GCE, Salem which housed the talks
of Pattimandram Fames Mr. S. Raja and Mrs. Barathi Baskar.
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| The Chief Guests arrive |
“In Touch 85” was the name for the Alumni gathering of the
1981-85 batch of the college. Nearing the Padmashree Muthaiyan Auditorim of the
college, one could see a sea of cars flocking the campus getting parked in the vast
space available. People, mostly in the “40-plus” age group, stepped out of
their cars with their family and children with the same joy as they might have
jumped out of their classes at the end of the day. “Even in cinema, there
cannot be a hug between a hero and heroine better than the way a few people
hugged their old friends here”, said Mrs. Barathi amidst a thunderous applause
from the audience and even more hugs. Old friends, old crushes, old professors
all dazzled brand new with this get-together featuring a huge turnover from
former GCEians.
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| Just a Casual Click |
With the faculty that taught this batch gathered at the same
place as the students are, it was quite difficult to differentiate between the
two because of their age. Time might have changed their physical appearance but
everyone in that place can feel that their hearts were afresh and full of joy
when they met their professors who taught them. Before the official function
kicked off, many old students took turns in introducing themselves and sharing
their feelings. The profiles of those people were certainly impressive. Senior
Manager at Caterpillar Inc, CEO for a branch of L&T, Professor at a Foreign
University, people working at Dubai, Abu
Dhabi, United Kingdom etc are all a few excerpts from the vast pool of
personalities.
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| Lighting up the lamp |
The grand occasion started off by calling the chief guests
onto the stage followed by all the professors who taught the batch. The
students took turns in honouring those teachers by embracing them with a shawl
and presenting mementos. With some of
those professors still in their service, earth shattering applause from the
present students became the theme music of such veterans. With the honouring
ceremony coming to a halt, there was a presentation by Mr. M. Kamaraj, Senior
General Manager, ETA Ascon Star Group, Dubai about the plan for a new Alumni
Association Building for which funds are being raised. The proposed project
which costs a total of 2.97 Crore Rupees at three stages, impressed everyone in
the Audi equally, including the chief guests. His power point presentation also
shared us the news that the land for the project has been allocated and
approved and that the project can start as the funds keep pouring. He
introduced to the crowd, the trustees that have taken up the charge of
collecting funds and organizing it amidst claps. The Account No. For collection
of funds was provided to all. He also requested to spread this message so that
all the students from more than those 40 batches that passed out from the college
get to know about this.
This was followed by a short speech from the Head of the
Institution who herself is a member of the Alumni-Dr. R. S. D. Wahida Banu. The
first lady of GCE quickly highlighted her dreams and wishes about the college
and her gratitude towards her professors. Stating that she doesn’t want to eat
up the time as the prominent speakers were waiting for their speech, she humbly
took her seat amidst beaming smiles from both the guests.
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| Mr. S. Raja in action |
The much awaited speech of Mr. Raja was next. The popular
person was a graduate of B. COM from the American College, Madurai and did his
Masters in the field of Journalism from Madurai Kamaraj University. As the
speaker took his podium, even his posture got a roaring applause from the
audience. Once the dust settled, the veteran displayed his oratorical skills to
the best, hypnotizing everyone with his sense of humour. Stating that GCE,
Salem was only the third Government College in the state that he is visiting,
he appreciated the college for its vast campus and infrastructure. He was also
saddened at the privatization of education and the business that is going on in
the name of running a college. “Increasing the number of Government colleges
which offer quality education with minimum fees is the way of change and growth
in the field”, he said with the necessary emphasis. He then asked his fellow
speaker, Mrs. Barathi Baskar to take over the podium.
Mrs. Barathi was a graduate in Chemical Engineering from AC
College of Technology, Chennai. She did her MBA and is presently the Vice
President of Citi Bank, Chennai. She started off her speech by welcoming all
the dignitaries and acknowledging the fact that they spend their time and money
to show their gratitude towards their professors. Quoting her school and college
memories as examples, she kindled the emotions of the crowd who moved along
with her in the oratorical journey. Thanking the Alumni for imprinting in her
the willingness to show gratitude to her professors, she took her seat amidst
sounds of joy, claps and emotions.
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| People having a gala time at the lunch |
Mr. S. Raja re-entered the scene to give his final touch to
the speech. Taking another 20 minutes time, he went down his memory lane and
gave the crowd a success formula. “Behind every success there are a lot of failures,
hardships, insults, sweat and blood”, he re-quoted from the previous speech of
Mrs. Barathi. Going with his usual unique style of speech, he kept intact an Auditorium
which had a tough time housing an overwhelming crowd. His thoughts and words
will ricochet in the hearts of all, so will Mrs. Barathi’s.
The program ended with delicious lunch for the hundreds
gathered which was followed by meetings between Alumni. This day August the 12th
will for sure be a memorable one.
More photos can be found in our Facebook page-
https://www.facebook.com/pages/GCE-Chronicles/194876903900102?ref=hl
(Contact Mr. M. Kamaraj for further details about the Alumni
Building through his mail id- krajan@etaascon.com )
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