Ludhiana: Agri college alumni reminisce good ol’ days
Alumni of Punjab Agricultural University reunited for the 60th meet, reminiscing about their college days and noting positive cultural changes over the years.
The alumni of College of Agriculture at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) returned to their alma mater on Thursday for the 60th alumni meet.
Overjoyed, the alumni reminisced on their student days as they reunited with old friends after decades. “It feels so good to be back with my buddies from college after so long. It is just a sojourn back in time,” said Sarjit Singh Gill, who graduated from the college in 1966.
Besides poetry, banter and lengthy conversations between old classmates, Gill said a pleasant change in the culture at the varsity in all these years was the representation of women.
“When we joined, it was pretty much an all-boys club. It was only after the college of home sciences was established that girls started appearing on the campus. And today, we see them dominating the university with more strength than boys. They are also better represented among the merit holders,” said Gill.
“Cultural events such as singing and dancing talk about the opening up of varsity’s culture, compared to our days here,” he added.
Gill retired as director of extension education at PAU in 2006. He had brief stints at Punjab Dairy Development Corporation, a precursor to Milkfed, and Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya in Himachal Pradesh.
Around 10 to 12 alumni from his batch, among the earliest in the varsity that was established in 1962, attended the meet.
Alumni from the golden jubilee batch (1975) reached the meet in big numbers. Around 90 of the 150 graduates from the year were present.
Dr Allah Rang, a 1975 graduate, termed the meet as the ‘best time of his life’.
“We all gathered and relived our college days by sharing old memories. It feels so great to meet our friends after so long. It feels like we are back in those days,” said Rang.
Rang joined the university as an assistant professor after completing his education and retired as head of plant breeding in 2013.