Former students and their family members pose for a group photo at the alumni meet in Dhanbad on Sunday. Picture by Gautam Dey

The annual alumni meet of Indian School of Mines (ISM), Dhanbad, was quite an emotional experience, with a trip down memory lane.

Basant 2K14, hosted at Upper Ground of ISM on Sunday, was replete with fun, food and some social activity, but most importantly nostalgia.

About 200 former students and their families came from different parts of the country to relive the good ol’ days. The former pupils played tennis and badminton, flew kites and enjoyed a meal together.

But, it was the 52 former students of 1964 batch who hogged the limelight. They were the mining cradle’s special invitees because 2014 happens to be this batch’s Golden Jubilee year.

The day began at 9.30am with a plantation ceremony at Sapphire Hostel. The 52 special invitees planted as many saplings. ISM director D.C. Panigrahi and a host of present students applauded them.

Within half-an-hour, the centre of activity shifted to the newly established sports activity centre and Diamond Hostel where the former students played an array of indoor and outdoor games. While tennis and housie were played at the sports centre, a few alumni sweated it out at the Diamond Hostel during a badminton tie.

The former students then flew kites and shared some gossips with their friends.

The guests later visited the Lower Ground of ISM where as many as 17 stalls were put by different departments and a few NGOs, which are run by ISM students.

A cultural programme was also organised at the Golden Jubilee lecture theatre in the evening.

Former Director of Hindustan Zinc Limited B.K.P. Sinha and his wife Mili had come all the way from Udaipur to be a part of the meet.

A student of 1964 batch, Sinha recalled his heydays when he and friends Dwarka Modi and V.N. Kalia used to have a blast.

When asked about the ongoing campaign for IIT status, Sinha said that they would like their alma mater to be upgraded as an IIT as soon as possible, but its name should be IIT ISM so that the identity of ISM remains intact.

A 1976 pass out, B.N. Talukdar, who is now the director (exploration) of Indian Oil Limited, expressed his awe over how the cradle has grown.

“There has been a lot of change. Several facilities like the sports activity centre, gym etc were not there when we studied,” said Talukdar, who also supported the demand for the IIT tag.