Tuesday, March 23, 2010

My nostalgic trip to GCT

Heading back to GCT I was kind of thinking how the place would be... Quite anxious to see the place that I had left behind 9 yrs ago.

Reaching Coimbatore was a bit tiring for me. I had planned the visit too short of notice and could get only Mangalore Express ticket... Starting to wonder why they call it an express... It stopped at all places on the way and chennai to coimbatore took just 12:30 hrs! The waiting room at the coimbatore junction was still the same. What to say.. I even recognized the man who collected 2 rs for resting in the waiting room :)

Took an auto and went straight to GCT. Got down near the auditorium. New posters ....one model of a ship.. all reminiscent of the Graduation Day ceremony for 2009 passouts. One look around and the old hostels looked even older. Went to the COE office, gave the application. The erstwhile SBI extension counter is no more the same. Its a full fledged branch looking all sophisticated with netbanking enabled kiosks, atm center and a well managed banking system... Now how different was paying mess bills all those years back :)

Roamed a little and tried to meet our old professors and lecturers.... Not many still at GCT... Of all those whom I met, half of them said they didnt remember me :) But half of them said werent you wearing spectacles then! They remembered me... Yipee !

Shanthi mam was saying I still look the same except for the little cheeks that are prominent now. Some said I don't look like a mother of an almost 5 yr old :) Now.. werent they being sweet. Everyone were like sit .. you are no more a student.. ofcourse I have been out for 9 yrs complete. What more our dear Chemistry sir of first year .. he recognised me promptly.. of course he didnt forget the spectacles too... They all said they were happy to see me come back and meet them.. and wished me luck :)

Our geology Natarajan sir is the MBA MCA admission cell secretary now. He called Rajagopalan sir and made me talk to him. Though he didnt remember our set when I gave him the set students names, he said that the names sound familiar though he couldnt place the year :) I met our Survey lab attenders and even our Strength of Materials lab store keeper... Of all the people I ever met in college today, she was the only one who remembered by name and face and I didnt need to give any introduction to her. They all said they were proud of us... though noted most of us are not in India now.

Am proud of all of them too ..... They look still the same... They teach still the same. :) Valuation time... so couldnt meet another group of professors.

Seeing the girls and guys teasing each other.. the boyish talk :) wondering we did all that too all those years back :) but today it all looked funny to me. Perceptions have changed.. for the better? Who knows. Exposure does a lot of refining.

Young girls and guys coming out from classes.. workshop uniforms. ..But there was not that much of life in the college.... I felt it looked full of energy and color when we were there... It looked very mechanical to me. All buildings looked old.. wonder if they renovated at all.. A little changes in the infrastructure here and there.. But it was well maintained and preserved when we were studying.... Only big difference.. There's an alumni building, department of civil engineering block with seminar hall opposite Computer Science building just outside the workshops and labs.

and the new Alumni building thats being constructed.

Went around the walls behind the pelton wheel in front of the Gandhiji's picture frame... All our set college medalists' names are all included. Moved around the hostel roads... palaru illam's visitors hall now had the board as Internet Center! but locked.

Dispensary and the hostel office.. still the same....

As I walked out of the college.. I was amazed at the number of Xerox shops that have sprung up. Every where I turned there were so many of them! Our old telephone shop which sold the greeting cards and had the public telephone booth.. the catalog is different now. They sell all mobile sim cards, recharge cards... the next shop sells traveler's bags. Every one in the college seemed to sport a mobile phone. no wonder there is no need for a telephone booth... and not many cycles on the hostel road too.. Saw many scooters plying inside the college.... no wonder there is a two wheeler service center just outside.

My biggest disappointment....... Home Bakers were no longer at home :( The nice shop we loved to visit.. is now taken over KR Bakers. It looks a big chain and every road in Coimbatore seems to have the KR Bakers outlet. And the only decent hotel in the area was opposite Avila convent near the Venkitapuram bus stop. From the times we saw college students filling the roads, today.. it was full of school students.. So many schools around GCT! the effect of it was seen no where else than Baba stores the most.

Remember the shop where we used to go for stationary.. HB, 2B all silly pencil stuff... It sports all kiddoo stuff, like what I buy for my son's school assignments every week or month. stickers of leaders, plants, exam pads and etc etc.... Wow.. Life has changed so much here.

Took some photos. Will share after some time.

I came back to the railway station. Still 3 hrs to go... Killing the time.. writing my blog...

Phew! what a day it has been...

Some mixed feelings. Missing friends with whom I roamed around. but life has changed. So much that the distance we easily walked from college to the bus stop seemed ages long to me.. May be the heat.. May be I have got too used to driving than walking now.. May be I have become too used to comfort now...

Life has definitely changed :)