NOTE : This was first published on http://www.rising.cetb.in
On the wintry morning of December 30th, when the tender rays of the sun were comforting the cold surface of the earth, a group of stars came together and aligned themselves to carve an illuminating constellation called “CET Alumni” and the event has been described as the “Homecoming”. The feeling in the hearts of these stars showed nostalgia, longing, happiness and all bitter-sweet symphonies, unambiguous and untainted.
Our mind harbours thoughts of many kind, but a few species of these thoughts keep running back to the moments we treasure, to the things that made us what we are today and which sadly wouldn’t happen again. But what would you not give to relive these moments? Our alma mater makes a little part of our life-span but holds a gigantic space in the world of memories. So, what if you got a chance to sneak peek this lost thread of college-time? The CET Annual Alumni meet provides you exactly that!
The event commenced at 11 AM with the lighting of holy lamp, and was soon followed by a welcome speech by our esteemed Principal Dr.Prashanta Kumar Patra sir, President, Alumni Association and also, it would be unfair to continue without mentioning that he’s a notable CET alumnus himself.
We were indeed fortunate to hear from Prof. S. P. Mohanty, ex-principal of our college about the large-scale transformation that CET has undergone over the years. We then had a short introduction to our programme by Professor-in-charge, Alumni Affairs, Dr. P. K. Parida.
Our principal, Dr. P. K. Patra sir was breathing enthusiasm and his eyes were conveying the purpose and intent, as he presented to us a slideshow showcasing the story of development of CET from strength to strength, and also how it’s the collective responsibility of every single entity of the college to contribute – ‘Little changes in everything will surely bring about a huge change in the college’, he believes. As an able leader and visionary, he also discussed the area of improvements and the course of action involving everyone, from the students to the alumni, from the faculty to the administrators, required to do so.
Our technical society headed by the technical Secretary, Asutosh Hota gave a presentation which went on to discuss about the technical prowess of CET, the accolades bagged by our students from the technical society and the key areas of growth. This was followed by a presentation from the Placement Cell headed by Pritesh Mishra, who reaffirmed the importance of Alums in the placement process and the instrumental role they can play in the coming years.
The Alumni website was launched, which boasted of providing numerous facilities to the associated entities, and much to the delight of the members who made the website a reality, the alums appreciated their efforts and were convinced about the middleware the platform would play in establishing deeper bonds between the alums and the college, and also between the alums themselves.
Then, finally the time had come for the mighty alums to do the talking, and I kid you not, they spoke their hearts out! Our alums narrated their experiences, both good and bad, so they made sure we got inspired by the good ones and also knew what we shouldn’t do, through the bad ones. Some encouraged entrepreneurship, a few told us the importance of academics and more importantly, having a research-oriented classroom culture among the students, some elaborated on the indelible memories they created in the campus while some spoke of the significance the club activities hold, but undeniably, all of them gave out moments of unadulterated feeling and thought. We were simply awed and joyous to hear our alums convey the message of CET-camaraderie, with subtlety and panache.
Our alums definitely made us feel immensely proud of our college (It’s not that we weren’t, but then, it was a different feeling!)
After the air in the hall got filled with the impeccable charm and glam of our alums, we soon proceeded towards lunch.
We reassembled at 2.30 PM, and soon the General Body Meeting presided by Dr. P. K. Parida was underway. Some relevant questions were raised and subsequently the answers to some of them were proposed in a generalized manner. Everybody agreed upon the need of improving the process of engagement between the college and the alumni. Some thorny issues were tackled with maturity and sagacity, echoing the values our college stands for.
We then had some melody to soothe us, and thanks to the members of Arpeggio to put up such a great show. Also, an Odissi performance only added to the colour and spirit of the programme.
We then had the fun events where were alums tried to time their cricket bats to balls. Plenty of laughs being exchanged and photos being clicked, could be seen. It felt frothy and rejuvenating! And for a moment, the alums could feel it was college-time again!
As all of us did shake our legs to some electrifying music, quite opposite to the quiet way in which the event had kicked off, the show ended with a blast!