BITSAA Global Meet 2011 Souvenir

Platinum Sponsor

Host Chapter

Supported By

BITSAA Chennai, BITSAA Bangalore, BITSAA Pune, BITSAA Hyderabad, BITSAA Indore, BITSAA Kolkata, BITSAA Mumbai, BITSAA Ahmedabad, BITSAA Jaipur, BITSAA Nagpur, BITSAA Silicon Valley, BITSAA UK, BITSAA UAE, BITSAA Singapore, BITSAA Australia, BITSAA East Coast, BITSAA Arizona, BITSAA Chicago and many other chapters world wide.

We’ve moved on: First jobs. OďŹƒce buddies. Arranged marriages. New friends. Foreign stints. MBAs. Children.

Paunches. Hair losses. But still, years after graduation we still crave and yearn if something related to ‘BITS’ is around. As our senses resonate with vibes and a ood of nostalgic memories reincarnate before our eyes, did we really move on? Except the BITSian inside us hasn’t! Understanding this sentiment was our eort in making this book to tickle the taste buds of every BITSian reader.

It was Nov 21st 2010, a day after my birthday and I was trying hard to get my brains back into reality after the overnight party. Tring! Tring! I was asked to join a conference call with folks dialing from Pilani, Delhi, Sydney, London, Silicon Valley, College Station, Madison and last but most importantly Middletown. Inspiring quotes, provoking examples and some cheesy talk – I was bought in! Boy, little did I know what I was signing up for :) 3URMHFW ³%*0 6RXYHQLU +DQGERRN´ 7LPH WR 0DUNHW ZHHNV 'HDGOLQH WK 'HFHPEHU IHZ GD\V IRU SULQWLQJ EHIRUH %*0 NLFNV RII

6L]H a SDJHV Before you bracingly start reading the contents inside and get opinionated about its quality – “What is this book all about?� Every BITSian has a different reading appetite. Batch, sex, relevance, personal interests, passion

will have an amazing time reading this handbook!

You want to see Pilani with Dr Rajendra Prasad, Indira Gandhi, Sardar Patel?

Glance at the picturesque of new campuses (Dubai, Goa, Hyderabad)?

How did GD Birla setup the deal with MIT/Ford Foundation?

I heard that creative stuff is published in Sandpaper – can I get a sneak peek?

How and why did BITSAA International start?

What is the genesis of BGM? How did BITS visionaries boost the brand of BITS? Where did the 42 BITSian get-togethers across the globe take place in 2010?

What is the latest that BITSAA Newsletter has for me?

30+ projects are pioneered under the BITSAA umbrella – want a brief overview?

What are the next biggest BITSAA projects?

All publication brands and several teams of BITSAA International including Sandpaper, Newsletter, Annual Report, Branding Team and Communications Team joined forces to make this mother of all publications at a scale never done before. We pulled the best of all worlds to address the reading propensity of our BITSian diaspora. I hope you will want to keep the copy permanently on your bookshelf, show it off to your non-BITSian

" Like any other BITSAA project, a virtual team with real people put this book together. I did not meet a single BITSian in the entire Souvenir Team till date. We talked over 1000s of telephone calls & emails, shared everything over the Internet – truly symbolizing how the BITSian synergy can work wonders. I also made several friends while working for BGM and this handbook that could even outstrip the number of ‘jigiri’ BITSian friends I had earlier.

editor’s note

There could be no better stage to unveil this book than BGM 2011. To me, BGM has four pieces in it – Networking, Enrichment, Entertainment & Branding. Several BITSians are making diligent efforts to see it through and probably make it the biggest success story ever. Beyond doubt, we have huge strength in our unity. As the curtains rise on 7th January 2011 and BGM comes to life, let us all participate (all four pieces) in an event that will go down forever in the annals of BITS Pilani history.

As I write this editorial and inch towards the climax of BGM arrangements, there is a rumble in my belly with profound feelings getting accumulated from the excitement that BGM is shaping well, curiosity that I will be meeting 1000+ BITSians, anxiety about D-day proceedings, the mere disappointment that I might not be working with such a diverse/dispersed/virtual team soon! # # will we have another BGM? If so, which year? US or India or Dubai? Will I be called again for its souvenir handbook?

Suspense. Sure, time passes as the sand in the hourglass drifts to answer all these‌for now let us raise our glasses and enjoy this episode of BGM. $ " the page. There are better things waiting to keep your eyes captivated if not more. Hope you enjoy reading the book as much as we enjoyed making it. Peep in!

6LJQLQJ RII

’satp Satish Polisetti (2002A4A3388) satp@bitsaa.org {Feedback, rants on this id} Editor-in-Chief

Contents

A From the Desk of ...

B BITSians behind BGM 2011 ... a. b. c.

BGM Organizing Team BITSAA Chapters Leaders BITSAA Leaders

C The Story of ... a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j.

The BITSAA International Story The BGM Genesis Story GD Birla KK Birla V Lakshminarayanan CR Mitra S Venkateswaran TC Goel Coming of Age brand unique...brand BITS Pilani

D Rendezvous with BITSAA ... a. b. c.

Chapter Events 2010 Current Initiatives BITSAA Success Stories

E Giving back to alma mater ... a. b.

BOAAD Intro Faculty/ Student Enrichments

F BITSian quill ... a. b.

iRemember Sandpaper i.

Sounds like a Synonym ii.

Leadership, Change and Us iii. The Pursuit of Happiness iv. Sailing through ... v.

BITS to Antarctica.. vi. Lost! vii. The Dream Killer viii. The Death of a Mantis ix. Demise of the Artist x.

Insane Reality vs Real Insanity xi. The Suitcase xii. Pilani to Perumalpura xiii. What is Life! xiv. At the Barber xv. The Invisible Thread xvi. Westernization is [not so] Bad xvii. If everyone cared‌ xviii. Pre-Pearl

xx. Football, bloody hell xxi. The Death of Formal ...

xxiii. Photography xxiv. FineArts xxv. The Admiral’s Game

G BGM 2011 - Content & Agenda a. Sessions/Panels – Description b. Schedule Acknowledgments Editorial & Design Team

1 23 24 32 38

43 44 52 54 57 58 60 61 64 66 68

69 70 80 86

105 106 108

115 116 144 145 147 150 153 161 164 165 170 172 173 175 178 180 181 182 183 185 186

188 190

194 195 197

205 208 214 244 246

Prof. Bijendra Nath Jain Vice Chancellor

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Kris Ramachandran Advisor to Chancellor

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Vinod Puri Chairman BITSAA GlobalMeet 2011 vinodpuri@bitsaa.org

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39

o r t s d u e c r r fo r u 1 o 1 9/ of y t ur ili o g a w r f sa e w i, y of n Vams a en e b have

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Though recent in origin, BITS Alumni Association (BITSAA) has emerged as one of the strongest alumni networks of any university. It is interesting to know how 9/11 attacks played a role in the birth of BITSAA. In a candid conversation with three founders Anupendra Sharma (Eco Instru â&#x20AC;&#x2122;87), Venu Palaparthi (Eco CS â&#x20AC;&#x2122;87) and Sandeep Arora (MMS 87), we explore how four waves have created and transformed BITSAA into an enduring, relevant organization.

The story goes back to 2001 in New York City, when Anupendra sent an email to the Eco â&#x20AC;&#x2122;87 batch about raising a scholarship for Pilani students in the memory of his batchmate SS Seshadri (Eco Civil), who had passed away a few years ago.

The Eco‘87 batch was instantly responsive.But to fully endow the scholarship, Venu Palaparthi, who lived across the river in New Jersey, suggested doing a fundraiser music night instead of simply collecting money. Venu risked a $10,000 deposit to book a place for the show.That’s when Sandeep Arora (MMS ’87) surfaced.“Sandeep was a popular guitarist and music club member at BITS” saysVenu.He agreed to pull the

“They remembered walking down 50 floors, watching people jump to their deaths. We didn’t talk about that day. In fact, it would be months before both of them were able to discuss that morning with each other.”

music night together.

With Ground Zero burning, the three founders decided Anupendra,Venu and Sandeep were working towards the big night, finding BITSians, and sending out invitations for the event. A date was set. October 13, 2001.

that it was only fitting to create a scholarship in memory of Vamsi Pendyala’s . Vamsi’s wife and classmates were instantly supportive, and the organizing team grew rapidly.

Unfortunately, overcome by grief, Vamsi’s wife took her own life a week later. It was a sad day for the entire BITS

Then,two planes went into theWorldTrade Center.

A BITSian,Vamsi Pendyala (’88), was a passenger on the flight from Boston which crashed into the World

family.

9/11 forced us to rethink about the fragility of our relationships,”Venu told Rediff later.

Trade Center.

Venu said,“It gave us a massive jolt. I was in NYC and I received hundreds of emails. BITSians asking about

“In Vamsi, we saw ourselves. It could have been any of us.”

other BITSians. The phones had gone silent. But people were on emails forwarding across batches seeking info and reassurance that their mates were safe.”

Vamsi’s death brought a lot of attention to the New Jersey fundraiser being planned. "We owe our entire organization toVamsi,"Venu says,"In dying,he created an organization."

Anupendra remembers “When we finally got to the fundraiser, I found out that two BITSian classmates were in the towers when the planes hit.

In anticipation, Anupendra met Kevin Dyer, a New York lawyer at his Park Avenue office. Kevin, inspired by the fundraising efforts, and the story ofVamsi and Sesha, halved his fees and filed all the papers to create a not for profit organization.

47

Sandeep remembers the year that BITS started to recognize BITSAA. “In BITSAA’s 3rd year (2003), our dear Director, Prof.Venkateshwaran came to the United States as he had been doing for years. This visit turned out to be very different than the past, since BITSAA started to organize meetings everywhere.

Venu is proud of what we achieved.

BITSConnect succeeded,

“When

over $1 million of

equipment and services were installed on the campus.”Anupendra adds,

The Diro was surprised and amazed by the large crowds of people he met everywhere he went.

Inspired by the new network,in his final stop with the Silicon Valley Chapter, he left BITSAA with a mission he called BITSConnect – to wire the BITS Pilani campuses.”

It was a second call to arms, and one that was to unite the entire BITSAA global community.

The BITSConnect movement was led by SiliconValley BITSians Jayan Ramankutty, Prem Jain and Karthik Krishna in NewYork galvanized the globe into its first major joint action.Venu says “Sandeep Arora managed the new complexity of hundreds of donors, pledge cards and messages from around the world. Being Treasurer of BITSAA suddenly became a big job.”

48

“The Sandpaper 2.0 team rejoiced in its success by creating a cover of hot air balloons taking off. BITSians on our campuses were now free to connect with the rest of the world. It was an empowering moment”

“When we started to pull together lists of BITSians, we were astonished at how many

Then inAugust 2004, an email came around from some BITSians announcing the idea of BITS2BSchool.Anupendra says “It was a “eureka”

successful entrepreneurs were BITSians. Yet

moment. This made perfect sense to me. We

there was no knowledge of entrepreneurship

needed to help BITSians with their careers.This is

on campus or for alums to figure out

what would build the brand” Anupendra joined the BITS2BSchool team and started to create

entrepreneurship. So Ashish and I decided to

databases of BITSians with top-tier MBAs.These

do something about it.

BITSians joined the yahoogroup. Alums who

-Anupendra

hadn’t given money,or participated in events,now started to see the relevance of the organization.

Simultaneously, Anupendra also started BITS2MSPhD, and handed the reins to two highly

In 2003, Anupendra Sharma and Ashish Bhinde (EEE ’89) pulled a 5-member team on campus led by Aditi Pany (Eco EEE ’00), and supported by Professor VS Rao, created the Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL). When the Wadhwani Foundation announced that it was seeking applications from Centers a couple of months later, Anupendra andAshish pulled together a business plan with the help of Satish Gupta in Silicon Valley. CEL was named one of India's top 5 centers by the Wadhwani Foundation,

competent BITSians who were already in the US including Sanketh Shetty (EEE ’00). This was the first movement aimed at helping and supporting BITSians technically for their future ambitions and it was a super hit, with enrollment growing at the same rate as BITS2BSchool.The impact was significant.From approximately 15 MBA admits in 2004, the numbers jumped to 70 annually over four years.

and received a grant of $1 million. Simultaneously, CEL started to hold talks by famous BITS alumni such as Rajesh Hukku,so that others would get a chance to get mentored.

After the success of BITSConnect, BITSAA’s energies waned.The big project was over,the initial bout of nostalgia done.BITSAA needed a new mission,a new purpose.It had to be more than just about the University. It had to be about the alumni.Anupendra expressed this view to Venu often. Yet neither had an idea of where to take the organization next.

49

With so many more BITSians also applying to top tier

In October 2004, Venu called Anupendra about a

engineering schools, the impact on the brand will be

BITSian who had slipped into a coma after his car was

seen in the years to come.Thanks to the new CTO,

hit by a truck on the highway. He had no insurance,

Sarath Kolla, databases were created, and metrics

was out of a job,and his family was in India.That night,a

tracked and shared with BITSians.

simple email resulted in 90 BITSians on a conference call to figure out what was to be done. Within 48

One of the most interesting things that happened in

hours, the American Embassy in India had been

the following year was the creation of the BITSAA

opened,visas issued for parents,and tickets paid for.

Global 30 under 30 Awards. Envisioned by Anupendra Sharma,and executed by three BITSians; Ashok Roy,

Uzma Hussain and Ananth Vyas, the inaugural awards

His mother and sister were on a plane to the US.

went to outstanding BITSians under the age of 30 in 7

When they landed, BITSians had already organized

categories. BITSian judges included Prof. SP Kothari

along with other Indians from various associations.

and Prof. LK Maheshwari.When the awards were

BITSAA tied up with a local organization, and raised

announced, and the bios circulated worldwide, the

$40,000 in a short time.When Sai came out of a coma,

awards captured BITSian imagination because they

thanks to a miracle and the tireless dedication of his

have revealed the achievements of young BITSians,

mother, he was able to go home, financially safe for his

and sent a message about achievement to others.

rehabilitation.

These were followed by the Mantra Leadership Awards given to four outstanding BITSians on campuses.

50

This was the first major cause where BITSians came

BITSAA is thriving.There are now 49 chapters around

together to help someone in need. After this, there

the world under BITSAA and 20 initiatives running

were several more causes that BITSians readily came

that serve 30,000 BITSians. Every day, 150 BITSAA

forward to support. BITSunami was a role model

alums come together to make the organization

effort where BITSians took over two villages in Tamil

continue its work.This is no accident either. When

Nadu, rebuilt schools, bought boats, and put families

they first started out, it was decreed that anyone with

back to work and children back into schools. When

a BITS degree was a BITSian irrespective of which

AnithaAshokan (Instru ’04) who was diagnosed with a

campus it came from, and included all the distance

rare case of multiple sclerosis, BITSians came

learning graduates.The credit for turning BITSAA into

together to raise funding to support the family. The

a well-run corporation goes to the next wave that

1994 Gold Medalist of BITS Pilani has an

they brought on board.When the founders stepped

extraordinary story. Seema Sood, crippled and

down from the Board, Ashish Garg was named the

confined to a bed due to debilitating rheumatoid

first CEO of BITSAA. He first met Anupendra five

arthritis, pleaded to the President of India to be able

years after having worked with him on BITSAA, and

to end her life.When the media, and the alumni found

they talked about creating a sustainable model to find

out, they rapidly rallied around, finding surgeons,

and groom leaders for BITSAA. The credit for

getting her surgery paid for,and raising enough money

executing that vision of creating a sustainable model

to provide for rehabilitation afterwards.

goes to Ashish and his management team, as they created a whole leadership program at BITSAA.Those

“The true value of BITSAA is that if you're ever in trouble, 30,000 alums are there to help. This is worth more than anything else this organization can give you.”

