Alma mater holds a cache of memories for all. It was no different for former Additional Chief Secretary D. Babu Paul, as he recounted with relish his antics on the College of Engineering, Trivandrum, campus 50 years ago. The occasion, on Wednesday, was a function organised by the 1962 batch of the college.
He spilled the beans on how he managed to get permission from the Principal for conducting a freshers’ meet.
“I was the first elected students’ leader of the college. The Principal did not give consent for the freshers’ meet. I convened a meeting of around 30 class representatives in the presence of the Principal. The meeting was held in a small hall. Ten of them stood up voicing support for the meet. Numerically they were a minority but as they were spread across the room, it gave an impression that the majority wants to conduct the meet,” he said as the audience burst into laughter.
Leadership skills
The college life and his stint as student’s leader, he said, helped him gain leadership qualities and while serving in various capacities as an administrator.
At the function, Mr. Paul handed over Rs.70,000 collected by the 1962 batch to Principal S. Sheila for procuring Malayalam books for the college library.
Murals too
The batch also donated murals, which carries a message that engineers carry out the divine design to the satisfaction of God with due reverence to the universe and environment. The star of the murals, now adorning the CETTA Hall in the college, is the depiction of Vishwakarma, the master architect according to Indian mythology.
There is another one on Geetopadesam, a call to discharge duty without fear or favour and one on Navagraha, symbolising the universe. The murals, which were done at the Vasthu Vidya Gurukulam, were bought at a cost of Rs.2 lakh.
