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Friends, as I pen these thoughts (or rather key them in), the setting could not have been better. I am perched on a park bench in North West Delhi, under the shade of spring green trees, with the koyal doing its melodious bit to create a campus like environment. It is the first Sunday in May, and I am using my time as I wait for my elder daughter to finish one of the many Entrance exams she is writing after her 12th Boards. Behind me, a vigorous bunch of weekend volleyball players are hammering away at a worn out ball. As expected, a few kids are busy with their tennis ball cricket, post the IPL tragi-comedy. In a nutshell, I could as well be sitting on the lawns of any of the ITBHU hostels and doing this job. It is like being transported back three decades to an idyllic world of laziness!

In a way, this Souvenir, commemorating the 8th AGM of the Association of IT BHU Alumni, is supposed to take you back in time - to those halcyon days of yore, when time was a slave, not a master. When long walks on the campus were followed by even longer spells of sleep ... When watching a movie a night before a crucial exam was a routine stress buster ... When friends came before anything else, when sugar was something you had in your lassi, not your blood, when downing 2 lavanglatas after a dozen parathas resulted in a gentle burp, and not a couple of heart attacks!

The year that separated the last Souvenir from this one saw a gentle reversal in the economic downswing, and India continues its journey towards its rightful place in the global order. We witnessed a few earth-shattering events (literally!) and some icon-shattering exposes. We rejoiced at some victories and cringed at some setbacks. Some of us moved houses, some moved on. Some of us started a new company, some joined a new one. Some became parents, some grandparents. Life flowed on for all of us, and we accepted the highs and lows of living with the same equanimity and sang froid with which we were taught at our alma mater to react to any challenge - from ragging to a placement interview.

One thing I must mention though - our members must have become really busy with life these past few months, for very few responded to our call for literary content for this Souvenir. The result is a lighter, more eco-friendly copy of Souvenir 2010. However, this trend needs to be arrested. Please do not worry so much about keeping our planet green, because we have already resorted to an electronic means of publishing and distribution, in addition to printing a limited hard copy edition.
Thanks to your parsimony, the Souvenir you now hold in your hands has some recycled stuff, in addition to some original contributions. Ideally, the editor has to do some selection from a pile of content, curating out the best possible stuff for his readers. Here, the editor (along with some of his family members) has had to invent stuff in-house to populate the pages, so that the Souvenir does not end up being a series of advertisements and messages! Hope you find some entertainment and enlightenment in them.

We have also taken the liberty of reusing some content from the online monthly journal "Chronicle" that is so ably edited by Yogesh Upadhyay from his US base. Since some of you may not be "living" online, like most of today's younger set does, you may still find it worth a read. The usual Member Directory appears at the end, and the inside joke is that if you can find a co-alum using the information provided therein, you can safely apply to the Sherlock Holmes School of Effective Investigation! No, No - I am just kidding, the errors are purely by mistake!

The AIBA is keenly looking to induct fresh blood among its functioning members, and the first place to do that is in the Editorial team. Please do volunteer to take this mantle over from Yours Truly. I promise to be a good contributor in the future and help the new incumbent with my heart and soul.

Here is wishing all members a comfortable summer and a great time with family and friends in the year ahead!

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