Homecoming

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HOMECOMING 2010
Blending Different Strokes….!

Homecoming 2010 was held on November 20^th and 21^st this year. We witnessed a turnout of around 100 alumni this year. The campus came alive as Alumni started pouring in early, around 10 am on Day 1, to attend the 2 days long event.

Greetings were exchanged amongst alumni and current PGP students at the registration desk and the whole campus was abuzz with excitement. This was the chance to meet old acquaintances and the alumni were lapping it all up. Post registration, alumni explored the new campus and reconnected with classmates and faculty. The display of photographs put up around the canteen area turned out to be the focus of their attention.

Inaugural Ceremony

The event started off post lunch, with the ceremonious lighting of the lamp by three senior alumni – Shri Premnath Kudva (class of 1986, first batch), Shri Sudarshan Maddi (1989), and Prof. Gururaj Kidiyoor (1990) – plus our Director, Dr. Saji Gopinath, Dean-Academics, Dr. Simon George, and Chair-Alumni Affairs Committee, Prof. Mohankumar.  

The welcome address was delivered by Dr. Saji Gopinath, followed by a speech by Dr. Simon George. The senior alumni members also came up to the podium to share their fond memories of ‘life at TAPMI’ and their journey from thereon. Dr. Simon George felicitated the batches from 1987-1989 to 1991-1993. Incidentally, our very own PGP chairman - Prof. Gururaj H Kidiyoor – belonging to the class of 1990, was also one of the alumni who were felicitated.

This was followed by a brief presentation, by Alumni Affairs Committee member - Mohammad Ayyubi, to update alumni about the latest activities at TAPMI such as BrandScan, Atharva, Disha and SEG. 

The Inaugural song- “TAPMI SONG” was then sung by Mr. Anup Robins and group from PGP 1. The picture presentation as well as the lyrics “Seekhi Thi Zindagi..” touched one and all present there. The crowd cheered as the song brought back memories of times spent at TAPMI. This was followed by addresses by Mr. Sudarshan Maddi and Mr. Premnath Kudva, who reminisced their times spent here.

The opening ceremony concluded with a vote of thanks by Prof. Mohankumar.

Well-Cricket

Necessity is the mother of invention and the lack of a cricket ground on campus fuelled the idea of well cricket. Well-Cricket is TAPMI’s own version of “Gully Cricket” where teams of 5 players play cricket in the circular area in the Students Center which the students have affectionately named “The Well”.

Well-cricket was a novel addition to Homecoming this year and it brought amazement to the older alumni who applauded the unique adaptation of the game. This amusement was further heightened by Prof. Gururaj Kidiyoor and Prof. R.C.Natarajan giving live commentary during the game.

The game was played between a faculty team and an alumni team. Prof. Simon George captained the faculty team. The event was filled with some light moments as Prof. Simon George came to the crease to bat. Prof Natarajan showed immense agility in the field by stopping a few boundaries. Adding zeal to the proceedings were Prof. Kidiyoor’s one-liners which kept the audience amused.

The game was won by the alumni team, not discounting a valiant effort by the faculty team.

Framed in Time – Photo Session

A photo shoot was organized for the alumni batches along with faculty to frame these moments in time.

‘Beyond Magic’ - The Nakul Shenoy Show

Mr. Nakul Shenoy is a renowned corporate entertainer who specializes in mind reading and other psychological magical shows. It would not be wrong to say everyone in TAPMI was eagerly awaiting this show.

Nakul Shenoy started the show with a simple act wherein 5 people were called on stage. They were asked to pick a marble from a bag and not show anyone else which marble they had picked. The bag had 4 white marbles and 1 black marble. Nakul studied the faces of the participants and accurately pin pointed the person with the black marble leaving the crowd astounded.

The other act included 2 participants who were told to think of a person and a place respectively. He focused on the first person and accurately mentioned which place he had thought of. He even drew the image of a coliseum (the place being Rome) on a paper as the person was thinking of it. Amazing! Moving to the second person he named the person he was thinking of and even told the audience about the hair style of the person. The audiences were truly enthralled.

He also presented various other tricks which showcased his amazing mind-reading powers. It was certainly an evening which one won’t forget in a hurry!

Cultural Evening

In accordance with the theme of Homecoming-2010: ‘blending different strokes’, the cultural evening showcased a real blend of talent and dedication. Music and Choreography committee performances added a different flavor to the evening. The items were thoroughly enjoyed by alumni, faculty, staff, families and students.

The Literary committee conducted a quiz for alumni about their life at TAPMI, Manipal and alumni achievements in various domains. It was a perfect blend of humor, nostalgia, remembrance of some old facts, etc.

Bon appétit

A special dinner was arranged from Udupi Residency, which was highly appreciated and enjoyed by the alumni, faculty and the students.

Cine Green – Movie Screening

We concluded the day with ‘Cine Green’ – movie screening at 9:30pm. The movie ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ was screened on public demand to keep the nostalgia alive and celebrate the gathering of old pals.

Entrepreneurship Talk Session

The next day began with a talk on entrepreneurship which was organized for the alumni, faculty and students at 10.00 am. The founder owner of ‘Turtle Bay Beach Resort’, Mr. Abraham Chacko, was the main speaker of this event. Prof. Vasudev Rao, Prof. Mohankumar, Prof. (Col) James, and Prof. Jaims K.J. attended the session. Mr. Abraham Chacko gave a brief background about the inception of his idea of ‘beach eco tourism’ and their business model at Turtle Bay. This was a very different experience as the whole idea of ‘beach eco tourism’ is in a nascent stage. Also the talk attracted special attention towards Mr. Abraham Chacko regarding the challenges faced by them in reaching the current state. Turtle Bay also hosts water sports such as Snorkeling and Scuba diving. Students attending the event were witness to some entrepreneurial tips that Mr. Chacko gave during the ensuing Q&A.

In tandem with Nirmala Grama Samithi, formed with the help of an NGO to create social awareness about social and personal hygiene, Turtle Bay follows the basic guidelines for sustainable and responsible tourism. Some of the members representing this committee at Turtle Bay had also been invited to share their experiences about the social awareness activity. Among the team were two visiting students from Germany doing their internship at Turtle Bay, plus some members from the NGO – all of them came forward and shared their lively experiences. The SEG representative had connected up with the visiting Turtle Bay team, with prospects of collaboration coming up.

Memento Distribution

Homecoming concluded with the Memento Distribution which was held after the above post breakfast session. Alumni bid their final goodbye, albeit with a promise to return home the following year to relive the memories of the most wonderful thing in their life – “Life at TAPMI”.