Childlike laughter filled the hall at India Habitat Centre as alumni of Hindu College reconnected at the Old Students’ Association (OSA) Annual Alumni Awards. “Isn’t this your hostel roommate?” and “Look, I brought your batchmate with me!” rang through Silver Oak as old friends, classmates and roommates introduced one another, rekindling bonds and revisiting memories after years apart.‘Wherever we meet, a warm conversation begins’Sharing the pride of being a Hinduite, Dr Kavita Sharma, former principal and alumna, batch of 1969, noted, “In honouring all of you, we honour ourselves, because we are all very proud of the college… It is said that we can come out of Hindu College, but you can’t take Hindu College out of us.” She also spoke about the famous Hindu-St Stephen’s rivalry, which was prominent on the sports field and in debate competitions, and said, “It was blasphemy to not attend the cricket match when the two colleges faced each other. Once a teacher asked me why I was in class and asked me to go to the cricket field!”
(L-R) Dr Kavita Sharma, former principal and alumna (batch of 1969), Sunita Trivedi, retired government official (batch of 1977) and Deepak Kumar, IAS officer (batch of 1987)
Talking about the Alumni Awards, which are hosted by the Hindu College OSA every year to honour the achievements of alumni in their respective fields, Ajay Verma, senior advocate, batch of 1982, shared, “These functions are a recognition of not only the awardees, but also the institution, the stakeholders, and particularly teachers. It’s a celebration for all of us. Personally, Hindu is in my blood. I’ve been associated with the college since day one since my father was teaching there and then became principal.”
Ajay Verma (L), senior advocate, batch of 1982; Ravi Burman (R ), President of the OSA, batch of 1975
‘A very unique occasion’Ravi Burman, President of the OSA, batch of 1975, said, “It is a very unique occasion because we have with us Dr Kavita Sharma, who was instrumental in starting these awards in the centenary year of the college in 1999. And it has been continuing since then. It has become a major event of ours that we look forward to every year.”‘Every meet brings a flood of memories’Yashovardhan Azad, from the batch of 1973 and former Secretary (Security), Government of India, also shared a message for current students, and said, “I would tell the students that you must be known for your professionalism. You should be known for an area, for some hunar… So I tell them, whichever work you are doing, be the best.” For Azad, the alumni meet was also an opportunity to revisit the memories that made college life special. “It’s a beautiful feeling to come for any alumni event. Every alumni meet brings to your mind a flood of memories – how you used to cut classes, how you would go for those cricket matches, or debates. This is a fascinating place for recounting those old incidents,” he shared.
Yashovardhan Azad (L), former Secretary (Security), Government of India (batch of 1973); Muktesh Pardeshi (R ), former Ambassador of India to the Republic of Turkiye (batch of 1987)
‘No award beats recognition from friends’Deepak Kumar, IAS officer, batch of 1987, who received the award for excellence in public service, addressed the gathering on behalf of the awardees. “Apno ke beech sammanit hone ka alag maza hai. Apne doston se, jo one of the biggest critics hote hain, unse milne wala samman – isse bada award koi nahi ho sakta,” he said. He shared that after joining the hostel, his grades significantly declined. “What is also great about the Hindu hostel is that kuchh saal aap dekhte hain ki kaunse seniors exams qualify karte ja rahe hain, and your confidence builds that agar aise nalayak ka ho gaya, toh aapka bhi clear ho jayega,” he added, drawing laughter.
