Back to School after 50 Years

My school started as a 'pathsahala' पाठशाला in 1901 in the dusty village of Pilani. It was the ancestral home of the Birlas- the mighty business empire of India. What started as a small primary school, has grown into a globally renowned university BITS Pilani having campuses in Pilani, Hyderabad, Goa, Mumbai and Dubai. Pilani continues to be an education hub with number of schools and colleges.

When Ghumakkad went to school in Pilani in 1960s, it was called BMPHSS- Birla Multi Purpose Higher Secondary School. The school is now called Birla School Pilani (BSP). We celebrated the Golden Jubilee Reunion of school graduation few years ago (1968-2018). This story brings to you my school which is immaculately maintained even though the building is more than 100 years old! The school will be celebrating its 125th Anniversary in 2026.

The clock tower reads 'Birla College' because it housed a college since 1920. In late 1940s, the college shifted to Vidya Vihar campus which houses BITS Pilani and Birla Balika Vidyapeeth. Our school has since been in this building. Feel the Rajasthani/Shekhawati architecture in the pictures below.

To optimise the resources, our Golden Jubilee Reunion was conjoined with the Silver Jubilee Reunion of the batch 25 years junior to us. They had more energy and josh for the Reunion Dinner as visible in the picture below. They had even hired a belly dancer from Kazakhstan for the dinner organised on city outskirts. For obvious reasons, that picture is not included in this story.

Harsh as an NCC Cadet

Also sharing below  pictures of our school Naval Wing NCC taken in 1965. Our school troop was adjudged the best in Rajasthan. Who knew that Cadet Harsh Bhargava would join the Navy several years later and rise to be a Commodore!

School Graduation

Ghumakkad graduated from BSP in 1968. I would have graduated in 1967 had it not been for the draconian 'minimum age' rule to appear in the Board exams. Mercifully, this rule has been done away with. Sharing below a picture of the School Honours Board with my name on it. Felt humbled seeing it after 50 years! 

Old Teachers

Most of the teachers who taught us are no more. However, I do have an ink sketch  made by my drawing teacher Shri Bhoor Singh Shekhawat. He used to paint one sketch a day during the tiffin recess of 20 minutes. We used to run and grab the wooden stool to get the sketch made in next 15 minutes or so. He gifted the sketch to the student instantly. Such was his genius and humility. Later, he went on to do many murals and large paintings for the corporate offices of the Birlas and others. Sharing below the sketch made by my art teacher 62 years ago!

It was a privilege to meet our Hindi teacher Shri Nagraj ji who was in his late 80s. Sharing a picture taken with him. Please excuse the camera shake due to low lighting.

Present Day Students

We did interact with the present day students at BSP. 

The readers may browse our earlier story 118 and Counting which showcased the 118th Annual Day celebrations of my school. Re-sharing below few pictures from that story.

While travelling from BITS campus to Birla School, you can't miss the towering statue of Lord Shiva.

Reaching Pilani

Travelling to Pilani by road is comfortable. NH-11 connects Jaipur to Sikar. Thereon, a state highway connects Pilani to Sikar via Jhunjhunu.  The drivers of trucks in that sector have made a Hanuman temple on the highway. We also bought some rocks of the rock salt on the way. Sharing few pictures of the road journey.

A visit to Pilani is incomplete without the yummy Pilani Pedas. A picture for you.

Going back to school is such fun. Isn't it? Do share the memories of going back to your school.

We end with a quote on education by Nelson Mandela who said that "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world".

Thanks for browsing.

   -Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ Secunderabad/ 7th May 2024

#schoolmemories #childinyou #birlaschoolpilani #Pilani #birlaeducationtrust #BITSPilani #pathshala #education #learning #oldteachers  #oldstudents #alumnireunion #125yearoldschool #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

Winners KBG-9 Shiva Statue in Pilani

Identifying Lord Shiva's statue evoked enthusiastic response.
We received a range of responses pinning the statue to be in Nepal, Haridwar, Vadodara and Gurugram Highway.
However, the answer to KBG-9 is Pilani. Yes, the statue is located in Pilani but not in BITS campus as many readers pointed out. It is built in a pond talab तालाब opposite the Devi Mata Mandir in Pilani. 

The clue for identification was the chatris or canopies in the picture. An identical statue built by the same sculptor exists on Delhi-Gurugram raod sans the chatris. Many readers from Delhi region mistook it to be so.

Fact file:
Location of the Statue: Pilani
Height: 80 feet from pedestal
Pedestal height: 20 feet
Year built: 2011 or so
Sculptor: Matu Ram Chejara
Twin Statue: On Delhi-Gurugram road by the same sculptor.