- Sandeep

who volunteer their time at BITSAA can rise rapidly in this meritocracy, starting as a Manager, and being promoted to Director, Vice President, CXO and Board Member of the organization over a four year timeframe. The leadership skills they acquire in this process are invaluable.In this way,the journey of being a BITSian continues after school.

BITSAA has now raised $ 1.5 million for many causes

Anupendra,Venu and Sandeep are extremely pleased

and the network continues to have a major impact on

with the way in which their initial vision has been

BITSians lives across the globe. Over the past few

taken up by the community.While the three of them

years, BITSAA has grown both in size and the work it

have stepped down from active roles at BITS after

does. It tracks over 8000 alumni through its directory.

nearly ten years, yet they remain involved in local or

Membership is free – all one has to do is join the

global strategic efforts from time to time.Anupendra

website.

says BITSAA is like Hotel California “You can get in any time you want,but you can never leave”.

Here’s to all those people who have seen this through.

To all the BITSians.To BITS.

51

The BITSAA Global Meet is now a reality. Tickets have long been booked, getting in touch with friends to find out which of the old buddies is going to be there- all that is behind us.What lies ahead is a Global level alumni meet, first of its kind and with a raging fire to bring together BITSians from across the world.

No other eligibility required!

The inception of the idea for BGM took place almost 3 years ago at the BITSAA-Silicon Valley Chapter.â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;At a SVC board meeting we were brainstorming how BITSAA could take the next step in its evolution.

Prem Jain remarked that the time has come to do something at a Global scaleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;,Ashish, then Secretary of SVC recalls.

In 2009 BITSAA International included the idea of a meet like BGM was included as part of the Annual Goals. Then on, there was no looking back.

Goa seemed like a brilliant venue with the new

Mayank) and many more. It is this team of 100+

auditorium within the BITS premises, amazing

BITSian volunteers ranging in age from 18 to 68 come

support from the BITS Goa juniors etc. BITSAA Intl

together to bring about the BGM Revolutionthat we

conducted virtual roadshows with India Chapters to

see today.

come forward and take ownership. All the Chapter leaders across India – Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune,

Creating a global movement was next. Local meets

Mumbai etc met at the Goa campus in May 2010.And

happened everywhere and for the very first time in

thus began the dreams convertinginto reality. But

some major cities of the world. From London to

there was still scepticism in the air!

Hyderabad to US West Coast, they were re-unions happening everyday.The Buzz of the BGM caught up

BGM was almost pushed to 2012, but Aalap stuck to

and hit the BITS Fraternity around the world.

the dates in 2011. Says Aalap,‘If you don’t have a target to get something done, it’s not going to happen.

Putting a realistic deadline was very important.’ He quickly adds ‘We BITSians have have experiences of conducting world class tech-fests in less than a few months and have a good strength of people who have been able to pull things off.Things clicked well at the right time’.

According to him, the Eureka moment came when distinguished and respected alum CS Goel from the Delhi Chapter finally said for BGM -'Give us the chance(to host) and we will make it happen'.That was when the gravity shifted to Delhi.

‘We haven’t even met the people in Delhi where the event is taking place who we work with virtually and yet, being BITSians, we have been able to bond so well irrespective of ages and batch differences. This has been such an exhilarating experience to be working across two opposite corners of the world’ Today there are some great initiatives like BITS Marathon and get-together that have enabled

A solid executive team was put in place by Aug 2010 with CEO (Chander Shekhar Goel), COO (Sarath Kolla), President (Abhisheak Iyer), Vice Presidents

BITSians to connect locally in the global space. BGM will evolve with the time and greater ideas will unfold in the coming years.

(Satish Polisetti, Vijay Sharma, Nakul Jamadagni), Vertical Heads(Pradeep Sethi, Vivek Hemmady, Hareish Gur, Manoj Vasudevan, Aman Jain, Atul Bhargava, Tarun Bansal) and Directors (Rishab, Chandrasekar,Vaibhav,Aditya,Kaushik,

In 2014, we will have the 50th anniversary of establishment of BITS Pilani University - when the first ever batch joined in 1964. So all the Alma mater should probably look out for BGM 2.0 in 2014? May be the BGM will indeed infuse in us,the bug to always ask for more of the BITSian spirit in our lives.Till then,let’s toast for BITSAA Global meet 2011.

53

Every great leader has had a vision, a vision that penetrated the cloaks of invisibility; a vision that could nurture dreams and turns them into reality. Shri. Ghanshyam Das Birla, or G.D. Birla to us, was one such leader.

Born into the influential Birla family, G.D. Birla quickly

Commerce, Engineering, Pharmacy and Science.

went about setting up industrial and educational

However, G.D. Birla did not want to establish just

institutions that would soon grow into some of the

another engineering college. He had much bigger

most renowned institutions in independent India.

dreams for something that would be his final legacy.

Starting with a jute mill in Bengal, G.D. Birla

He wanted an institution that could kindle

successfully staved off oppressive British rules to set a

entrepreneurial dreams in its students and help them

precedent for the fledgling beginnings of the Indian

become pioneers in the Indian industry.He wanted his

industry.

institute to disseminate high-quality engineering education which, in his mind, was not quite the ultra-

After jute came sugar and paper mills, and the

modern, high-sophisticated space-oriented

diversification continued with the establishment of

engineering prevalent in the United States at that

the Hindustan Motors and the UCO Bank.The Birla

time. According to Stuart Leslie and Robert Kargon,

name soon became one that every household could

both from the John Hopkins University, he sought to

identify itself with and a brand that symbolized the

establish an all-India Institute of Technology modeled

coming of age of the Indian entrepreneur.

on the MIT that would eventually produce “field and plant and application engineers” who could get work

“Inclusive growth” these days is an oft repeated

done “in the Indian scene with Indian materials and

theme, but back then G.D. Birla quite clearly

workmen”.

understood the need for infrastructural development and better educational facilities in his hometown. He

To this end, G.D. Birla, through his perseverance,

realized that the future of India depended on the

managed to get into a partnership with the Ford

development of science and engineering and with this

Foundation and the MIT to do everything from

in mind he did something that endeared him to all of

developing a curriculum to setting up of equipments,

us present here. In 1929, he established an

libraries and also train the BITS faculty.

intermediate college at Pilani!

Just like his previous establishments, this institution also flourished and was converted into the Birla Engineering College in 1946 with degree programs in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. By 1964, it gave way to the Birla Institute of Technology and Science

“Birla wrote directly and repeatedly to James Killian, chairman of MIT’s board of trustees, until he got an answer.”

- Stuart Leslie

(our BITS!) and it combined the Birla Colleges ofArts,

Birla also did a personal visit to Cambridge when he dropped off his grandson as a freshman at MIT.

55

In the events leading up the creation of BITS,a number

Throughout this struggle,the one thing that stood out

of people were unconvinced about its viability.

was G.D. Birla’s passion for the creation of engineers who had the know-how to produce knowledge

“Is it really clear that a company owned school isolated from the world within a company village can develop the freedom and spirit to lead Indian education?”

- Louis Smullin, a member of the MIT-IIT Kanpur advisory team

pertinent to India.Things soon came to a head with the introduction of Dr. C.R. Mitra. BITS’ signature Practice School program which allowed the students to get a real-world experience was soon established and the numbers began to speak for themselves.

BITSians were found to be more likely to accept offers from Indian companies than IITians. About 16 of the 20 faculty members who went to the United States for advanced training returned back to BITS to

Even the man who was eventually responsible for obtaining the approval for the Ford Foundation grants, Dean Gordon Brown of the MIT,had his own doubts.

“The problem seems to boil down to this: There are two institutions in India that have now declared their desires to be developed along the lines of M.I.T. But there is only one M.I.T.” - Dean Gordon Brown, MIT

resume their academic careers and they had a profound impact on the quality of education imparted to the students.Ford Foundation evaluators observed with great delight that although the Indian government did not directly support it, it looked to BITS to provide a model for future development in education in engineering and science in India.

Thus, by creating a highly regarded institute G.D. Birla realized his dream of building a leading technological university that would produce engineers who would build industries in India context.Thus, it is with great pleasure that we pay tribute to the person who has brought us all here today, Shri G.D. Birla, an

These comments really give us a perspective of the massive struggle that Shri. G.D. Birla had to undergo before his dream became a reality.

Soon enough, Shri. G.D. Birla’s determined efforts and excellent persuasive skills convinced Brown that BITS was indeed a viable institution and he conceded that the Birla and the Ford Foundation, in good faith, were committed to a program that was well conceived and would make things better.

56

industrialist, a visionary, a great leader of men and our founder!

Dr. Krishna Kumar Birla was born in Pilani as the second son of the illustrious Shri. G.D. Birla on November 11, 1918.

As he grew up, it became increasingly apparent that he had not just inherited the Birla name but he had also inherited that rare Birla quality of creating and fostering wealth. Just like his father before him, he had an eye for spotting opportunities and the courage to follow his dreams with the kind of single-minded dedication that symbolized the Birla family. He encouraged entrepreneurship and a spirit of inquiry while placing a great deal of importance on moral values.

Dr. K.K. Birla not only ably filled the large shoes of his

vision of introducing economic reforms in India in

preeminent father,but carried forward the Birla name

1991. He was an ardent supporter of literature,

with great aplomb.Under his able stewardship,each of

especially Hindi, and in 1991, he set up the K.K. Birla

the many businesses continued to sustain their

Foundation in order to promote arts, education,

excellence while many others reached new heights.

literature and social work.In recognition of his unique

He presided with distinction over a wide spectrum of

contribution to education, industry and society, Dr.

industries that spanned multiple sectors including

Birla was conferred the degree of Doctor of Letters

sugar, paper, fertilizers, chemicals, heavy engineering

(Honoris Causa) by Pondicherry University in 1997.

and textiles among others. The Hindustan Times, under his leadership, became one of the most widely

For his part, Dr. KK Birla believed that education was

read newspapers in India.

the single most important factor in achieving rapid economic development and technological progress

Dr. K.K. Birla served as a member of the Rajya Sabha

and in creating a social order founded on the values of

for three successive terms from 1984 to 2002 and was

freedom,social justice and equal opportunity.

one of the few industrialists who shared Prime Minister Manmohan Singhâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

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He always believed in education playing a role in the

He realized that proficient engineers would play a key

overall development of the individual as opposed to

role in fostering the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development and he

merely imparting theoretical knowledge. He saw

decided to embark upon a policy of expansion. This

education as a means to forge bonds of common

included everything from university infrastructureto

citizenship and harness their energy towards the

faculty and student body. Under his patronage, BITS

ultimate goal of the development.

increased its student capacity from 2500 to 4000 and three new campuses, one each in Dubai, Goa and

To this end,Dr.K.K.Birla was deeply involved with the

Hyderabad were established. The Dubai campus

running of BITS.As one of the founding members, Dr.

opened in 2000 making BITS the first Indian university

K.K. Birla,along with his father, was closely associated

with an international campus!

with the functioning of both the earlier Birla Colleges and later, BITS. He understood the unique intricacies

An unassuming personality with a profound mind, this

of BITS and in his tenure as the Chairman of BITS from

dynamic leader took BITS to new heights that were

1983 to 2003, he ensured that the institution went

hitherto unseen.

from strength to strength.

Shri G.D. Birla had a dream. He also had the resources to make it a reality. However, he needed a man who had the sagacity to nurture his dream and put it on path to prosperity. It was with this context that came Dr.V Lakshminarayanan, the first Director of BITS, Pilani, tasked with the creation of the brand, BITS, Pilani.

Born in 1906, Prof V Lakshminarayanan came to Pilani in 1946 to serve as the Vice Principal of the Birla Engineering College.

He knew that Shri. G.D. Birla wanted to create an

In 1964, Prof Lakshminarayanan played a stellar role in

institution of international repute that could cater to

integrating the erstwhile Birla College of Science,

the Indian industry but he also knew that in Shri. G.D.

Commerce and Pharmacy, Birla College of Arts and

Birla he had a patron who had a clear understanding of

Birla College of Engineering under the single banner

the Indian industry.Still,to aim to succeed in creating a

of the Birla Institute ofTechnology and Science,Pilani.

world-class technical institution in Pilani,a tiny oasis in the vast desert, about 125 miles west of Delhiwas no

During the early years of its inception, a period from

mean task.

1964 to 1970, the Institute with the help of Ford Foundation Grant and in collaboration with the

When Prof Lakshminarayanan started his work in

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA

1946, the only infrastructure available to him at that

adopted a semester system, a modular structure of

time was a workshop building that doubled up as the

courses,continuous and internal evaluation and letter

main administrative office of the college,a gymnasium,

grades.

a dispensary, a few houses for the staff, some barracks (the campus had been a military base during the

Alongwith Shri G.D.Birla,Prof.Lakshminarayanan was

second world war) to be used as class rooms, a guest

responsible for establishing BITS as a center of

houseand couple of basic hostel buildings for the

excellence.

boys.

His legacy lives on with most of his policies still being With these humble beginnings, Prof

followed and indeed are looked at some of BITSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Lakshminarayanan began to move steadily forward.

biggest strengths.

His technical competence, energy and determination and human relation skills came to the fore as he patiently developed and nurtured the Birla Engineering College. Soon he was promoted to the position of Principal and the college made rapid strides forward with the introductionof degree programs in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. A Master's program in Electronics was also started in 1955. Degree programs in Civil and Chemical Engineering were added a little while later.

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Dr Chittaranjan Mitra (also referred as â&#x20AC;&#x153;dynamo diroâ&#x20AC;?) was a pioneering educationalist and administrator who headed BITS, Pilani from 1969 to 1989, steering it through the bulk of its transformation from a fledgling institute to a universally renowned powerhouse.

Sri G.D. Birla invited Dr. Mitra in 1969 to provide leadership to BITS in an effort to transform an archaic institution into one that is internationally renowned. From an educational administration perspective, making BITS financially self-sufficient was one of Dr Mitra's major achievements. His leadership helped in building of a sizable endowment for BITS Pilani.

The broad based integrated educational system with

address the challenge of running higher degree

strong emphasis on interdisciplinary approach at BITS

programs at BITS Pilani, in the year 1979, Dr Mitra

Pilani was the result of his vision. He is generally

introduced the M.E.(Collaborative) degrees which

credited with taking the institute to the same league

has today resulted in work integrated learning

as the Indian Institutes ofTechnology. The educational

programs having an enrollment of about 17,000 and

reforms Dr Mitra carried out at BITS Pilani from 1969

two thirds revenue for the Institute.

to 1989 in terms of admissions, examination reforms, the dual degree concept, cafeteria approach to

The Practice School concept analogous to an

choosing electives, industry-university collaborations

apprentice program of medical graduates kick started

and many more are well known in the educational

during his period. It put the entire industrial map of

macrocosm.

