It was so hot and humid outside. I have no idea how I survived four years in this weather. It was a big relief once we were inside the auditorium. The chairman of the college is a political appointee. So they had to invite him and certain protocol had to be followed. He spoke for a while in Tamil which half of us couldn't understand!
It was good to meet several of my classmates and the professors after so many years. After the function, we planted some trees and headed to the hostel cafeteria for lunch. I could hardly recognize the campus. Many new buildings have sprung up in the last 25 years. College has added several new offerings including P.G. and Ph.D courses since then. After lunch, we toured the hostels and rest of the campus. Lack of funds is pretty apparent. Politicians have waived tuitions in order to get votes and the college is suffering as a result of that policy. Pondicherry used to be a Union territory under central govt control with lots of funds. It now became a state with only the state revenue to depend on hence all the politics interfering with the college administration.
Water Lilly near the admin building
The bus took us on a city tour in the evening on the way to the Le Ponde resort for dinner.
Mahatma Gandhi statue at the beach
Sahaj with the Manakula Vinayagar temple elephant
The Le Ponde resort impressed me a great deal. Grounds and the facilities are world class but, it was far away from the city. I never knew Pondicherry was that big! I wish we arrived there during the day to soak in the beautiful surroundings. The dinner was supposed to be outdoors but, it started raining. So, it was moved indoors. It was another opportunity to rekindle our friendships. Headed back to the St. James court in the rain for another night stay.
After spending some time on the beach and in the pool in the morning, headed back to Chennai to catch a train to Mysore in the evening.
