AU alumni enjoy trip to Sangam; recall good old days

Allahabad University (AU) alumni of pre-1996 batches who have come to Prayagraj after years to attend the two-day alumni meet, enjoyed an excursion at the Sangam on Sunday morning.

They also enjoyed boating on the waters of the holy confluence on the occasion. Many also took a dip in the holy waters and offered prayers at the Bade Hanuman temple.

This was followed by a heritage walk in the science faculty campus of the central varsity where they saw the renovated historical Vijayanagram Hall.

They also visited the law and the arts faculty campuses, reliving the days they spent here as students. They also enjoyed themselves at the craft and food festival organised for them at the Nirala Kala Gaon of the varsity.

An alumna of AU Vandana Singh shared that she took admission in AU in 1982 and did her BA, MA and LLB from here. “I used to frequent Sangam during my student days. Visiting Sangam after years was special for me,” said Vandana.

Likewise, Satish Kumar Bansal, an alumnus who passed his MSc from AU in 1974, said that the boat ride at Sangam and the dip in the holy waters brought back decades old memories for him.

The concluding day also witnessed an ‘Open Mike’ session at Ishwar Topa Complex where the alumni narrated decades old stories while chirping like children. To the people present in the hall, it seemed as if an incident 50-60 years old was happening right before their eyes.

Dubbing himself ‘the oldest piece’ of AU, Mohd Hashim Qureshi, a resident of Sultanpur who retired as a professor from Jawaharlal Nehru University in March 2008, said that he took admission in BA at AU in 1957, just 10 years after independence. He left AU after completing MA in 1961. He said that when Intermediate results came in 1957, he had 11th rank in UP. At that time almost all the toppers of UP had taken admission in AU, he said.

Retired IAS officer Pramod Kumar Agarwal who did his UG and PG from AU between 1968-73, shared old stories from AN Jha Hostel and recalled how meritorious students from all over headed to AU known for producing bureaucrats and intellectuals.

Later the meet concluded with the poetic symposium that saw well-known poet Kumar Vishwas wooing the participants and guests with his poetry presentation at Banyan Lawn. During the event, noted poets like Sandeep Bhola, Kavita Tiwari, Rajeev Raj and Priyanshu Gajendra also presented their poems.