India as the Practice School station map of the Institute.

To address the human resource development needs of the industry and simultaneously

Dr. Mitra studied at Allahabad University and the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, before heading for the U.S. to do a master's program in the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology.

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He went on to acquire a doctorate in Engineering

To quote DrVijay Mandke,former Deputy Director at

Science from Columbia University,NewYork.

BITS Pilani, “Never a conformist and always a rebel with a cause, Dr Mitra made invaluable contributions

Returning to India in the 1960s, Dr. Mitra was

to Indian Higher Education not just in terms of

Industrial Adviser to the Government of Uttar

thoughts and ideas but more importantly in terms of

Pradesh. He later became the first director of the

deeds and outcomes. It is time the nation took notice

Harcourt Butler Technology Institute (HBTI), Kanpur.

of the value that this gentle genius added to Indian

After retiring from BITS, Pilani in 1989, Dr. Mitra

Higher Education.”

started an educational consultancy, C.R. Mitra & Associates

The Dynamo Diro breathed his last after a brief illness on Wednesday August 27, 2008 at Delhi. He was 82

Educational Consultants Private Limited and served

years old. Dr CR Mitra is undoubtedly one of the

as an adviser to the International Institute of

greats in shaping higher education in India and his

Educational Planning, Paris, France. He joined NIIT,

insights; his clarity of mind and his wisdom guided his

New Delhi as its Education Adviser and this time built

colleagues and students all through. He will always be

a novel profit-making,non-university organization.

known for leaving behind a rich legacy – his progressive thinking that shaped not just the

Dr Mitra was twice the President of theAssociation of

institute's successful programs but also still shapes

Indian Universities (AIU) and he was the first Asian to

every student's spirit.

become the President of Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU).

Dr. S.Venkateswaran joined BITS on Jan 30, 1974 as a faculty member and later served in various capacities as Dean, Deputy Director, Director, Vice Chancellor and Adviser till Dec 31, 2009. His deep vision was instrumental in laying the foundation to expand BITS brand to new campuses both within India (Goa, Hyderabad) and abroad (Dubai).The genesis of Distance Learning and BITSAT were seeded under his supervision.

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He is known for his sound administrative acumen and

It is no big deal to get going when you are strong but

efficient resource optimization which resulted in a

it’s a bigger deal to get going when all odds are against.

“BITS” global brand that many of us cherish today. He

DrVenkateswaran steered BITS Pilani through stormy

was an excellent human being known for witty yet

waters by pulling the online BITSAT trump at a time

deep responses.He was highly revered by faculty,staff,

when the politicians,bureaucrats and the courts were

students and alumni of BITS and many other

throttling the Institute to join X or Y system for

educational bodies.

admissions. Prof. G. Raghurama has strong memories of Dr Venkateswaran's efforts to prevent BITS from

“Having the nation’s largest and efficient backbone infrastructure will enhance BITS distance teaching program division, to offer media rich content to over 7500 students.

Now we can look forward to a successful expansion of the virtual university concept allowing students, faculty, research and organizations to collaborate with no geographical and time zone constraints” - Dr. S. Venkateswaran, Vice Chancellor, BITS Pilani, as featured in Economic Times, Jan 19, 2004 issue After completing his undergraduate studies in Madurai, DrVenkateswaran wanted to pursue a Ph. D. and landed in the United State of America with nothing more than 20 dollars in hand. He never divulged his intent to move back to India. Dr. S. Venkateswaran gave up a lucrative job offer in the US and returned to India to join BITS, Pilani for a meager starting salary of Rs.200.

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being inducted intoAIEEE.

“You are holding a gun to my head. I and my colleagues have built this Institute with our sweat, sacrificing our personal lives. I will do all that is required to see that our autonomy is not lost.”

- Dr. S. Venkateswaran, to a goverment official before walking out of the meeting

This one masterstroke called BITSAT won him admiration from the entire nation.This also reiterates the fact that winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigator.

His sons who were BITSians themselves speak of the stories as to how he connected with all the students he came across and how he was “The Diro” who cared for what the students needed. He was known for his captivating talks to the students and parents.

His orientation welcome speeches to students were heartwarming, genuine and humorous enough to relieve any apprehensions that a new student and their anxious parents might have had.

Students loved to call him “Diro” but not many people know that he was so fond of it himself that the only personal email ids that he has are dirobits@gmail.com and dirobits@yahoo.com. That is a name that he used to personally cherish.

It is well known that Diro used to patronize and love

"Prof Venkateswaran has built the brand name of BITS. More importantly he built people. He will be remembered for his innovative educational administration. BITS follows a few processes that many institutions might take close to 20 years to mimic."

- Prof. Sanjay Pohekar

all forms of art. While at BITS, he was a staunch supporter of all the student clubs such as ArtNDee, Dance Club, Music Club, Ragamalika, etc. Every time, when ArtNDee would build the Oasis structure on the D lawns, he would monitor their progress from

The sun set on the life of our legendary Former Vice Chancellor as he breathed last on May 14,2010.It was a dark day in the history of BITS as students, alumni and staff lamented the demise of a great leader.

his office window and periodically take pictures of the construction. He would make it a point to walk down and chat with the students while they would work on the structure. Dr. SV was an avid photographer and had his own dark room for developing pictures.

Though he is no longer physically with us,he left a trail embedded with immortal virtues, values and principles that are folklore for many generations to follow.‘Diro’ was a father-figure to many, a guide to a few, but for sure a great human being.

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Building a top-class educational institution from scratch is a tough task; to be its face, heart, and soul every single day of its growth is another level altogether; a challenge that few men can stand up to, even fewer excel. Dr.T C Goel, having overseen the meteoric rise of the Goa campus of BITS Pilani, most certainly belongs to the latter category.

Hailing from a small village near Ghaziabad, Dr. Goel

Those closest to him know this indefatigable man as

braved an acute lack of resources in his early years to

one with an never-say-die spirit, a perfect host, and an

obtain his doctorate in Physics from IIT Delhi in 1969.

excellent bridge player with a fondness for Urdu

He continued his career in teaching and research until

poetry and a talent for oratory. His time was marked

2003 and he remained active in the scientific field

by his desire to make the decisions and consultations

publishing as many as 210 research papers, several of

concerning the fledgling institution an inclusive

themin internationally reputed peer-reviewed

process â&#x20AC;&#x201C; his colleagues reminisce how he used to

journals.

insist: Let the people start working. Else how will they learn?

Dr. Goel began his tenure as Director of the Goa campus in early May 2004. His task force included a

BITSians from Goa talk of Dr. Goelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s constant

small group of faculty members, mostly drawn from

encouragement of student-related activities. His love

the Pilani campus. He was instrumental in generating

for promoting research was evident, when just a

goodwill among the local government and

month before his passing; he addressed a team of

administration towards the Institute, and was

visiting scientists reviewing ongoing projects at the

responsible for several important dignitaries visiting

campus:

and taking note of the new campus in its very first years. His vast experience as an academic and an administrator served him well in this regard.

64

The work must go on. I would like to see this work accomplished whether I am here or in heaven!

Few students could recall his words - “Go for it, I am

Perhaps nothing captures the essence of what Dr.

behind you, come with a solid plan though”, was his

Goel meant to the BITS family as much as one of the

constant message to our calls to conduct our first

Urdu couplets he used to recite now and then:

cultural and technical festival, first college magazine, first sports-meet, first student’s union elections and many more firsts.”

Members of the faculty at the Goa campus recall his

Aye maut aa ke humko khamosh kar gayi toh, Sadiyon dilon ke andar hum goonjte rahenge.

enthusiastic response to their work being published in research publications.Dr.Goel’s leadership was key to

Indeed, death cannot silence how vociferously his

the institute getting many funded research projects

deeds still resonate in our imagination.If the 600

from national and international agencies.

starry-eyed teenagers and 35 faculty and staff at a spanking new BITS Pilani campus, Goa in 2004 had a visionary fatherly figure, it was undoubtedly Prof.T C Goel.

65

A rich history has enabled BITS to be a driving force of positive changeâ&#x20AC;Ś

66

1901

Seth Shiv Narainji Birla starts a 'Patshala' in Pilani with one teacher for educating his grandsons, late Shri GD Birla and late Shri RD Birla.

1916

Ghanshyam Das Birla meets Mahatma Gandhi (Mahatma spent his last 144 days of his life at the Birla House now known as Gandhi Smriti)

1925 - 1929

The 'Patshala' gathers strength, and evolves to become a High School and later on an Intermediate College.

1943 - 1947

The Birla Education Trust was founded.The Intermediate College was converted into a Degree college, and later on started post-graduate courses.

1947 - 1952

Higher level courses in Pharmacy,Arts and Commerce make their way into the Pilani campus.

1964

Birla Institute of Technology and Science was incepted as an Institute with Dr. G. D. Birla as Founder Chairman after combining the vision of Nehru & Gandhi.

1964 - 1970

Benefiting from the Ford Foundation Grant, the University was developed in association with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA.This led to the adoption of many practices common amongst western colleges.

1983

Dr. KK Birla took over as Chairman of BITS and expanded the university infrastructure, faculty and student body

1999

Realizing a greater need for quality graduates in Engineering and Sciences, BITS increased its student capacity from 2500 to 4000.

2000

BITS open a brand in Dubai making it the first Indian university with an overseas campus.

2004

With the very best in facilities and infrastructure, BITS Goa opens its doors to the student community.

2008

Upon being invited by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, BITS added another feather to its cap by starting a campus in Hyderabad.The Hyderabad Campus started its operations in 2008.

2010

Rank #1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Overall Student Development, Outlook

BITS clearly proved to be the model that enabled the development of education in India to its contemporary standards.

Certificate of Registration of BITS Pilani as Deemed University

Evolution of BITS

Extract from Hindustan Times Dated 2, February 1963

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BITSAA Chapter Events

BITSAA CHAPTER EVENTS The following pages feature many of the celebrations and activities that got BITSians together all around the world in 2010. From Bangalore to Boston, from Golf to Housie, from Sunday Picnics to Girls Day Out, from Music nite Lachha to Brainstorming & Fund raising sessions, hundreds of alumni took part in around 50 BITSAA Chapter events worldwide. Special mention – Coming together of the ’81 Batch at the Silver Jubilee Celebrations.

An attempt to showcase the camaraderie and everything that BITSAA Intl stands for. Here’s to one of the most well-spread alumni networks and to a future of innumerable and exciting chapter events.

BITSAA Chapter Events

BITSAA UK Coffee Meet 19th March 2010 CaffĂŠ Nero It was a wonderful BITSian evening in London, where the gamut of discussions ranged from anti-ragging rules to prices of Shikanji at SKY Lawns in the latest times.This Coffee meet led to a whole tradition of Coffee Meets every 3rd Friday of the month in UK. The evening started with Coffee at Caffe Nero on The Cut in Southwark, Followed by a long walk along the bank (reminiscent of walk from insti to Connaught), Dinner at Wagamama and sweet Goodbyes at theWaterloo Station (nostalgic of the 11pm goodbyes we always had at Meera Bhavan).

BITSAA SVC Annual Reunion 10th April 2010 Hilton Santa Clara One of the best attended networking events, this hour long networking session (sponsored by Cypress Semiconductors), was attended by around 150 BITSians from across the batches who met old friends, made new friends, and engaged in "lachcha" as they used to in their college days. The theme revolved around BITSians in non engineering fields andYoung BITSian entrepreneurs.Speakers included host Bhargav Addala ('02), BadhriVaranasi ('99) and Praveen Joginipally ('02). There were recorded interviews from Sarath Babu ('97) and Phanindra Sama ('98). Jayan Ramankutty ('75) (founding president of BITSAA Silicon Valley Chapter, and a successful entrepreneur) interviewed Samir Arora ('84 - Ernst andYoung Entrepreneur of theYear for Northern California in 2009).

The group also honored Atul Bhatnagar ('73) - a truly pioneering leader today as he runs one of the leading companies in converged IP testing as CEO of Ixia.The day ended with a sumptuous Indian dinner buffet and some BITSian style dance and music.A dance troupe comprising of BITSians, their family and friends rocked the staged, which was followed by an open dance floor jig.

BITSAA Australia â&#x20AC;&#x201C; BITSian Women in Australia 11th April 2010 Dundas New South Wales Mr. Ramaswamy Nagarajan organized a meeting for BITS women graduates (with their families) at his place.8 out of 17 women attended the event. The women had a stimulating discussion touching upon challenges such as multi-cultural environments, job hunting and worklife balance to further studies, parenting and mentoring. It was decided to form a BITSianWomen council with a goal to stay connected socially and professionally, and provide guidance to BITSian women new to Australia.With more and more BITSian ladies joining BITSAA Intl,let us look forward to bigger and better events than this one.

BITSAA I N T E R N AT I O N A L

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BITSAA Chapter Events

BITSAA New England Meet 8th May 2010 Mysore Veggie This was the first BITSAA event in the New England Area (Which is filled with close to 150-200 BITSians) in close to 4-5 years.A total of 54 alumni attended the event. Some delicious food was followed by a series of entertaining stories by BITSians recounting tales from 1976 to 2008.There were memories shared about meeting their better halves, to being caught by the chief warden for their shenanigans, to strikes/fasts to OASIS, G.Su, Apogee, Chimpoo and the list just kept growing.The meet ended with couple of raffles distribution of gifts.

BITS, Pilani Dubai Grand Reunion 3rd June 2010 BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus With months of preparation and mass invitations, the event was organized by the current students for their "super-seniors".The event commemorated the 10 years of the institution with a month long picture exhibition bringing to life the past highs of the institute.With over 150 alumni members from all over the Middle East and India, senior faculty members and current students. The event also served as a befitting tribute to our out-going Director, Dr. M.Ramachandran, whose dream was to have the re-union on the stand alone campus of BITS Dubai.

BITSAA Bangalore – Get Together 19th June 2010 Unnati Centre The first of several planned BITSAA get-togethers to revive a comatose Bangalore Chapter was, not uncharacteristically, a “music and lachaa” session. The music itself had a “kal aaj aur kal” motif with musicians representing the “past”, the “present” and the “future” generations of BITSians. There was “Agam the band” (with Bitsians Harish “Vodka” Sivaramakrishnan, Ganesh “GNR” Nagarajan and Praveen “TPK” Kumar – class of ‘02), followed by a BITS Pilani music club band led by Ashish Jain(’06) and Anirudh Wadhwa (’06).The program was rounded out by the NYOTH (“Not Yet Over the Hill”) quartet of Sunil Nanda, Vijay Athreye,PradeepViswanathan and PhilipThomas,all Bitsians of the‘70s vintage and guest singersVV Ramanan (of the class of ’71) and Ram Gulwady (class of ’78). ProfVL Swaminathan (ME ’67), ProfTLS Rao (Prof. of Mech Engg who left BITS in ‘73) represented the old timers (at least one ’57 grad was expected but unfortunately could not make it) and hordes of ’10 graduates who put off their trips home after PS so they could attend.

