Bhaskar Bhat, Former MD, Titan company; Viji Nathan, former Vice President, Savings and Investments, Wells Fargo Bank; Ravichandran AN, former President & Director, JK Fenner; Mahesh Wagle-Director, Cybernetik Technologies; Dr Srinivas Bette, CEO, Quasitum Inc and GP, Bette Partners; Rajesh Dalal- former MD, Johnson and Johnson Medical India and CEO, Incina Consultants; Mohan Ramanathan, Founder Chairman, ACT group of companies, Chennai, and Alok Mohatta, Founder, Aloke Alloys, spoke about their college days, lessons learnt from the institute and the alumni meet.
They were among alumni and spouses who made the trip to Chennai in January 2023 to relive memories from what some of them term ‘the best phase of my life’. While that may be true for most alumni and most colleges, here’s what this distinguished bunch had to tell us as they recounted their campus days.
From a 535 sq ft house to a 633-acre campus
Recalling his first day in the institution, Bhat recalls, “IIT Madras was a transition period in my life. My father migrated to Bombay and I lived with my family in a 535 sq ft house. My house would be full of guests with relatives visiting Bombay staying with us. At IIT Madras, I had a room to myself, that was one of the memories that’s etched in my heart. I vividly remember the first day at the institute; how I, along with a lot of other students, boarded a train from Mumbai to Madras. We took an auto to the campus. After the ingate we thought the next building would be the administration building, but it went on and on. I was amazed by the 633-acres campus.”
Speaking on the lessons IIT Madras taught him besides academics, Bhat says, “We had a certain pride of being a Bombayite. We had a notion that we were the smartest in the world. Bombay being the commercial capital added to it. I grew up in a Tamil locality and also being a South Indian, I know about the culture and would appreciate it. Few of the Bombayite classmates of mine had less appreciation for people other than those from Bombay. Then you are thrown into a place with people from all over the world. It’s more humbling to realise the diversity that’s thrown at you and then learn to be patient, tolerant. It has certainly stayed with me all my life. I can speak many languages, thanks to IIT, Madras. My Hindi became ‘Shudhdher’ after speaking to my classmates.”
For Viji Nathan, who is also an actor based in the USA, with the ‘get-up-and-go’ that gets instilled in students at IIT Madras, they know that they can solve any problem professional life throws at them.
There is another dimension to engineering colleges – the ratio of male students to females is usually lopsided. This has its positives, we learn. “We were five girls and 240 boys, so walking into any room which has only men was never an issue,” adds Nathan. Treating people as people and be treated likewise is a trait one imbibes on campus and one that stays for life, she notes.
Humbling experience, harmonious vibes
For Rajesh Dalal, the ability of appreciating others’ strength is a learning he picked up from campus.
“In our schooling days before IIT Madras, we were presuming that we were the smartest in our class and used to walk with pride. When we got into the IIT we realised that there were smarter people than us and that was quite a humbling experience for me. Within the institute, although there were brilliant people, we felt that everyone was equal and that was the kind of vibe everyone was spreading. The friendships nurtured during the academic years have continued, despite all these years,” he adds.
“The 1976 batch was an eclectic mix of students from all over India and also from countries abroad such as Malaysia, Iran and Sri Lanka. The interactions within such a geographically and culturally diverse group paid rich dividends in broadening the minds, sharpening the intellect and honing the sporting skills of our batchmates who have made their mark nationally and internationally in their respective fields,” opines Allok Mehta.
He adds that the batch has another illustrious feather on its cap. IIT Madras won the inter-IIT sports meet every year from 1971 to 1976.
One foundation, myriad paths
A reunion is a good time to celebrate the shared past of individuals hailing from distinctly different backgrounds. Their future paths too may have gone different ways but the common thread remains to be cherished forever.
“Life at IIT Madras was a different experience altogether for I hail from a rural background in Maharashtra. From there moving to Chennai, from language to culture to friends, everything was new to me. Broadly the next five years, was one of the best phases of my life. The bonds created at the institute remain the same and it’s a kind of friendship that demands nothing and you are happy being with them. What IIT Madras taught me is the nuances of engineering in a very short time, which has helped me with my career even today,” says Mahesh Wagle.
What about life after IIT? Ravichandran credits his father for doing all the homework to get him into the hallowed institution. After which, a management degree from IIM Ahmedabad took his career forward.
“The framework that IIT Madras gave during the training was in no small measure responsible for my reaching leadership positions from an early age,” adds the alumnus, who worked for six years after retirement to obtain his Ph.D from AMU, Aligarh.
“I am deeply contented and feel truly blessed for the opportunity to put together the reunion programme along with my colleagues. We truly interacted during the four days as ‘many bodies but one soul’,” he says.
Mohan Ramanathan is the only person from the batch who was based in Chennai and continues to be.
“Since my school days in the 1960s I have been hearing about IIT Madras in my house and was groomed since then, but never imagined that I will get into the campus. I chose Civil Engineering which was the least preferred course in the institute, which was my grandfather’s choice. Even today, I continue to be a civil engineer,” he reminisces.
Sharing one of his fondest memories, Ramanathan refers to an incident from the fourth year: “I was a class rep and that’s when I came to know my batchmates personally. The class reps were responsible for any developments like exam postponement etc. I could interact with my entire batchmates because of that. What IIT Madras taught me was to put my foot on the ground. All of us have achieved something in our lives, when we meet we don’t discriminate on status be it professionally or economically . Our common denominator was the hostel days, nobody judges you on anything and the bunch of friends we have is a treasure for life.”
Dr Srinivas Bette notes that coming out of the social support system and into campus is a leap in itself.
“And the independence IIT Madras brought to my life, that was superb. As Bhat mentioned, coming from a one bedroom house to having a room of your own and meeting a new set of people from diverse backgrounds is a different experience and is overwhelming. For the first two years at the institute you are trying to find your way and trying to fit in. But, I don’t know whether I can say any other five years of life has shaped me more than IIT Madras. I always think what would have happened to me if I would not have gone to IIT,” he reflects.
Giving back, the 1976 way
Ravichandran notes that the 1976 batch accounts for nine Distinguished Alumnus awardees (DAA) out of 240 students. In all, there are over 56,000 alumni worldwide and of them 214 have been recognised with the DAA honour.
What is more noteworthy is the spirit with which the batch has given back to the institute, which has given them the foundation to succeed. It has so far contributed over Rs. 7 cr (and counting) towards various Institute enhancing projects such as the Himalaya Mess, setting up of Academic Chairs, supporting students through merit-cum-means scholarships, supporting women students, setting up a state-of-the-art laboratory and now for a hospital upgradation project.
“This year we did something very unique. The highest form of giving back is to draw from our intellectual potential. So we started a visionary initiative a year ago,” reveals Ravichandran.
Three alumni worked on three innovative ideas and finalised the contours of the projects to be completed in collaboration with IIT Madras.
“If this initiative is taken forward across alumni, it has the potential to catapult industry-academia win-win collaboration to a new high,” he notes.
Who else but an institution like IIT Madras and its alumni to raise the bar on that front? You can take the batch of 1976 away from the institution, but you cannot take the institution out of them.
