Visiting Shantiniketan, Mecca Medina,Mathura Vrindavan,Harvard, Triputi in One Go–Prof P K Sharma

                     Nostalgic-What A Day It Was !

What a lovely day sixteen of July sprang up on the scene blossoming and brimming up with pleasant, smiling and showery waves ! A visit to one’s ALMA MATER in fond company of many more naturally fills the heart with leaping a pleasure when that too a learner after delving deep later on scatters his fragrance of erudition in the soil, surroundings and atmosphere as a teacher as well as a guide ultimately turning those moments really too much memorable and proud ones.

The time thus showered its beautiful and elating vibes when Dr. Tejwant Singh Gill translated his wish into actuality to visit his Alma Mater after a long spell of more than 50 years gifting his lifelong a blissful treasure of literary creations to his temple of learning for future generations of readers and learners to bloom further the nobler, finer, creative thoughts and values.

In this fascinating outing of Dr. Gill, an alumnus select group of friends-Prof. PD Gupta, Dr. Sunil Chopra, Mr. Brij Bhushan Goyal and Prof PK Sharma had the privilege of enjoying the sweet and thrilling company of their sun shine persona pacing the premises quite gently and delightfully everywhere be it- the Lush Green Lawns, Class Rooms, Hockey Ground, Library and Canteen.

The outing then turned out to be a literary, intellectual, academic and interactive a pilgrimage in the office of Principal, Dr Satish Chander Dhawan Government College Ludhiana where the humble, fine, liberal and cheerful gestures of seasoned a hand at the steering Dr. Gursharanjit Singh Sandhu added extra flavor and charm to it.  His generous inputs, positive suggestions made the deliberations quite lively and meaningful.  Dr. Gill was very gracefully and affectionately welcomed by Dr. Sandhu who is also alumnus of this very premier an institution.

Momentarily,  the august Principal’s office of this guiding star center of the globe appeared to be just the Mecca, Madina, Mathura, Vrindavan, Shantiniketan, Harvard, Triputi  and Bodh Gaya in the twinkling of an eye,  where I then found too many Apollos, Athenas, Hermes and Coeuses  floating before my eyes. There it looked like as if a chancy book festival in form of books by Dr. Gill had offered rich creative a feast of great minds of the past, had taken all by surprise. The popular titles are” Eternal Time,  Hours And Moments,” “The Gazer Under Gaze,” ” Guru Nanak Dev A Reader,”  “Surjit Patar Jiwan Te Rachna,” “Walter Benjamin” and “Samvad De Pal”.

Dr. Gill’s offering his books for college library to Principal Sandhu, occasion was marked by the gracious presence of Prof. Dr. Amita Thaman, the Head of English Department of the college especially .Dr. Gill was impressed to see that the Alumni Authored Books numbering about 260 books with Alumni Section in the Library did abound the shelves where his books will also be available .

A big volume of MA English notes prepared by late Prof NK Kalia sent by his better half Prof Kamlesh Kalia were handed over by Mr Goyal to Dr. Amita Thaman  who found these  to be very useful for  students and teachers alike. Prof. Kamlesh Chopra of D D Jain Memorial College in Ludhiana was also present specially to celebrate the occasion .

Then this meet offered Alumni group in abundance an opportunity to share and exchange thoughts with learned Dr. Sandhu on the ways and means to strive for adding more and more in the name and fame of this 105-year-old grand and glorious an institution with the only and only motive of effecting a handful of qualitative changes and improvements in the standards of Higher Education of Punjab then in the long run making it a force to reckon within nation and then in all the four directions-north, east, west and south of the globe.

Furthermore, visiting the English Department too was really a treat to watch, like and love session. There we had the delight of posing for a snap in the sublime thoughtful company of celebrated literary giants galore Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Lord Byron, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Keats, Shelley, Yeats so on and so forth in the backdrop and then for a brief span of entering into timely dialogue with young faculty members.

Then just to refresh and share some golden memories and gossips of the by gone Twentieth Century Times, we spent some more time in the Canteen too gulping Sprite cold drink, enjoying biscuits, samosas and steaming tea together gleefully.

All in all  an occasion of loving, wonderful but warm reunion of alumni, an unforgettable get together with the noble and pretty designs of meeting again and again, off and on to exchange ideas and share feelings too !

Contributed by:  Prof PK Sharma

–Freelance Journalist The Founder SHARP EYE YouTube Channel 

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Prof. P K Sharma has been an alumnus of Satish Chander Dhawan Government College, Ludhiana (India) in mid 1970s .