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BITSAA I N T E R N AT I O N A L

BITSAA Chapter Events

BITSAA SVC – Dinner with Prof V S Rao 22nd June 2010 Silicon Valley Our ever-active SiliconValey Chapter organizes get-togethers for BITS professors visiting the valley, where local alumni get an opportunity to reconnect with the campuses. It is also a great way to keep updated on the latest Campus buzz. On similar grounds, a dinner with Prof.V S Rao was hosted by the chapter on 22nd June 2010.ProfV S Rao updated the alumni on various details of the Hyderabad Campus and welcomed the alumni to the campus to connect with the students. He also discussed theVision 2020 and Mission 2012 plan and gathered feedback regarding the implementation.

BITSAA UK Summer Barbecue 26th June 2010 Another one of the many annual BITSAA UK events held every summer. An enthused bunch of BITSians get together to chit-chat over some grilled chicken and barbecue sauce.

BITSAA SVC – SEVATHON 18th July 2010 Sunnyvale The Silicon Valley Chapter participated in the 5k/10k/half marathon “Sevathon”, a way for non-profits to spread awareness about their projects and raise some funds as well. Alumni from the ’76 batch and other batches walked the marathon and even set up a booth to propagate Atmanirbhara –a resource centre launched by BITSAA for rural education and employability.

BITSAA SVC – Sports Meet 15th August 2010 Silicon Valley We all remember the fun, the passion, the sportsmanship during BOSM on campus,here was an opportunity to show off all those skills years after Pilani - at the first of its kind BITSAA Sports Meet.The event was kicked off with a competitive tennis tournament organized by Easwar Ramaswamy ('99) and after couple of days of booming serves and exciting doubles play we had our winners -Tarun Desikan ('96) andAjay Navaratna ('78). Everyone then headed to the cricket ground for an unforgettable day in BITS style cricket.Organized by Sandeep Kancharla ('00) there were 9 teams raring to go and 60+ alumni cheering for them.

BITSAA I N T E R N AT I O N A L

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BITSAA Chapter Events

Intense competition,heartbreak and joy followed and after some hard fought battles we had our winners.Everyone went back with some wonderful trophies, memories to cherish and a promise to come roaring back for another sports meet next year.

BITSAA – Australia BITSNite ’10 28th August 2010 Sydney InAustralia,a core team of a dozenAlumni from across the batches –‘61 Pilani down to ‘04 Goa batch came together to organize a BITS-style Cultural Event.The initiative was led by Mr.Ramaswamy Nagarajan from the 1961 batch. It was not just a get together but aimed at creating history by coming together for a supreme cause – “raise funds for the Atma Nirbhara Project Resource Centre building in the Pilani Campus”.

The BitsNite2010 received a tremendous response with around 250 people, including 90 BITSians not only from Sydney but also Adelaide, Canberra and Melbourne.The chapter was able to aggregate funds worth AU$10,000 (Rs. 4,28,071) for the noble cause.The funds have already been wired toAtmanirbhara and construction work started.This just goes to show that BITSians anywhere in the world can come together for a good cause and give back to the society.

BITSAA – San Diego 24th September 2010 San Diego The agenda of this get together, attended by around 30 people was to share experiences regarding BITSAA activities in Sydney,Australia (talked about by Special Guest - Mr.Ramaswamy) which has brought the AussieBITSian community closer over the years and to build the same model in San Diego leading to similar results.Mr Ramaswamy also talked about the BITSNite'10 - a charity event conducted in Sydney that saw around 275 attendees. It ended with Sarath Kolla using the opportunity to talk about BGM.

BITSAA Mumbai – Time of your Life ’10 25th September 2010 Jade Garden,Worli In line with the nationwide campaign for spreading the word on BITSAA Global Meet in Jan'11, the BITSAA Mumbai Chapter organized a get together after 6 long years. It received an audience of approx 200 BITS alumni from various batches (1967-2007). Mr. Dilip D'Souza('76) started the event with an opening speech, followed by a short pitch by the BGM team on the progress so far.A small and peppy quiz on some facts on BITS followed.Signed copies of Dilip’s new book - Roadrunner,were given away to the winners.Ex-music clubbers put up a great performance making junta tap to some brilliant music.The excitement amongst BITSians on meeting their batch mates after long and the anticipation about BITSAA Global Meet were some of the Kodak moments for the day.

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BITSAA I N T E R N AT I O N A L

BITSAA Chapter Events

BITSAA SVC – Talk by Dilip D’Souza 17th October 2010 India Community Centre The BITSAA Silicon Valley Chapter and India Community Centre, California hosted Dilip D'Souza ('76) as a part of the ICC Forum series.

The Forum@ICC is an open to the public series hosting distinguished speakers from different fields across the world.Through a conversation with hostViggy Mokkarala ('76), Dilip spoke on his journey from being a Computer Scientist to taking up his passion of writing for a living. Dilip read out excerpts from his latest book "Roadrunner:An Indian Quest in America" in which through stories large and small,he shows usAmerica as refracted through the eyes of an Indian who is critical but not intolerant.The 80+ audience was invigorated with the passion and perception with which Dilip fielded questions on his book,development,nationalism,science,poverty,as well as travel.

BITSAA SVC – Golf Tournament 17th October 2010 Fremont Park Golf Center It was a chilly morning in October and BITSians in Silicon Valley dared weather forecast of rain to attend biannual BITSAA SVC Golf event.The event was organized by Nachiket Deshpande (’97) and Bhargav Addala (‘02). There was a good participation from our advanced, intermediate and beginner BITsian golfers. The event began with snacks that have become a ritual at this event: Chai, hot samosas and ras malai.There were prizes for team with lowest scores, longest drive, closest to the pin and even for the team with highest scores.The golfers must have some good karma since the rain gods co-operated and held off the rain right until the prize distribution and the end of the event.

BITSAA East Coast – Dream Cricket Pavilion 24th October 2010 New Jersey BITSAA East Coast chapter and BGM team members met at the Dreamcricket Pavilion run by Venu Palaparthi (Founder, BITSAA International) to discuss the transition of East Coast chapter to a brand new, young and energetic team lead by Vikrant Bhaskarwar consisting of 2000+ graduates. Upon receiving the wisdom and guidance of BITSAA East Coast veterans like Venu Palaparthi, Sandeep Arora, Sandeep Nalgundwar and others, the young team started planning for the upcoming BITSAA East Coast Diwali Nite. BGM team members Sarath Kolla and Kris Inapurapu conveyed a quick message about BGM and received lots of inputs about people and companies who should be invited to participate.The morning was topped off with a fun round of wing cricket of 5 overs a side with the 1990 and older batches playing against the 1991 and younger batches. Needless to say, the older batches put up a great fight but could not ward off the young blood's ravaging bowling and smashing batting and the baton of chapter was truly transitioned to younger team.

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BITSAA Arizona Get together 22nd October 2010 India Gate Restaurant, Chandler It was a warm evening & the event started slowly with a few random intros and mellow talks with a yet to free-up BITSian enthu and exuberant spirit.

The tandoori odors filled the air and as dinner was served, Suman (’00) spoke about BGM explaining various things in content/agenda page on BGM website and detailed on student/faculty enrichment projects & ideas.

The BGM talk and dinner ended at the same time after which followed a round of formal intros ending with crazy experiences at BITS.

BITSAA Delhi – Annual Get Together 23rd October 2010 Tivoli Gardens The event was a complete entertainment package where BITSian singers from the yesteryears enthralled the listeners with their mellifluous singing and at the same time BGM volunteers were right on their toes to spread as much awareness about the mega event as possible. It served as a perfect event to cause excitement among the BITSians in the run-up to the BGM, where a very strong pitch was also made by the Sponz Team for seeking support from the alumni in every sense possible-both the participation and the monetary contribution. Kudos to the BITSAA Delhi Chapter for having led the initiative and also to be able to keep the BITSians in Dehi/NCR bonded together for years now.

BITSAA Chennai – Annual Meet 30th October 2010 Vadapalani BITSAA Chennai’s Annual reunion saw the presence of Prof. KE Raman who welcomed the Chennai Junta to the event.

Sudip Jain gave an update on the BITSAA Global Meet.The BITSAA Chennai Marathon winner – KKB was also recognized.

Networking, music, oldest Bitsian, youngest Bitsian, and some evergreen BITSian memories were the topics of conversation. Thanks to Mr.Diwakar Pingle (’88) for conducting a stimulating quiz on BITS.

BITSAA Seattle Fall Get Together 7th November 2010 A group of 20 alumni in the pacific- northwestAmerican region got together for what turned out to be an excellent overview of the planned BITSAA Global Meet.The presentation not only generated a lot of ideas for the meet, but also prompted alumni to brainstorm ways to contribute to the event.

Mr. Sunit Rikhi one of the prime BGM speakers was also present for the event.

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BITSAA East Coast Get Together 13th November 2010 Rahway, New Jersey Approximately 120 BITSians and their family members attended this event.

A night to remember and cherish, the BITSAA East Coast get-together was a roaring success.An Inspiring talk by Food King Sarath Babu, presentations

by BITSians (on initiatives such as BITS.AID, BITSAA Global Meet and BITS 75 Trust), an enthralling dance performance by Kavya (‘03 batch), delightful stand-up comedy by Mukund Ramachandran (93 batch), Games and Quizzes among many other activities kept all engaged and entertained throughout the night.Not to mention,the dance floor would have been rocking until the wee hours had it not been for the time constraint. The event was sponsored by DreamCricket (Venu Palaprthi), Bridge-X Technologies (Sandeep Nalgundwar), Radiant Systems Inc (Venu Myneni), Knack Systems (Sandeep Arora) and Wissen Inc (Vikram Datla, Jay Sappidi and Satish Paul).Their support and encouragement provided the impetus and was definitely the driving force for the get-together.

BITSAA Singapore 14th November 2010 Suntec City BITSAA Singapore Chapter serves as an excellent networking platform for the 100+ BITSians in Singapore and neighbouring countries.The first such Singapore meet was attended by around 40 alumni, with the seniormost being from the‘77 batch of Pilani;the youngest being from the‘03 Batch.The group was springing with enthusiasm as a lot of people were meeting each other after a long time.The unexpected heavy rain on the day drastically affected the attendance.The intent of the first meet was to formalize the structure of the group, layout the group activities and to get to know each other.Many interesting ideas such as scholarships for BITSians,tuition camps and blood donation were discussed.

BITSAA Hyderabad – Fall Get-together 20th November 2010 Hotel Minerva Grand About eighty BITSians and their families turned up at the venue for the event.

People present were from various batches but the 2006 batch topped the list. The awesome performances by music and dance club kept the environment lively. Junta was shouting and applauding for the performances, which brought back the memories ofAudi,Oasis and all the fun times at BITS. Mr. Sanjay Khendry (’82) briefed everyone about the BITSAA global meet followed by a presentation about Pearl by BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus students.The BITSian connect was clearly in the air and everyone had a gala time at the meet up.

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BITSAA Pune Get together 14th August 2010 SYLHET, BEG Khadki BITSAA PUNE Chapter got together on the eve of the Independence Day, providing the opportunity to announce/introduce BGM to the alumni members.The response was overwhelming – around 80 members attended, from the ‘50s to the ’09 batch. R SVirdi () - the President of the chapter and Alok Garg (who flew all the way from Delhi) talked about BGM activities and distributed BGM merchandise as well. Everyone showed great enthusiasm and over 25 members registered for the grand event.

Batch of ‘81- Silver Jubilee Reunion 19th November, 2010.

An unremarkable winter morning. A motley group of fortysomething men (and some women) arrived in a couple of Volvo buses last night.Word at Connaught is they are here for a journey back to the past.

High decibel sounds of “hello” and “hi” float around. Loud back-slapping and squelching hugs accompanied by widerthan-cheeks grins and impromptu songs. The air is full of names being cried out lustily - Pine,Tan, Pappe, God,Vaili, Guja, Sabs.A group of bewildered and amused wives looking on as their seemingly respectable husbands turn into rambunctious wild 18 year olds! Enough to bemuse any bystander and there are a few.

Yes,this is the Batch of 81! Eighty nine BITSians came together to celebrate 25 years since they last walked the hallowed portals of BITS Pilani.They were here to undertake the pilgrimage.To re-live the journey they made 29 years ago. They came with spouses,with children,with significant others.They came from sunny California,from icy Moscow,from orderly Singapore, from Saudi and from many corners of Apna Bharat Mahan. They left their corporate corner offices, they abandoned theirThanksgiving plans,and they left their children with grandparents.They boarded buses in Delhi and took an unfamiliar shorter but longer route,no one complained because they were coming to Pilani.

Last night when the Batch descended on Pilani one more time, yelling and screaming as they did years back, the current students welcomed the alumni and helped them to their rooms at VFAST, the agreeable new place on campus.Wolfing down an evening snack of familiar samosa and green chutney - a fitting start to the déjà vu.It was as if they belonged here, as if they had never gone away. It felt the same - the roads,the smells,the friends.It was as if the intervening two and a half decades never happened.

Some opted for a short meal and a quick stroll around the campus. Some walked that well-trodden path to Meera. Some stopped for a more sumptuous meal at the newAll Night Canteen. Where was this when we were here?

The morning saw shutterbugs crawling through campus for memorable shots of the mandir, the clock tower and the bhawans. The Museum and Sky Lab. The new Student Activity Center. Dressed in the batch sweatshirts for the photograph,eighty nine BITSians in one frame 29 years after they first met.What a moment.And God bless PhotoShop for the three that missed the group shot by minutes.

Then came the tour, most of it familiar with many additions.A Student Activity Center beside the Museum.A Telephone Booth in the M Block. A new lecture hall complex near the C Block. A Supermarket on the Ashok CNot Road. Solar heaters. Meera Bhavan with many new blocks and a Chowki who doesn’t yell out names anymore, thanks to mobile telephony.Grills protecting the ground floors of bhavans.No Redis - replaced by smart Kiosks near the messes.A vibrant student population with many projects including the ones to build cars and robots.

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Then came the speeches. The Diro, Prof Ragurama, and the VC, Dr. Jain laid out their Vision 2020 - BITS in the list of the top 200 universities in the world. Prof. KER, now Diro BITS Pilani,Goa Campus and head of theAlumni, who taught this batch,made an emotional appeal to theAlumni to actively participate in the vision of BITS and to help strengthen the BITSPilani brand.Took some getting used to because now there are many BITS Pilani, of which Pilani is but one.

Lunch at the RPA Mess. A combination of the Saturday and Sunday lunches: finger chips, gobi fry, mutter paneer, puri, alu parathas, finishing off with cassata.The forty somethings happily tucked it away. Instead of PPP, the afternoon had more serious matters. The current students turned up in numbers to hear the Alumni share experiences and perspectives.The sessions were exciting and animated. Discussions followed in the LHC and right back to theVFAST.We are who we are because of that rare blend of independence and responsibility.Then tea with the faculty at the cafeteria for informal discussions and sharing of thoughts between faculty and alumni.

People then took off to their favorite haunts. Strolls through Mandir lawns. Milk shakes at bluemoon. No modas or samosa but the atmosphere still works.

That evening the alumni honoured members of the faculty back from their time.Then Raj Munaim delivered an address on behalf of the batch.Vaishali,Virad, Sylvan, Rajanarayanan and Jayanto provided superb and entertaining music.The alumni stayed on to hear the Music Club perform at their“Senti Night”.The bands were outstanding.

