As my college days come to an end, I’ve been frequently flipping through my memories of four unforgettable years spent in this wonderful campus. When I look back, there are some things that stand out, that left profound and lasting impression on me.
One such thing, possibly the one that influenced me the most, was the association with Deepak sir, and hence a group of faculty members(Ramkumar sir- aka Ramuettan, Raghu sir, Murali sir aka MuSa) who are concerned about things beyond academics and think differently. In a way, my association with these incredible people strengthened my thirst for Life and inspired me to look beyond conventional options after BTech.
I first met Deepak sir in the fourth semester, when I went to get his signature for some permission requests for FOSSMeet 2008- he was the faculty-in-charge. He had just joined NITC that semester. But my most vibrant memories are from my third year, when we, a group of students who were Free Software enthusiasts, got together to form a FOSS Cell.
Deepak sir and Murali sir were our mentors and they did an excellent job of inspiring us and maintaining the enthusiasm. But I realize now, that their influence go far beyond free software, and the close association with especially Deepak sir and the conversations we had have really left a lasting impression on my mind.
Ramkumar sir is a 1989 REC batch alumnus. He’s a person who has seen the REC campus in its zenith of intellectual pursuits and social cohesion, and is one who laments all that has been lost since the institute has been converted into an NIT. To be honest, none of us were very impressed with his classes on Microprocessors and Microcontrollers, but outside the classroom he’s a walking legend. From Gabriel Garcia Marquez to the food at Chechi’s to the student life at NITC, you’ll never fail to be captivated by his words.
One of my most unforgettable memories of college are of the drama performed by the faculty members on the Staff Cultural Day (or something like that- don’t remember what it was called. But there has never been anything like that before or since then). The drama was written and directed jointly by Deepak sir and Raghu sir. It’s a wonderful portrayal of the contrasts between life in NITC/REC now and 20 years ago. It also sarcastically highlights some of the atrocities committed by the NIT administration over the last few years. The play was performed by faculty members and every one of them did incredibly well. I’ll never forget it in my life.
Deepak sir and Ramkumar sir left NITC in July 2009, at the beginning of our seventh semester. And our department again quite noticeably returned to its dull, monotonous, conformist ways. Though they were here for just three semesters, they influenced a lot of us students in many ways- we and our immediate juniors are the lucky ones to have known them.
Anyway, I consider myself unbelievably lucky to have known these people and am proud to say that I’ve been influenced a lot by their thoughts and words.
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