SANTINIKETAN: The Visva-Bharati University alumni from 2013 to 2017 batches relived their old college days at the convocation ceremony of the central University.
More than 10,000 alumni had reached Santiniketan to receive their degrees. “Santiniketan has changed so much. There were not so many people or two-wheelers or any e-rickshaws during our times. But not everything is negative. There are more streetlights and policemen in the campus which definitely makes women feel much safer unlike our times,” said 2013 batch social work graduate Pema Tamang from Kalimpong who now works with an NGO in Rajasthan.
The alumni of different batches and departments had formed their WhatsApp groups just for the convocation. “The WhatsApp group has come handy for staying in touch with people who were coming down. The chats have also persuaded many to take a break from their work so that they get to see each other and make this event a reunion of sorts,” said 2016 batch graduate Ashwini Banerjee.
“We stayed for a few days, relived our old memories by visiting the neighbouring villages of the town such as Lohagarh, Surul and Moldanga where we went for field work as social work students,” said 2014 batch graduate Nilanjan Bhowmik.
While the ‘reunion’ has brought smiles on the faces of the alumni, it has also given some cheers to the local businesses due to the large influx of the students and their parents.Unavailability of hotels has also led to people avail home-stays. “The concept of home-stays is pretty new but is slowly flourishing as people want that authentic feeling of Santiniketan,” said a home-stay owner.