The alumni enjoyed dinner at the RPA Mess where they were treated to special food that was usually dished out at Bhavan Nites.Then they adjourned toVFAST for festivities. Singing andAnthakshri.Chatting with their friends.More trips to the All Night Canteen.A well-respected tradition of- you know what- to get the spirits up. Largely cheerful conversations interspersed with some grey talk about the dark clouds of changes.Curfews and H-wings.

The next morning saw the 81-ers breakfast hurriedly on Halwa-Murti. Rushed goodbyes while checking their Blackberrys.The last sweet experience of the BITS in their bellies.A more quiet but satisfied ride back to Delhi … and back to where they came from.Until mother calls again.”

BITSAA Indore – Regular Get Togethers

The BITSAA Indore chapter has a glorious history of being active since the last 30 years and boasts of a family of 200 members. There are around 95 BITSians in Indore who meet as often as 6 times a year, go for family vacations together and keep in touch constantly. Many of their get-togethers are in the form of pool – dinners, organized at one of the member's residence where 80 - 100 persons can be accommodated. Some 10-12 members bring home cooked food for the rest.The utensils for serving are with the association (provided by some friends).The BITSAA Indore executive body is selected/imposed (not elected) and also consists of spouses to keep the families involved.

The privilege of finalizing the team is unanimously given tothe most dynamic member and the mentor of the group - Shri Manohar Baheti (‘69) - the 'life' of BITSAA Indore.

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BITSAA I N I T I AT I V E S BITSAA Vision * aximize the potential of BITSians and BITS Pilani BITSAA Mission * ake BITSAA the best and most well networked alumni community in the world and positively enhance your professional and personal lives * Give back to BITS Pilani to strengthen the infrastructure, student exposure and education quality

BITSAA Chapter Events

BITSAA Initiatives Intune with our mission and vision statements, BITSAAInternational gears its initiatives in the following spheres a) b) c) d) e)

Students Alumni Community Faculty Brand

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BITS2MSPhd BITS2MSPhd was formed in 2005 by a group of enthusiastic BITSians to demystify the MS/PhD admission process and help BITSians make it to their dream Universities. In 2010 there were over 492 admission offers that 150 students received and 44.7% of the students received some form of aid.

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BITS2BSCHOOL > Found in 2004, BITS2Bschool focuses on helping alums in the process of making it into their dream B schools.A directory of BITS MBA students and graduates since 1975 > has been published and covers a majority of BITSians in influential roles in the corporate world. Last year, BITS Pilani graduates had more than 40 admissions to global business schools including HBS,INSEAD,Wharton etc.

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BITSAA Scholarships BITSAA currently awards eight scholarships to students at the BITS Pilani campuses.These scholarships are funded out of the BITSAA Endowment Fund (BEF). For more details on these scholarships and the recipients,please visit this link. o

Bhushan Bhatia Scholarship - 50%Tuition fees for 2 students (1 male & 1 female) in III year (need based).

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Ashok Agarwal Scholarship - Full tuition fee for a I year student (merit-cum-need), Hyderabad campus.

Endowed for 3 years.

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Rakesh Chandra Scholarship - Full tuition fee for a II year student (merit-cum-need), Pilani campus. Endowed for 3 years.

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Faculty Travel Scholarship > Partial sponsorship of faculty who are selected to present their research or invited as guests to represent BITS at International conferences

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Srikanth Analog Award and Fellowship > Award for the best project in the field of Analog Eloctronics at APOGEE and a subsequent Fellowhip to pursue a project

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Hiralal Agarwal Memorial Scholarship - Full tuition need-based scholarship awarded to a student from Faizabad,UP district.

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Best Physics Student -Award given to Best outgoing student of the Physics Group

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BITSAA Graduate Application Scholarships - The BITSAA graduate application scholarships encourage students to apply at multiple institutions of higher learning for admission. Scholarship amount > #SD 500 to 1,000 .

Brij Bhushan Badminton Award - a rolling trophy and cash prize of Rs. 5,000.The award is sure to provide an encouragement to the winners of the badminton championships held during BOSM every year.

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BITSAA Internationalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Loan Scholarships Needy BITSians who do not quality for any of the "regular' BITSAA Scholarships can avail an interest free (yes % APR!) loan from BITSAA International. Gaurav Singh )( &7:/<7 Goa) became the first BITSian to avail of a loan scholarship to attend ASME Student Professional Development Conference at Nanyang Technological University. Gaurav Singh also became the first BITSian to successfully "give back" the loan to BITSAA.

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BITSAA Miles Program BITSAA Silicon Valley Miles Program is a very unique program that is funded by donated airline miles to support international travel requirements of students and faculty of BITS )( (+ MilesTeam is driving the efforts to raise donations and has already collected sufficient miles for funding at least 3 travel awards in this academic year.

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RollingTrophy K By the ABC23<BA For the ABC23<BA .VVeeraVikram and JayantAhalawat (â&#x20AC;&#x2122;06 Pilani) have devoted their first month's salaries to buy a rolling trophy for the winners of BOSMVolleyball.

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Travel Grants Travel grants are awarded for meritorious students to travel and present their 7<<=D/B7=< represent BITS in International conferences to present papers etc. =

ACYUT Team Acyut and Automized Minds became the 47@AB 3ver Indian teams to win medals at Robo 5/;3A

held at San Francisco.The teams brought back one silver and two bronze medals to Pilani.This success was made possible by the unwavering support of BITS Alumni around the world who contributed more than for teamAC-*T.

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Contribution from theTrehan Foundation Prashant Reddy / final year Chemical Engineering student at Pilani benefitted from the donation from RanvirTrehan( Batch of with a travel grant of USD 1000 to continue his =44 1/;>CA thesis at Georgia Institute ofTechnology.

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Fundraiser for Team Shaurya ShaurG/ BITS &7:/<7 is an effort to develop an :: )errain Fully Autonomous GroundVehicle (AGV) with multiple advanced functionalities and BITSAA International initiatited the fundraiser for the team Shaurya to participate in the national level DRDO Student Robot =;>3B7B7=<

organized by the Defence Research & Development Organization (DRD% Ministry of Defence ovt.of India).

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Hospitality for fundraiser By renting his spare apartment in Sydney as a vacation home in return for a contribution to )( Mr. Ramaswamy Nagarajan (â&#x20AC;&#x2122;61 batch) fondly known as $/57 has put into action a powerful idea on the sustainability of social initiatives K the ability to support itself. Like all powerful 723/A it is simple but ;C:B7 >@onged. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hospitality C<2@/7A7<5M as this initiative came to be 1/::32 aims to strengthen the alumni network through interconnections. It also encourages more BITSians to become a part of the BITSAA network and contribute meaningfully to a cause.

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BITS2Marathon Bits2Marathon is a group for fellow BITSians and alumni to help budding runners achieve their dream of running a Marathon 9; Two successful versions of the marathon were held in the last two years With more than BITSians from across the batches running in 2010 had over BITSians running across 83 cities.

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BITSAAAlumni directory Connect BITSians through an online alumni directory and web portal.Launched BITSAA GlobalAlumni DirectorG K registered members in one month .The directory also hosts an exhaustive list of the whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s who of the BITSian fraternity K the entrepr3<3C@A the /1/23;717/<A the B316<=:=57ABA the authors etc.

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CEL a mission to promote entrepreneurial thinking among the BITSian community and create future business leaders.The team conducts 7<4= A3AA7=<A organizes events in the Pilani campuses and also has a unique program called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC; Summer in a Startupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; where students could get a flavor of the Startup life.With a theme of "Unveiling <27/M

CEL orgaizedTEDx Pilani exposing the audience to amazing ideas that defined innovation in neE /53 India.Conquest ELâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual entrepreneurship conclave and business plan competition Summer in a startup /n initiative to provide internship opportunities in a startup Epsilon the 7<B@/ )( business challenge Stimulus / simulation based game are some of the activities that the CEL team has successfully executed over the years

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Newsletter BITSAA International Newsletter is an attempt at keeping our fraternity all over the world informed and enables BITSians stay abreast with the :/B3AB riveting stories ranging from achieve;3<BA awar2A and recognitions to r3C<7=<A events and many more.

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Sandpaper Sandpaper is the BITSAA edition is a biannual alumni magazine / ;agazine for BITSians and alums about )( BITSians and BITSAA.

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BITSAA on Social Media K < BC<3 with the current A=17/: ;327/ 0==; BITSAA sends out latest happenings on Twitter and FB fan pages etc to keep alumni informed

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BITSAA Career Center Career Center is the "Placement Notice Board" that every BITSian would religiously chec9 0e it a curious first yearite / nervous =< 1/;>CA >A3<B7 A3;7B3 /n accomplished alumnus looking for the next career move / BITSian entrepreneur or an established BITSian working in the corporate world.Career Center is coming up with an online portal that is a one stop portal for all the job openings across the globe posted by BITSians.

Career Center is also working at at integrating all alumni job networks in the form of C< ;=23@/B32 J=0 -ahoo groups across the world .

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BITSAA e-Store BITSAA AB=@e is the online memorabilia store with BITS B A67@BA ;C5A sweatshirts and more thereby helping alumni across the world to buy BITS merchandize .BITSAA AB=@e gives alumni a wonderful platform to relive the moments that made their BITSian lives fantastic funny and memorable.

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Sabbatical at BITS This innovative initiative gives the BITSAlumni a chance to teach at the place where it all begun The BITS campuses. In the past we have had many distinguished alumni taking Sabbaticals at the Pilani and Goa Campuses .Mr. Siva Cotipalli and Mr. Kedar Gavane are alumni who participated in the initiative in 2009 and are now working with the BITS administration on the course structure plan .

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BITSAA Help Initiatives Initiatives that reinforce our faith in the power of the BITSAA network K time and /5/7< the BITSian passion to a difference in the life of fellow humans =

Life for Manish #anish Bharadwajâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fight against cancer drove BITSAA to launch Life for Manish K /n initiative registering bone marrow donors for patients affected by Acute myeloid leukemia (AML).As on 18th November

drives for bone marrow registration were conducted at 61 locations in *( *!

India and Australia with a total number of donors.

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Seema Sood Initiative K Seema a batch Gold medalist was bedridden for 13 years with rheumatoid arthritis and she wrote a letter to the President of <27/ appealing for mercy killing. Seemaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s news shook the BITSAA community into action.BITSAA reached out to the community and raised in four daGA twice as much as what Seema requested. alums donated.

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Board Topper gets into BITS - Nagesh was the Andhra Board topper in 2009 and since he was from an economically poor background, could not afford his education at BITS. BITSAA ‘75-‘80 and Nirmaan together helped Nagesh join BITS by contributing towards the admission fee as well as the first semester tuition fee.They also connected Nagesh to the Lanco Foundation which has agreed to sponsor the rest of his education at BITS.

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BITSians for Anitha Ashokan – Anitha Ashokan(’04 Goa) was hospitalized with Balo a rare case of multiple sclerosis.Rs 5lakhs was reached within 3 days to cover her treatment and medicine costs.Over 220 donors from all over the world donated and an amount of $14721 (7 lakhs) was raised forAnitha.

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Deepchandji Fundraiser – BITSAA Women’s Council together with the support of BITSAA International helped mess worker Deep Chandji to clear the debts he landed from his daughter-in-law’s medical emergency.

With the support of the BITSian community,Rs 3 lakhs was raised towards this effort

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Class of ’71 Fundraiser - In an effort to fulfil their social responsibility and give back to the alumni community, the Class of ’71 raised over Rs.10.3 Lakhs and from start to finish, the effort took less than 8 weeks. ¬the BITS PilaniAuditoriumAudio System got a much-needed facelift thanks to the efforts of the Class of '71.

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BITS.aid was created with the objective to help the needy in whatever small way and to encourage every BITSian to give back to the society. Its core group has also embarked upon additional projects in 2009 under themes such as education,rural development,youth empowerment & sustainable environmental practices.The diverse core group aims at bring BITSians across the globe together to make a better society, tackle various social and environmental needs,establish new frontiers for BITSians to connect to the global volunteering community thereby support socially responsible endeavors.

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AtmaNirbhara Atma Nirbhara is an organization aimed at building community resource centres for rural education and employability. In Australia the a core team of a dozen Alumni led by Mr. Ramaswamy Nagarajan('61) came together to organize a BITS-style Cultural which was not just a get together but aimed at creating history by coming together for a supreme cause – “raise funds for the Atma Nirbhara Project Resource Centre building in the Pilani Campus”.The team raisedAU$10,000,reiterating the BITSian strength in coming together for a noble cause .

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Let’s Promote BITS Pilani ( LPBP) The Let’s Promote BITS Pilani initiative aims at attracting the brightest minds to BITS Pilani by generating awareness amongst high school students across India about the value of the BITS Pilani experience.The team has successfully launched its first way of this brand – building exercise: Info Sessions in all the 4 campuses

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BITS Embryo - BITS Embryo BITSEmbryo is a BITSAA initiative aimed at fostering strong collaboration between students, faculty, alumni and friends of BITS, Pilani .Since its inception BITSEmbryo has facilitated more than 100 lectures delivered from USA,Europe andAsia Pacific,touching base on a wide variety of topics.

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Strategic Communication & Branding - The Strategic Communication & Branding team strives to promote BITSian personalities, BITS and BITSAA activities through popular print and TV media. In the long-term the team aims to establish strategic partnership with these platforms that would enable us to sustain and enrich the brand BITS.Two partnerships with popular Indian Media houses have been finalized.

For Faculty FacultyTravel Grants The faculty travel grants were instituted to enable students to get access to the best international professors from across the globe. Dr. Martha Turner was the first Professor to be invited through the BITSAA Faculty Travel Grant to conduct seminars on bioethics at the BITS Pilani campus.

Kris Ramachandran Faculty ExcellenceAward A generous contribution by fellow alum, Kris Ramachandran (â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;72) led to the creation of BITSAA Internationalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first award for Faculty at the BITS campuses.The award recognizes and encourages young faculty who have made significant contributions to BITS through innovations in research and teaching and consists of a rolling plaque, certificate and a cash award of Rs 1 Lakh. Dr Niti Nipun Sharma,Professor in Mechanical Engineering Department,was announced the winner of the KRFEA2010.

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BITSAA SUCCESS STORIES BITSConnect Seema Sood Fundraiser Anitha Ashokan Fundraiser BITSunami OLAB

SHOWCASING BITSanity

BITSAA Chapter Events

he world is insane.It spares none from its absurdity. Whether it's a natural disaster or a sudden disease,the insanity has tendency to surprise one and all. Most of the time, the surprise comes as a shock and shatters all hope.What would you say if you work around the clock for almost an year to participate in a conference, but finally find no money to reach there! Absurd, isn't? Or after proving your worth academically and securing a gold medal, you are confined to a bed with no possible physical movement, pleading for death. It is cruel. How about a wild sea-wave from nowhere! or having a personal computer and studying in a premier institute,you spend hours outside IPC for your turn to complete assignment.It is insane.

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With determination, a person can scale great mountains, but some tasks are beyond the reach of a single person.These tasks require collective efforts, proper planning and efficient channels to utilize resources. In the absence of these collective efforts, the insanity of the world ridicule humanity. Fortunately BITSAA has provided an apt platform to stage these efforts with BITSian zeal and passion.Here are excerpts of some success stories from the past:

BITSConnect It's little absurd to imagine no internet connectivity when 3G is entering India.Way back in 2000, it was just a dream.