Winners:
We congratulate the first three winners of KBG-9:

1. Dr Umesh Dhyani, Former Prof BITS Pilani and author
2. Ms Ruchi Bhargava a BITSian and teacher
3. Dr Jyoti Iyer Mathur, a BITSian and Professor Georgia Tech USA

We would also like to mention Prashant Jade and BC Jayaprakash who gave one of the earliest answers as 'BITS Pilani'.

More than 200 readers participated in KBG-9. We thank each one of them. Many of them said that KBG is becoming addictive! We are humbled.

Although Ghumakkad has plenty of pictures for future KBG contests, but your ideas are most welcome. Do mail us.

Thanks for becoming a Ghumakkad!

-   Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 10th March 2019/ hbindia@gmail.com

#kbg #kaunbanegaghumakkad #shiva #statues #travelindia #natgeoindia #planetmindia #photowalks #wandertrails #contests #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #shivastatuePilani

Alumni Make The Brand

It is the alumni who make a college great. Any second thoughts?
Ghumakkad was invited to address the 1st Alumni Reunion of BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus (BPHC). The first batch of 2008-09 passed out in 2012-13. Having attended the Bhumi Pujan भूमि पूजन - the ground breaking ceremony- of the new campus in 2004, BPHC has that special bond with many of us- Pilani alumni in Hyderabad.

BPHC is located north of Hyderabad in a sprawling 220 acres campus. Set amidst rocks and boulders in an undulating terrain, the campus was teeming with life on 12th Jan 2019. Here is a short video clip of the panorama.

You may browse an earlier picture story about BPHC 'The Campus That Rocks'.

The students had organised a day long Reunion. I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with them. The students as well as young alumni had many questions for us- the older alumni. Sample:

• How much does CGPA matter in life?
• What is the relevance of our specialisation to jobs?
• How do club activities and other events help a student?
• How can BITS also have live research projects from Defence like the IITs?
• Should we do the PS-II or the Dissertation? And many more such questions.

The Reunion rounded off with Tambola, live music and bonfire.
Glimpses of latter half of the Reunion.

BPHC had organised many events in the past including a 10K Run in 2014 on the Necklace Road. You may browse the story 'Thrill of a 10K Run'.

You may also browse another story titled 'Convocation Excitement' about BPHC convocation.

We end with a famous quotation by John F Kennedy who had said that "I think the success of any school can be measured by the contribution the alumni make to our national life." 

Thanks for browsing.

  Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/12th Jan 2019

#BITSPilani #alumnipower #campuslife #BPHC #alumnireunion #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb #nationalpride

118 and Counting

118 years, not my age!
That is my school which completed 118 years recently.
How many of us are lucky to have attended a school which is that old? 

Ghumakkad felt really blessed while in Pilani recently to attend the 118th Annual Day celebrations of his school. It was delighted to be mobbed by the students of the school and see them perform on stage. 


My school started as a 'pathsahala' पाठशाला in 1901 in the dusty village of Pilani. It was the ancestral home of Birlas- the mighty business empire of India. What started as a small primary school, has grown into a globally renowned university BITS Pilani. Pilani continues to be an education hub with number of schools and colleges.
When Ghumakkad went to school in Pilani in 1960s, it was called BMPHSS- Birla Multi Purpose Higher Secondary School. It was then under the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education. Later the school got affiliated to the CBSE- Central Board of Secondary Education New Delhi. The school is now called Birla School Pilani. We also celebrated our Golden Jubilee of school graduation this year (1968-2018). That story would appear separately. How does my school look like?

Talking of old schools in India, probably the credit for oldest school goes to St Thomas' Boys School in Kolkata which was set up in 1729. Readers may browse the story by Shilpa Dutta for details.

Here are some glimpses of 118th Annual Day. One innovation which I observed was the use of an E-lamp instead of the traditional oil lamp before starting any event. 

Team work was amply visible when students lifted a huge signage made of a steel frame and re-positioned it on the stage. 

The above picture shows a large LED panel  used for stage backdrop. At the flick of a switch or software command, the whole scene on the stage changes! Corporate world has been using this technology for many years like in sports stadia. But even the schools have adopted it seamlessly!

It was a pleasure meeting Maj Gen SS Nair  who heads the Birla Education Trust in Pilani.

Many of the readers who are teaching in school, would have identified with Annual Day of their school. It takes lot of planning, preparation and execution. You may browse an earlier story on the Annual Day of Ansh my grandson in Chennai. That school too had used huge LED panels as stage backdrop. Times have changed when we used to move physical props for every act or performance on the stage!

Thanks for browsing. 

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 13th December 2018
#schoolannualday #birlaschoolpilani #pilani #118thAnnualday #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh