BITS Pilani Independence Day Celebrations: Its Different
BITSians and BITS Alums from Australia to America have always shared the pride of being Indian on Independence Day and always.
Tweet-- The Central Lawns referred by one and all in Pilani as C Lawns lies between the imposing tower of the Institute and the magnificent white marble temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati . For the past several decades, the C Lawns has always been the venue for the Independence Day celebrations and invariably it has been one of the top officers of the Institute who has hoisted the tricolour.
The Independence Day celebrations this year had a different flavor. Sri Mahavir Prasad popularly known as "Babaji" who had joined BITS Pilani as a Chowkidar way back in January 1962 must have seen umpteen I-Day celebrations during his 44 years of dedicated service but probably never dreamt that one day it is he who will hold center stage in the C Lawns. It was indeed a touching moment to watch the Vice Chancellor Prof LK Maheshwari himself along with the Deputy Directors receiving Babaji when he reached the venue. Babaji who is presently attached to the Student Welfare Division happens to be the longest serving employee of the Institute and it is he who got the honor of hoisting the flag this year. After the flag hoisting, a group of BITS students rendered several soul searching patriotic songs. This was followed by a tree plantation drive across the campus.
A team of BITSians from the My India Group took part in the Independence Day celebrations held at Raila village adjacent to the Institute and the village youth were unanimous in their appreciation of the Library put up by this group. My INDIA is a voluntary organization formed by the students of BITS, Pilani a year back with the mission of building a great nation by eradicating the problems that pose a great threat to the development of the country. Since its inception, this group has been focusing on education and rural development in the villages neighboring Pilani. My INDIA has already established chapters at four other places in the country to provide a platform for dedicated countrymen across these places to work towards a developed nation.
Not to be left behind, Alumni chapters of the Institute in various cities also have the tradition of holding the chapter meeting on the Independence Day every year to remind themselves of the nation building task for which they are committed to.
For sure, the famous dialogue "Jo desh ke kaam na aaye woh bekaar jawani hai" (They who come of no use to the country are a waste of youth)... from the movie Rang De Basanti does not apply to BITSians and BITS Alums.
Notes to Editor
Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani is a Leading University in India offering degrees in Engineering, Management, Pharmacy, Sciences, Engineering Technology, Information Systems, General Studies, Finance, etc presently at Pilani, Dubai, Goa campuses and in the near future at Hyderabad campus. BITS Pilani also offers an array of work integrated learning programmes for HRD of a vast spectrum of Indian corporates.