Imagine extreme weather conditions at Pilani, and last date of project submission.You are waiting outside IPC to get a chance to work on a PC (that's not your personal one),all thanks to project BITSConnect for rescuing BITSians from this night-mare.This state-of-the-art project was completed in record time.

BITS Director,Dr.Venkateswaran,shared his vision of connecting BITS campus in September 2002 with 22 BITSian alums.

Prem Jain galvanized the team into action. Pulling in two BITSians at Cisco, Deepu Rathi and Mukul Chawla, the team started brainstorming.

A dedicated team was formed by November. 2002. Prof. JP Misra of BITS scoped out the requirements. Mukul Chawala spent two weeks in Pilani and at the Cisco offices, surveying the campus and putting together the network design.The estimated cost was $1.5 million. With vendor subsidies and Pilaniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s savings,the alumni target was $750,000. And BITSAA had 9 months to raise the money. By January 2003, the RFP process was launched. The entire network was finalized in one 9-hour sitting by BITS professors,JP Misra and Rahul Banerjee,working withWipro and Cisco engineers.

BITSConnect fundraising teams were pulled together from all over the US. Fundraising shifted to overdrive as the top 100 BITSians were identified.The goal was to raise enough money to make the first payment within 30 days.The target was easily reached and crossed, thanks to the superb efforts of the fund-raising team leaders, Roop Jain and Karthik Krishna.

Alumni pledges totaled $430,000 by the beginning of May. The Finance team of Jayan Ramankutty, Sandeep Arora and AnitaAgarwal tightly monitored the budgets and the funds coming in.

BITSConnect marketing,led by Satish Gupta andVenu Palaparthi,kicked off a big PR campaign globally,and soon big media started to pay attention.The fundraising focus shifted to the rest of the world, after raising around half the amount from US. Ajay Madhok and Rohit Sah (Delhi), Subodh Mittal andVikram Sah (Bangalore), Dinesh Mirchandani and Aashish Bhinde (Mumbai) andAshokAgarwal coordinated fund-raising efforts in India. Coordinators were pulled in for chapters around the world.BITSConnect became a global agenda,by May 2003.

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BITSConnect’s first initiative, the gigabit Ethernet network called ‘Neuron,’ was launched by Dr. KK Birla in an impressive ceremony on March 20, 2004, and thus the project was concluded. BITSConnect is one of the most successful projects accomplished by any University Alumni association.This milestone proudly demonstrate power of BITS network and excellent management qualities of BITSAA leaders.

TECHNICAL DETAILS: 1. Connects the Institute,hostel rooms,library,staff quarters and guest house 2. More than 20 kilometers of cables 3. 2-4 MbpsWAN connectivity 4. 4000 voice-grade 10/100 access 5. Points over a Gigabit backbone 6. Staff House connectivity through LRE (Long Range Ethernet) &Wireless 7. WirelessAccess (802.11b) at SKY and the Reference Library 8. NMS,Router & Hardware Firewall 9. VoIP Phones 10. Voice-management Software

88

BITSAA I N T E R N AT I O N A L

BITSAA Chapter Events

BITSConnect Facts: 1. Though BITSAA raised funding the mammoth project, it's Nagaar-Ji's constant supply of tea-and-coffee that actually fueled the passion and kept it alive in marathon meeting/discussion sessions.

2. Along with other logistics issues, the BITSConnect team had to cope-up with the truckers strike. Fortunately, the strike didn't last long.

3. Cisco, Wipro andAmp (Tyco) were finalized as the leading vendors.

4. The project team had to come up with ideas to deal with the intense Pilani heat that threatened to melt the equipment and the dust which was quickly clogging the ports.

FunTrivia: While digging the cables around the campus the following BITSian phenomena/captions were also buried for forever: 1.

'Couldn't get a computer at IPC':all time favorite excuse for delayed assignment submission

2.

'What's the similarity between IPC and Meera Bhawan?':both of them allow restricted access to their 'property'.

3.

'Someone has deleted my assignment from the computer':another excuse for delayed assignment submission

4.

'A computer buff who spent most of his time in IPC':frequent line from BITSYearbooks 'I was summoned again for exceeding my 8 MB telnet limit’

5.

6. 'Who changed my telnet password?' and 'Who changed my telnet password again?'

7.

'Save this computer for me,while I grab a quick bite at Redi'

8.

'Third computer in the second row has the best stuff ;)'

9.

'First yearites have hijacked the IPC for CP-1 online test’

Seema Sood Fund Raiser Consider the case of a fellow BITSian from 1985 batch. Seema Sood graduated from BITS with flying colors and headed for a bright future. But rheumatoid arthritis ruined her plans. She was bedridden for over thirteen years as her all joints of body were affected with arthritis. Her keen hips, shoulders and elbow were almost dead.Her wrist,fingers of hand and feet have no movement.During those long frustrating years, her determination might have died several times. In the middle of 2008, she gave up and pleaded for mercy killing. Seema's news shook the entire nation and triggered BITSAA community into action.

Bharti Balakrishnan ('00 Chem) and Aditi Pany ('00 Fin) drove from Delhi to meet Seema in person. Anu ('86 MMS) searched for doctors and arranged counseling sessions. Punita (’80 EEE) scheduled conference calls between alumni and bedridden Seema.As press coverage increased,the Chief Minister of the State intervened.The government agreed to pay for the surgery,but not critical post surgery rehabilitation.BITSAA reached out to the community and raised in four days, twice as much as what Seema requested. 235 BITSians donated. After four surgeries including two hip replacements, Seema's hope is revitalized. In the letter to Sood dated July 2008 President Pratibha Patil commended her for her ‘uncompromising courage and willpower’.

She might have felt alone for many years, but now BITSAA stands by her.This is not just her triumph over a disease, but a showcase of BITSAA's passion towards its members.

BITSAA I N T E R N AT I O N A L

89

BITSAA Chapter Events

AnithaAshokan Fund Raiser In another similar case, BITS community provided generous support to a BITSian's family.Anitha Ashokan graduated in 2008 with B.E (Hons.) in Electronics and Instrumentation from the Goa Campus. She was based in Chennai and was working with Satyam Computers till May 2009, when she fell ill with a rare kind of brain disease. She was undergoing critical care treatment,when the news of her illness was brought into the notice of BITSAA. A dedicated team led by Shwetha Kailash ('04) was formed to provide support to Anitha's family. In August 2009, BITSAA decided to help Anitha's family monetarily, by raising funds and non-monetarily, by getting discount on life-saving yet expensive medicines.The target fundraising amount of 5Lakhs was reached within three days. Over 220 donors from all over the world donated and an amount of around 7 Lakhs was raised for Anitha. The fund was used to settle her outstanding medical bills.

Like Seema Sood's case, BITSAA's support gave strength to follow BITSian's family when it was required the most. Once again, the community promptly demonstrated its concern towards its members.With its world-wide network, BITSAA provide proper channels to make every contribution count.

BITSunami In another such incident,where BITSians collectively contributed towards society, was PS-II at BITSumani. While giant sea waves shattered hopes of numerous people around Indian coastal areas,it gave determination to BITSAlumni to reach for the goal that looked too tiny in front of the aftermath of Tsunami.A unique approach was taken and professionalism of PS-2 was combined with benevolence of NGOs. PS II at BITSunami, was formed towards long term rehabilitation of the two tsunami hit villages, Naluvedapathy and Pushpavanam. The major task was to perform GIS based technical mapping of resources of the villages creating viable sanitation plans for use in rural India.Other responsibilities included, desk research, preliminary tours of the villages, interaction with villagers and the women's self-help groups and scouring through huge records at government offices. It was truly a remarkable experience for BITSians, selflessly contributing towards enrichment of others life. Moreover, it was a fine example of human passion to overcome effects of a natural disaster.While many surrender to the insanity of the world, some, for instance BITSians, stand tall â&#x20AC;&#x201C; fighting for a cause, bringing back sanity to the life.

In most of these situations, individual efforts seemed insufficient and chances of success were very low. When the individual good intentions find an efficient mechanism to direct singular efforts towards a bigger goal, the efforts are multiplied many folds and wonders are achieved. These incidents are not just success stories, but a fine showcase of BITSian benevolence and efficiency of BITSAA mechanisms.These are the moments when sanity resurfaces and hopes are revived.Maybe the world is not completely insane yet.May it never be!Amen!

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BITSAA I N T E R N AT I O N A L

BITSAA Chapter Events

OLAB (Oyster Lab) In another inspiring tale, BITSAA managed to raise teaching and research standard at BITS,by establishing fully equipped Oyster LAB, aka OLAB. The word ‘Oyster’ indicates the environment and various processes that go into culturing pearls from sand.On the same lines,BITSAA had vision to refine students’ capabilities for rapidly growing Silicon Industry.

The 1977 batch first visualized the idea in 2002-2003.After initial rounds of talks and presentations, BITSAA commissioned a $50 millionVLSI Lab initiative – OLAB.The project was successfully executed by Vinod Agarwal (68’ EEE), founder & chairman of LogicVision, Rajendra Khare (‘77 EEE), then managing director of Broadcom India.VLSI engineers with a rich experience of many years in the field include Nagesh Chatekar from Broadcom, Deepa J from Cypress, Sriram R from TI, Karthik Kandaswamy from Wipro, Anurup Mitra and Kallol Chatterjee from ST. Dr. Anand Bariya from Toshiba played a major role in helping with cell libraries and other design needs.

The LAB is fully equipped with best-in-class tools and software.These Design Automation tools were purchased from industry leaders in EDA - Mentor Graphics, CADENCE,Altera and Magma Design Automation.These tools support Full Design Flow, RTL to GDSII, embedded design and board design. It also houses a powerful and scalable compute farm that is accessible over the Neuron network.There are thirty-six Oracle-Sun Microsystem terminals fuelling research apatite of BITSian faculty and students.

Since its inauguration, OLAB has facilitated cutting edge research environment at BITS. It is being utilized for courses like Microelectronics,Analog Design,Analog and Digital VLSI Design (ADVD),Advanced Computer Organization as well as higher degree courses likeAdvancedVLSI design,VLSI architecture andAnalog IC design.

An extension center is also planned to be set up in Bangalore,allowing BITSians to work closely with industry.This center will become India’s leading training and research center forVLSI training for professionals in the industry. Partners in the industry will include OpenSilicon,Magma and Broadcom.It will also be open to non-BITSians and utilized as a PS II center as well.

The increase in research publication in the field, the higher number of IEEE workshops organized at OLAB and recognition of BITSian projects at national and international conferences/workshops proudly tell success of OLAB.And it would have been impossible without BITSAA’s passionate efforts.

“OLAB will usher in silicon technology research and a chip development revolution in India.This fresh infrastructure will enable the BITS Distance Learning Programme Division (DLPD) to offer media-rich content to over 7,500 students.We can now look forward to a successful expansion of the virtual university concept allowing students, faculty and organizations to collaborate with no geographical and time-zone constraints” - Late Prof. S.Venketeswaran

BITSAA I N T E R N AT I O N A L

91

BITS Pilani - Pilani Campus

BITS Pilani

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105

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Chaired by Prof K.E Raman, the Division of Alumni affairs as a nodal division will replace the earlier BITS Pilani Alumni Association (BITSAA) that has been functioning since 1989.. It will aim to foster connections between and among alumni and the University and would involve them with the development of the Institute. In recognition of the growth of BITS into a multicampus university, the widening scope of Alumni affairs, the increased opportunities for Alumni engagement, and the need to implement new processes, alumni related activities of the Institute will be reorganized through the creation of this Division.

106

programs that support the BITS Pilani strategic plan

biographical and career information

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107

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108

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rural community in and around Pilani with focus on education

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endowed scholarships and facilitate many of our future alumni in their pursuit of excellence at the BITS Pilani campuses.

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will cover topics from Idea Validation to Business Plan and Venture Capitalist Communication.

This camp presents the students to be mentored by renowned Entrepreneurs culminating in incubating businesses.

109

*"+ ( <:= One of the transformational changes led by BITS Pilani and its alumni through BITSAA in the past decade has been the BITSConnect initiative where the Alumni came together to raise $1.5 Mi ($750k from alumni donors) and provide BITS with a state of the art campus wide network. BITS has since expanded into 3 new campuses '

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117

iRemember the 50s.... , , ' > ^Â&#x20AC;'Â < " - *

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temple was inaugurated. Cultural life was full and

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vibrant. Speeches by Swami Ranganathan and of

the regular Bhawans.

Ramkrishna Mission were an annual feature and the hall used to be full and the atmosphere was charged

There were no girls in the Engineering College but

for those few days.

only in the Arts College. Engineering College did not leave much time for other activities. But we still made

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strong friendships and time was spent in discussing

through managing the monotonous hostel food for

six years. Overall the institution provided a solid

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118

iRemember the 60s....

Vijay Raina 1960-65 " > ^ -

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converted to Birla Institute of Technology& Science

out the water. I was furious after this incident but this

and we graduated as the FIRST BATCH of BITS,

incident also got me some good friends in my seniors.

Pilani.

I still remember the visit to Connaught to witness girls marching in single line for their weekly outing

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of Masala Dos & Fried eggs anywhere. Those were the days when you could not socialize with girls.There was a separate section for girls in

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having Samosa with Dahi and

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the MUSTARDS (Hindi medium boys) and

119

were the most memorable for me and I still cherish the time spent at Pilani and the friends I made almost immediately. friends I made almost immediately.

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<Â&#x201A; hours every day with a group )

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so as to be able to go home to Delhi for a weekend free of cost. On one occasion we were a lot more boys than what a

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lack similar experiences.

Mathriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s at night.

Hira Kaul 63 - 68

Lohit Datta-Barua, Ph.D. (B.S. (Honors) in Electronics Engineering, 1970

I had learnt that an engineering professional had to

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study and also be intelligent but somehow without

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the latter I did manage to complete the discipline in

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120

skydiving and watched the view from the top of the

shock that I had not even imagined as I had never

Sydney Harbor Bridge. But Pilani still resides in a

travelled so far before. This 1st encounter was

corner of my heart as a clear still picture.

more shocking to me than my landing in America some eight years later.

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skydiving and watched the view from the top of the

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Sydney Harbor Bridge. But Pilani still resides in a

arms. By being happy and making lots of fond

corner of my heart as a clear still picture.

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to Pilani and became a proud BITSian. Starting with

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serpentine black road with waves of sand passing

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through Rohtak to the oasis called Pilani. Coming

at the quadrangle at studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; loud drowning the

from a place where water was abundant and

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water was precious like gold here. It was a culture

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121

gorgeous Birla temple (it was more

crowded

before

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electrifying election. loving

Student

Union

Creative and fun students

had

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(Chakke

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aiming at one Miss Banna Tiwari in our little segregated world. " @

that was strange on that 1st day was my sweet home away from home on the beautiful , , : " also learned (looking back probably did not give my best) _

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in India. MIT Collaboration, Ford Foundation

Library, donated IBM 1100 computer, visiting

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professors from MIT _ )

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to show some basic decency.

once and go home unexpectedly.

