From bits@a.cs.uiuc.edu Thu Apr 11 02:24:12 1996
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 1996 02:24:12 -0500
From: ramesh@server.indo.net.id (P Ramesh in Jakarta)
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: Greetings from an Old Pilanian

Dear BITSians,

I (66E05029, Mechanical) just became a member of BITSnet and happened to read Rajeev Menon's "BITS Memories" column among other things. It was SIMBLY superb! I tried sending him email to rajeev@hpsrrkm.sr.hp.com but it bounced back with "host unknown". Can someone help me trace him please?

Reading Menon's story and other discussions on the condition of the road to Pilani brought back many warm memories.

I left Pilani in 1974 (yes nineteen seventy-four!) and never went back until July 1995 when I had to go back to help admit my daughter in BITS. I realised a long-standing "ambition", going into MB, past the visitor's hut, legally of course! In my days, there was only one block but now there are six, though not enough to hold the great number of girls coming to Pilani. Three freshers are made to share one room but the rooms are large and well equipped, compared to what we guys had.

In July 95, I travelled to Pilani from Delhi by road and it was quite bad, thanks to recent rains. The worst stretch, of course, was from Loharu to Pilani. You need a HumVee at the minimum to traverse this stretch. Next time I went (in March 95), I tried the reliable Bikaner Mail. The terminus has now moved from Old Delhi to Sarai Rohilla. You buy a 2nd class ticket at the station and upgrade to 1st on the train. They still have the Pantry Car, but the stuff is inedible. You still get hot pooris and aloo subji at the stations, but made in diesel oil! This is the best mode of travel to Pilani. Leave Delhi at 8.30 am, reach Loharu by 12.15 and reach Pilani by the next bus. On the return trip, leave Loharu by 3.30 pm and reach Delhi by 7pm.

Pilani has changed quite a bit, but in many respects remains unchanged also. Good old Jugal is still there in the Cafe (it is called IC now) dispensing watery chai. After some drill-down, he remembered me and I was also happy to hear that his son is now a BITS student. Old Nair's presence was also smelt from the bondas. Nahar's redi is still doing good business by the side of the workshop and we have benches now!

Frankly, Connaught reminded me of the battle-scarred streets of Bosnia seen on CNN. Some old legends are gone. I missed Madanji's (his pedas and sambar-samosas were famous in our days), Kapoorji's and Volga. the Volga board is there but he doors are locked. Another famous landmark, the Jain Book Shop was also missing. The place is generally very dirty and unhygenic. The best place was the milk-shake joint.

I saw a reference to "Pilani from the skies" in BITSnet. Those of you who were gliding freaks will understand how it feels to go up in one, especially solo, and do the last flight of the day when the sun is just setting. You will also be interested to know that the Club now has a "Hall of Fame" kind of board with names of members who qualified for the Glider Pilot's License. The Club has acquired two more modern gliders recently. Mr C R Sharma is still there as well as Babulalji and Phula the jeep driver who taught many a member how to drive. Sadly, BITSian membership is small. This is probably due to the high costs. I used to pay two rupees per flight and this time had to pay Rs 50 for a joy ride.

I read the passionate debate on academic standards of BITS. I didn't like the bit about BITS not being/considered one of the top 20 Indian engineering schools. At NIIT Limited, where I work, we rate BITS on par with IITs for recruitment and have a good number of BITSians and they are doing a great job. I think the opportunity to become self-reliant (in studies and other activities) and meeting, living with and understanding the many different kinds of Indians who come to Pilani are unique to Pilani and go a very long way in preparing you to face the real world.

Can someone tell me if BITS BEAT (I was an editor once) is still there? It had a competitor, the "Sandy Times" for some time. I am told there was something called the "Camel Post". There was as "Rachna", a Hindi sheet. It is great to be in touch with you guys and girls. Do let me know in what ways I can join you to help keep the flag of BITS flying high.

Regards,

Ramesh

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
P Ramesh, Country Manager, PT NIIT Indonesia
12F Menara Cakrawala, Jl MH Thamrin #9, Jakarta 10340, Indonesia
Tel: 62 21 3150169, 3150759, 3148165 Email: ramesh@server.indo.net.id
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

1