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I had seen her then and I hope I will meet her again

Dr. (Mrs.) Chanchal Sarin , 61 batch It happened half a century ago. Yes 50 years have passed since I and my friend Raksha reached Pilani. Rakshaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dad

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House and next day morning completed all the formalities

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in M.Sc. (Botany) course. Her dad virtually deposited us in

122

;

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and left for Delhi.

Protected by the high walls ;

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assured that the girls would

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like being in some sort of Jail

; ; : * : Meera Bhawan seemed like a closed box to me and I felt like writing on the high walls _qÂ&#x2021;

_ Handle with careâ&#x20AC;?. The trees outside looked like scaring

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yeh Kahan Aagaye Humâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;? sort of feeling took

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the back seat.

born to live like that. I became too sentimental. * , 8 "

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excited about living in a hostel I felt a vacuum

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boy who served us the food announced that we must : %

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forgot to take back the spoon which implied that we

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ended up buying new ones quite often. As against the

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food quite good and satisfying. Â&#x192; [ )

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college and got shocked to know that we could not wear clothes of our choice as there was a prescribed dress code for

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students had to wear a white

distinguished us from the arts

with red border prescribed for them. It was a funny scene and looked as if clones of

123

Mother Teresa walking together on the road. Years

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Delhi classmate Padma who had enrolled herself

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in M.Sc. (Physics) course. All of us became very

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told her about the uniform that we were wearing in

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became very thick friends and cherished each

really happened?

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since we left Pilani. She even sent me a letter and a

A pleasant surprise awaited us when we reached

greeting card painted by her on my wedding. I still

the college. Two of our Delhi classmates Usha

possess the card as one of my valuable possessions.

and Prabha were there. They also had enrolled

I went abroad a year after and lost contact with

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read this please do contact. I miss you a lot.

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124

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in the world. Movies were selected based on

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dhartiâ&#x20AC;? of Pilani.

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us with a list of movies and asked us to select

route we could travel to. Following other routes

the ones which we may like to watch. He would

was prohibited for girls because boyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hostels

then ask senior girls whether the suggested

:

movies were worth showing to young boys and

travel to college on a cycle rickshaw. There was

:

one rickshaw with â&#x20AC;&#x153;ghungroosâ&#x20AC;? attached. I and

once suggested â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mugle Aazamâ&#x20AC;? telling him that

, - )

the same was very â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shikshapradâ&#x20AC;? (educativeâ&#x20AC;?)

rickshaw and would order the rickshaw puller

picture. He then asked us and got convinced from

to take us through the forbidden route. One of

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girls would sit on one

rickshaw as it made â&#x20AC;&#x153;ghungrooâ&#x20AC;? music and used to

side and boys on the other side of the divider

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line on which Babaji would sit. #

had given to him.

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Raksha was a person who was explorative in

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we may visit the market popularly called as â&#x20AC;&#x153;The

watching the actual film.

Connaughtâ&#x20AC;?. To our shock we were told by the Matron that girls could not go to the market

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Â&#x152;

any time they wished to. Sunday morning was

8

)

Naturally

places we were not allowed to visit. Once we were

boys were not allowed to be there during that

caught by the Matron and had a tough time. She

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to go back home. The written apologies saved us

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in the end.

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amazed that such things could happen and what

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sort of world that was we grew up in.

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Sunday used to be the occasion for special lunch

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which we eagerly looked forward to. On that day

and then back to laboratories for afternoon

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treat that used to be! On the Sunday evening a

those afternoon trips as we were fond of taking

Hindi movie was screened for the students in

: #

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in preparing our share of microscope slides too.

125

In the evenings we would sit on the stairs of

Pilani. Can anyone forget such treasured times? No

;

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and comforting music which we never liked to miss

:

any of the evening.

this temple of learning and would like to bow our heads in reverence to the sacred Institute of Pilani.

:

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got separated from one another with everybody

obedient. How and when the lives took different

pursuing their own careers and paths in life.

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it happened in Pilani. The ways of Pilani were to

Thank you all very much and above all thank you

) :

Pilani.

126

iRemember the 70s....

Shekhar Bhave - 73E06295 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Prof. Handa was one of the most respected

Comp Sci department at Purdue University and is

 ='Â&#x2018;=| : "

also an advisor on BITSAA International board).On

]:^ <=: H

to the class with tears. He wanted to know where he

days (free of cost) to all those who were interested.

had failed as teacher and what should he do so that

The course ran for 15 days to packed house in E

we understood the concepts of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Energy Conversionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

8: H 8 -

on the notes that he circulated to us in the course.

with complain about â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;zeroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; marks given for a problem

) 8

- : ;

about calculating diameter of a motor. Our topper

remarkable was the idea of hypothetical processor

Â&#x2022; <^

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a mistake of two decimals. He argued that the entire

- :

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decimal points.

The knowledge gained in those sessions still helps

G

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have given you problem in engineering and not in arithmetic. %

)

9

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: 0

Viswanath Sarma - BPharm and MPharm (Hons) 1973 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 79

may use such a huge motor and you get full marks.â&#x20AC;? " Â ) *"+ > Â&#x2018;] > Â&#x2018; The Topper lost his A garde in the course but was

completing my graduate and post graduate studies in

wiser for whole life.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

): "

)

Â&#x2026; ; ' )

Chandrashekhar N Bhave 73E06295

academic system at the Institute. That academic

|

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-

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introduced by Texas Instruments and it was not on

Â&#x2019;

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curriculum of any university in the world yet. A young

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127

In one of the early incarnations of Oasis in 1978, a souvenir in handmade oddly-cut paper was launched and printed using the then primitive equipment on campus. A ‘gPeom’ with ink graphics by Tapan Desai (Tubby) - BITS’ 74 and the poem is a thought by Sanjay Dharwadkar.- BITS Class of 79

128

QuiP 70 ) <^

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than female. In the unlikely event of being a young

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ardent male admirers. Even more admirers if she

)

happened to be good looking.

below zero. But even the Quip 70 had to keep his

:

QuiP 70

8 ) JÂ&#x2013;( |L % ( (

All QuiP 70s shared a common love of aloo

Mechanics and Modern Physics; or spoke English

Â&#x2014;

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all classes scheduled before 10 am or after 3

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and Chitra Singh song come to mind:

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modifiers. A quote from a genuinely brilliant

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Magar Mujhko Lauta Do Bachpan Ka Sawan

Â&#x201D; q" 8

Wo Kagaz Ki Kashti, Wo Barish Ka Paniâ&#x20AC;?

also patronizing vendors of various consciousness

not tobaccoâ&#x20AC;?

Pilani may not have been our childhood (which is QuiP 70 was an accomplished generalist. He could [

- )

L ) very distant place from where we are now.

Evils of Emergency; solve the problems that beset

) 8 +

cryptic crossword. But then there was the other

Is there a need to explain our yearning?

Â&#x2019; Â&#x2018;= _ Â&#x2021; +

theodolite and a pair of binoculars.

Dilip Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Souza 76-81

%

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My friend Nitin â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bondoâ&#x20AC;? Khare got it organized.

QuiP 70 thrived in the extremes

He made peculiar caps out of discarded computer

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punch cards (go ask your grandparents what those

8

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we wear the most unmatched clothes we could

)

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129

130

''

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want to reach home soonâ&#x20AC;?), synchronizing the

Â&#x201D; ) Â&#x201A;=

faces of the of the clock on the famous Pilani

' )

*"+

tower (â&#x20AC;&#x153;so weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll know the correct time from

Pilani.

wherever we areâ&#x20AC;?) ) '

colleges to the Oasis festival (â&#x20AC;&#x153;so BITS can win

My election campaign procession. Certainly we

every eventâ&#x20AC;?).

had more fun than the other processions did. , )

[Â&#x201D; "

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collected a grand total of 17 ''

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of this: not even half my mates who marched for

) ' '

me voted

' '

' : And I got 17.

Though what did I expect? I still have somewhere

) -

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and I still marvel that I gave it that day with a

long enough to truly appreciate my helipad promise.

: q;) *"+ / "

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8 q

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listed my election promises. Among which were

BITS did not win every event. Serves my fellow

helipads in every hostel (â&#x20AC;&#x153;for students who

BITSians right.

131

132

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asked.

President too?â&#x20AC;?

q

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He stopped and looked at me with the twinkle in his

that they knew I was said Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Souza.

) " ) 8

: q "

/

+

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he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I voted for you.â&#x20AC;?

hallowed gates of Meera Bhavan. The girls present -

)

So I now know the identities of four of those 17:

it: the condition of their showers. They wanted to

H )

: " | )

know what I would do about them as candidate and

"

if I won. I did quietly consider adding a slogan to

13 will reveal their names. Maybe some of them

my campaign to the effect of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Meera Bhavan ke har

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/

showers.

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:

133

iRemember the 80s....

Sangeeta Sharma â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Batch of 84

) ; " ) to witness the match. My brother too would play

* > Â Â and being integral part

very good basketball so he was introducing me to

of Pilani and BITS is a coincidence. I remember

his friends. It was a cherishing moment for him.

when Prof I.J. Nagarath had called me up for the

The game started with great zeal and enthusiasm

8 9 ' "

and we were at our best. Slowly the energy started

- *"+

mitigating. Suddenly the ball fell in my hand and I

if I got married would I leave BITS. First one was

shot from the half court. I was so shocked that

it had never happened to be so accurate basket

) :

before. There was cacophonous euphoria in the

answer proved to be wrong for the second one but

crowd and I realized this was a great blunder

I have no remorse for the same. Today if someone

as I had put the basket on the other side. I was

8

"

embarrassed and my brother was nowhere in

to live the same life again. To introduce myself I

sight. He too vanished like a whiff. People started

%

recognizing me as the girl who put the basket

# (

on the other side.

(

|

' ' charge for Nirmaan.

Now so many years have passed but the memory

: " -

0)

"

Â&#x20AC;Â&#x201A; *"+ ) 8

look at the same court and am reminded of the same

share an incident which was great embarrassment

incident phew! T

\ :

for

me

during

that time. I was a sport my

freak

and

achievement

of Gliding Pilot License

makes

me proud to share that with you all.

I was also part of BITS basket ball team. My selection

gave me a sense of false pride. The day when I had

134

iRemember the 90s....

Karthik Raman - 95 batch

inhabitants than those 5 hours? Or was it the excitement (?!) of starting another semester and

Every semester in

)'

getting screwed all over again at our good old

]Â ' - ) (

BITS? It could be all of those and a million other

to Delhi. I would get down at the Delhi train

: Â&#x2DC;

"|

station hungry and thirsty and wanting nothing

runs into rough weather and passengers around

more than to curl up in my bed with a cup of

"| )

8: 8

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[

'-

'

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rattling me.

) :

8

to the Delhi bus stand and hope to find a bus

" *"+

)

# J -

)

told me that I would only need English to

from Pilani) with enough room to accommodate

survive there. That the little Hindi I had learned

:

as a third language since 5th standard would be

bated breaths while the conductor searched

more than enough for â&#x20AC;&#x153;emergency purposesâ&#x20AC;?.

inside for a few empty seats. It was inherently

Â&#x2026; )

assumed that there would be no space for the

8

rickshaw walas and the restaurant owners in

of the bus. This was one of the few moments in

9

"

: ( 9 )

prayer hoping this would ensure that my suitcase

were quite a few embarrassing moments when

- )

:

my Hindi did not keep pace with my thought

: H

) )

)

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8 )

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others who would beat me hands down when it

) )

came to making asses of themselves.

our destination. There are a lot of things that I remember and recall with fondness about my

H

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- )

the stuff we said and did were legendary. For

always seem to figure somewhere in the top ten.

[

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incident. A bottle of camel milk was being

) )

)|

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8 :

nothing brought us closer to rural India and its

he de

135

136

cided to do something about it. So he kept

ANC (All Night Canteen) around midnight. I had

^ | 8 ) 8

ordered masala dosa while my friend â&#x20AC;&#x153;mandaiâ&#x20AC;?

8 :

(big head bony body) had ordered a plain dosa.

+

H

8

[

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he did not want any milk from then on. Mission

went up to him and loudly and clearly said â&#x20AC;&#x153;uska

8 )

dosa mera paas... mera dosa tera paasâ&#x20AC;?:

): Â&#x2026; )

still havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let him forget that fateful night.

9

around the next day throwing some â&#x20AC;&#x153;saalasâ&#x20AC;?

%

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and â&#x20AC;&#x153;arre yaarsâ&#x20AC;? for good effect. This lasted all

-

: %

): +

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and syllables that could have come straight out of

out of his room only to find two bottles of camel

; ) @

8

8

:

a great deal. Only to be told by his friends later

<^=

Yet another incident: a friend went to the

the trip when the driver had been perfectly happy

)

8 : H

>^

with 150. Turned out he was a little confused

) >= H :

about â&#x20AC;&#x153;daedâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;daayiâ&#x20AC;?. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m still hopeful that

8

q 8 - /

)

) )

)

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responsible for the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Tamil and Hindi are mutually

8

exclusiveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; syndrome would be corrected as a

8 ' â&#x20AC;&#x153;aur ek, aur ek,

'

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aur ek, aur ek and aur ekâ&#x20AC;?. My EEE wing was

, - Â&#x201E; :

:

iRemember the 2000s....

Murali Manohar S - 2000B4A4662 )

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Â&#x201C;

schedule. Or at least thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what the rumors were

)Â&#x201C;

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)

all about. A sense of mystery was maintained

J ^Z

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within the two QTs. No word sneaked out. No

and were crazy about it. How did they even get

discussions happened outside. Not even at the

Â&#x201C; ) }}} + < )

_

mess dinner tables as there were chances that

Â&#x192;" , : "

other bhawansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; students could hear it. Some of

- :

the friendships between two bhawanites were put

a period of time the obsession with it became

on hold fearing the casual conversation about it

so odious. All bhawans started well ahead of the

137

138

might lead to a disastrous break in the relation. It was

: % <Â&#x201A; <==>: *)

so personal to the bhawan! Even girls were a part of

some of the best Nites from Shankar Bhawan

this. After all a Bhawanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nite is a party hosted by

7) * : %

Â&#x2019;+

)

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the darkness and the eeriness they encountered inside. The show surprised everyone throughout

Â&#x2021; <==>Â&#x201D;

* <===

the 3 hours night. Overall we awed the audience.

students. Seniors have started to fuel our spirit

Though there was no formal declaration of the

setting high expectations. The batch as such

" ) ) q 8 /

was considered the most talented. There were

the show. This wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have been a success if not

> $ > Â&#x20AC;

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serious rounds of discussions on the niteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

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thousands of rupees pooled in for sheer fun and

mouths which leaked such critical information.

frolic. Such nites brought the students together and

But the code was that whichever bhawan threw

'

8

the invitation poster first gets the date. So it

a Nite.

was out and all the bhawans have the theme and the date finalized. Shankar bhawan will start it

It is very sad that the administration scrapped such a

0 _

8

wonderful event.

) )

: +

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8

) details were kept damn secret.

* 0 ' " 8

!"

:

) had our distinctive factors for the night such as

8

8 (instead of the usual one). Apart from these

9 ) '

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9 Â&#x2021;

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Rahul Misra 2000A2A7 % "

8 <Â&#x201D;==

) , - : % yet most of the students at BITS Pilani are 8 : " ) ) |

that the air blows a little chilly now. You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t

|

is drawing near and in a little over a month; youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have to step out of your room almost frostbitten to write exams. It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter because you know that if it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get chilly

Â&#x201A;

;'# the OASIS night outs wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be as soothing.

And that matters more than anything else.

139

+ % " ]Â )

Â&#x2DC;

Prez has declared a holiday tomorrow and your

welcoming you up. Chairs and tables have been

test has been postponed. BITS is probably the

pushed to the back of the class in most of the

only institution in the world where the president

rooms. Dance Clubbers practice their complicated

of the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; union can declare a legitimate

<<=Â&#x201A;

):

watching them through the doors and windows.

;

8

"

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itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not like youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d have been studying. If thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

: +

anything better than OASIS, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the couple of

days before OASIS!

each inhabited by a different department or club.

Stories of previous OASISâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; are recounted again and

You walk towards the clock tower; a crackling

again. $ %&' ' ! * %&' '+ every

sound reaches your ears. Sometimes you hear a

volunteer has heard that at least a million times.

8 \

+

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shine through the thick hedges. These sights and

OASIS is an event that can actually meet those

| )

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You walk to SUB now, that other hub of pre-

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OASIS activity. The stretch of road between ANC

- )

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over the past few days. Club heads are lobbying

you avert your eyes.

0

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more fried maggis. The dilapidated Students Union

: Â&#x2DC; 8

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everywhere. The eerie lighting further adds to the

: Â&#x2021;

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other girl is guiding them. They wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t normally

)

:

be here thanks to the night curfew for girls at BITS

8 Â&#x2026;*

8

but they have late perm today. A bunch of boys

hardly ever opened again this sem. Memories of

and girls are sitting on the stairs putting lachha.

% " 8

)

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8

fresh again next year.

) 8

: Â&#x2DC; smile to yourself wondering why his coord has

" | <Â&#x201D;]=

decided to punish him like this. Two days before

): +

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yearites) have been dispatched to ANC in advance

yearite) with contis to get paint off Art nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Dee. As

to reserve seats for their department. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a test and

[

)Â&#x161;

140

8

) ):

Arun Bhattacharya - 2008 batch

) %Â&#x192;( : Â&#x192; perm ends soon and everyone involved with OASIS in any way is at SUB now. Some DoSAs are around

) |

%Â&#x192;( ]

every day. The last batch of fried maggis is poured out in their plates. The volunteers have been sent

inaug. A core notices that his department vols

-

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) %Â&#x192;( knows him well. He gets a few extra plates and

[

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felt that there was something more than we had

[

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walks back with his department mates. They wink and a few â&#x20AC;&#x153;tat macchasâ&#x20AC;? : + )

')

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' OASIS bond.

q 8 )}

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8 sitting idly on those lawns or at the cafeteria.

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in this campus!!)

of cycles head to MB.The wardenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fast asleep by now

8 8 ): Â&#x192;

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vocabulary that had been carefully restricted till a few minutes ago is now bared free. The ANC staff has to drag them out as

) 8

) watch a movie. Others would retire to their rooms and perhaps that is what you do as Others would retire to their rooms and perhaps that is what you

Thus we...The 2008 batch of BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus - ): " wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always a cakewalk though! There was a

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Â&#x161; Â&#x161;Â&#x161;: the end of the day it was US !! Soon the campus seemed to be an infant . And we all had this urge to develop it such that it could not only live upto

[

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141

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we discovered gradually that unknowingly we too

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do I?).Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing like sharing the stories with

growth and maturity along with the campus itself!

the ones among whom some have probably been

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and improving ourselves too.

their previous batches being in those same shoes!!

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four lucky batches!

The same might have been felt by all the present

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BITSians too!! The same feelings as above..Along

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institute. However for us..The BITSians in the

and will have till end lots of things in store for

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us to learn. But we also know that when we get

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the emotions about our campus in past present and

of getting a scope to share the story of us and our

future

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little has changed.

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Nyla Mukherjea Sharma â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x153;THE KIDâ&#x20AC;? & Future

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Conclusion

Expedition

BITS To Antarctica A Dream Of A Lifetime - Divya Nawale [2003A4PS297] Blurb: Antarctica! Havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t we all dreamt of stepping on the white ice someday?

A BITSian tells us how her dream came true...

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Expedition

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- Anuradha Gupta [1986A6PS403]

This October in Delhi, on my way to Faridabad Looking for directions in the dark, I who had progressed from buses to cars with drivers at thatâ&#x20AC;Ś We knew we were lost!

I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how badly I was too, And learnt that at a terrible costâ&#x20AC;Ś As the driver halted abruptly, A cyclist behind us bumped the car and fell off, He was obviously badly hurt, In a split second.

Just picked up his cycle and rode awayI could have helped him, apprised him of his rights But fear for my child and myself made me hesitate It sure was darkAnd he didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait, He who was also somebodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s child.

Anger I would have understood, I carry so much of it myself, Butâ&#x20AC;Ś The mute acceptance of a spirit that had died The driver said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shall we proceedâ&#x20AC;?, looked through the rear view mirror Questioningly at the wreck who sat in the chauffeur driven car and cried

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Expedition

Lost!

- Meenakshi Chatterjee [2000B5A3721] , -

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169

- Soumya Sen [2001A8PS263]

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171

- Bodhisatwa Sadhu [2003A3PS071] More and more the mind Seeks solace within the head.

" Or to hop with monsoon frogs, From leaf to leaf, across lily ponds.

Quite mysteriously, it has silently succeeded In forgetting all those pleasures.

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172

AlumniSpeak

Demise of the Artist

- Nasr Husami [2001A3PS169]

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Insane Reality vs Real Insanity Â&#x203A; Â&#x192;

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No one to hold onto, Moist air, my only glue.

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173

A split second into the amazing fall

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174

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At the speed of thought Amid breezy silence, I give all I got

- Anuradha Gupta [1986A6PS403]

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which she dressed with pretty patterns of the customary white and lovely borders in her starched dupattas! I have rarely seen anybody so full of life.

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was through our tummy and was a fabulous cook. They say she knew what kind of paratha (bread) each kid in that place liked so that she could make it for them!

176

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from Pakistan when they hesitantly looked at each other. It had always been a mystery to them.

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rather astutely that she would divide the difference (after she kept some for herself) amongst her kids while she was still living; why wait to get the importance after she was dead!

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of a bygone era lay there. It looked as good as new. It did not look like it was more than seventy years old. Across

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177

- Padmini Srinivasan [1973SXXX369]

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Pilani to Perumalpura

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179

- Ankur Kumar [2006B3A7462G]

# - ) It begins with birth... #

8 It builds fortune... #

It makes people struggle... #

It gives way to new lives... #

It changes every moment... #

) ) It cannot be unravelled... #

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make it ugly... #

Realise its importance in time... #

Some follow some disobey it... #

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180

JuniSpeak

What is Life?

- Goa Campus Student

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leaving that place in total dismal though hoping deep within that the thing(s) he lost grows quicker than ever for a another trial!

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At the Barber

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181

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182

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The Invisible Thread

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199

BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus

BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus

Estd. 2008

www.bits-hyderabad.ac.in

Panel Discussions Cirque Du BITS Glitterati Battle of the BOBs MargDarshan StudentSpeak Un-session

The panel discussions will bring some of the best minds from Industry,Academia, the Government and the Development sectors to a jam packed auditorium and have them present their views on the three pillars that are showcased in the theme of the meet. The panels will host BITSian as well as other eminent speakers who have a wealth of experience and will discuss issues ranging from how entrepreneurship has evolved over the ages, what is needed to ramp up higher education in India, how to create the next generation of ultra 8 8

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Transforming Enterprises: The Evolution, The Progress & A Peek Into The Future BITS Pilani has produced a plethora of high impact entrepreneurs who have created a dent in the industry they chose. These entrepreneurs have created champion enterprises which have created hundreds of thousands of jobs and implemented innovative practices in their operations.

Sukumar, a BITSian himself, the Editor of MINT, will be in conversation with an electric panel of some of the biggest names from various industries including Information Technology/ITeS, Heavy Industry and Electronics.The stalwarts will take us through their entrepreneurial journeys, how they overcame their struggles and innovated and what can BITSians expect from them in the coming years.

Transforming Society through Innovative Actions "

be reaped by the entire society and that livelihoods are sustained. The versatile Ramesh Ramanathan will be in talks with the top thinkers and leaders that cover the wide spectrum of responsible business, development and sustainability. The panel will discuss what innovative actions are required to transform the society not only at the bottom but also at the middle and the top of the pyramid.

208

Breakthrough Ideas in Education: Cultivating, Retaining & Nurturing the Zeal for Learning One of the biggest challenges facing Indian universities is retaining top talent, and providing them with hard resources such as a world class research infrastructure, grants as well as soft resources in terms of collaboration. Retaining top talent apart from improving the research that takes place on campuses also improves the quality of students that it churns out.

What sort of investment is needed and which strategies could be carved to nurture this zeal for learning which will help top Indian universities such as BITS leapfrog in their research endeavo

Critical requirements for our Educational System to drive HighGrowth Entrepreneurs One look at the BITSAA Whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Who list and it gives you an idea how many BITSians end up running their own enterprises. Entrepreneurship is clearly the ultimate test of apersonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dedication and passion towards an idea. In the last decade or so we have noticed quite a few students starting their enterprises while still at college. There is a tremendous opportunity here. Universities with their proximity to research facilities, professors, collaborations and network of alumni are at a vantage point of creating high impactentrepreneurs be it students or the professors themselves.

This panel will address various steps that might have to be taken to strengthen our instituteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ideal playgrounds from which great enterprises can emerge.

209

Technologies that will shape the future Gone are the days when India was stereotyped as a slow adopter of western technology, hub

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of entrepreneurship, innovation, management consulting and sophisticated R&D. BITS Pilani is a vanguard in shaping students who are steering a new breed of enterprises and products of technical & intellectual innovation that are laying a foundation for a better future.

This panel brings experts from energy, health, IT, semiconductor, media and more. It is aimed to focus on discussions about emerging technologies that will help to position the BITS fraternity at the forefront of new ideas & developments. The panel will also answer critical questions that will

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industries.

Nurturing the Next Brand of Professionals The jobs that exist today are nothing like what the previous generation had imagined. This panel will speak to key industry professionals, BITS Pilani administration and academicians about what can BITS do to keep up with the changing industry landscape. Moreover, it will also address how BITS Pilaniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s existing system (Practice School Program, TIC projects where companies outsource their projects to BITSians) be leveraged to create the next class of professionals. Ultimately it will also address how alumni can evangelize BITS within their organizationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to ensure that the top companies come to recruit at the campus.

Mind boggling BITSian achievements In this panel we present to you talks by few BITSians who have gone on to achieved interesting milestones be it being a Project Director at the Smithsonian, or developing a novel farming technique, or creating a state of the art navigation system and much more. Catch these achievers in highly impactful short crisp talks that will enthrall the audience.

210

Interactive Q&A session with audience featuring All Campus Directors BITSAA International co-founder Anupendra Sharma will lead an open session with the Directors of all the 4 BITS Pilani campuses. Joining them would be the Vice Chancellor of BITS, B N Jain & Kris Ramachandran, Advisor to Aditya Birla Group. The session will be highly interactive and will discuss the path that BITS Pilani will take to propel it to one of the best universities of the world highlighting important factors such as the role of alumnus, initiatives that will enrich the faculty & student experience at the campus, ramping up existing programs and introducing newer initiatives.

Un-session â&#x20AC;&#x153;The way of the world is meeting people through other people.â&#x20AC;?

Indeed, this is what Un-session will be about. An informal gathering - offering you a chance to broaden your network. Meet new people - not just BITSians from your batch or other batches, but non-BITSian attendees,BGM sponsors and others too.

So, chat up and exchange views; get to know each other better and keep that stack of business cards ready to swap.You might just end up making some very memorable conversations, and perhaps even lasting friendships and partnerships, this BGM.

211

StudentSpeak Many a BITSian grow teary eyed, as we reminisce the happy days we spent at our almamater long ago. That time seems just yesterday... But donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t we all wonder what the current generation of BITSians are upto? Well hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a chance to hear them out loud.

Students from all four campuses - Pilani,Goa,Hyderabad and Dubai, shall take to the podium.

Studentspeak is the

perfect stage to hear the stories of young BITSians

currently on the rolls of the institute. These stories will be short, high on impact and rangefrom the extreme to the inspirational. This event will also let the alumni witness what the student at BITS today is capable of.

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and jam endlessly to tunes forgotten and remembered.

Battle of the BOBs In Terminus, Illic Est Uno reads the legend on the BOB trophy.

BOB is the most prestigious quiz in the BITSian calendar, and its victors have long been heralded as veritable heroes on campus. And for good reason. BOB is a lone wolf quiz where your only team mates are your common sense and your nerves. The BOB trophy is the ultimate prize for the knowledgeably predisposed - the Holy Grail as it were. BGM, true to its grandiosity, is playing host to this legendary event, which will see BOBs from the annals of history

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it out for the greatest title in BITSian quizzing: the BOB of All Time.

In terminus, illic es multi.

At last, there are many.

212

Glitterati â&#x20AC;&#x153;Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.â&#x20AC;? %

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know that success appears before work only in a dictionary. But when your work is your passion, it seems no work at all.

Join us in listening to BITSians with remarkable achievements, narrating their enchanting stories.

Hear them elucidate their experiences-good and bad, their struggles and their subsequent laurels. A wonderful opportunity to learn and grow.

Cirque Du BITS: Mime Extraordinaire The mime club has always been one of the most dedicated and impressive clubs at BITS. Their attention to detail as well as aim for perfection and endless creativity has awed us every Oasis and Apogee.

At the BITSAA Global Meet, we will have the Mime club (with current and past members) showcasing the transformation of BITS taking us back to the days when we were on campus.

MargDarshan The Business Mentorship Platform The spirit of entrepreneurship is inculcated into the BITSian right from his days at BITS. We at BITSAA appreciate and salute those who decided to make their own road and are now running their own enterprises.

In showing support to them, we are organizing a mentorship program for BITSian entrepreneurs, where they will be made to interact with industry experts across various

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be highly skilled, trained & prepared pre-hand about your venture.

213

Schedule

215

BITS Pilani Dubai Campus

BITS Pilani - Dubai Campus Estd. 2000

BPD inauguration on 5 Dec 2007

Dr. Birla inaugrating BPD, 5th Dec 2007

BPD inauguration on 5 Dec 2007

BPD Students at Pilani - for Oasis 2008

Convocation Ceremony Batch of 2007

Library and Atrium

BPD construction site circa 2006-07

Dr. Ramachandran, Former Director, at Getex Exhibition

BPD Main Building in the night.

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Acknowledgements I would like to thank each and every one who has been associated with this souvenir handbook. This mammoth effort would not have been close to completion without the support from several I. BITSians like Dean Nattu for his connections and speedy information,Vivek Hemmady & Mayank Mathur for driving Souvenir efforts, Sarath Kolla & Abhisheak Iyer who were the key players in conceptualizing the idea along with team formation. Arun Arvind & Aalap Tripathy who were the key grip between BITSAA International and BGM Team. Sukanya S V, Sherin Kurian & Jayendran for the timely and much required support. I am super sorry if I happened to forget any namesâ&#x20AC;Śmany helped behind the scenes and I bow to each of them.

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