The 1991 silver medal is still a prized possession as we beat a much superior IIT Mardi. All pleasant memories are flooding the mind…….I not only played 4 yrs during B.Tech 1989-93 but came back in 1996 for Master of Management with the added incentive to play hockey again…….
Will be fun to meet again on 12th.
I think my life at IITB changed significantly, when upon arrival as a freshie, I was recruited by Guruswamy and taken to meet Appaji as a candidate for NSO hockey. Over the next four years, Appaji played an important role in shaping my IITB experience. We met several times a week for NSO, and then later began traveling to Churchgate for the Bombay Hockey League games, and of course, to the various inter-IITs. As part of the preparation for the inter-IITs, we would also see and interact with Appaji over the month-long training camp in the winter. The highlights in the hockey achievements during my time were the silver medal at the Kharagpur inter-IIT and the elevation of IITB to the IIIrd division in the BHL (I would
also like to add on a personal note, the inter-hostel final in my first year where my hostel H3 beat H5 1-0; I had the satisfaction of scoring the winning goal. I remember Appaji was the referee for that match).
In all that time, Appaji provided a solid, dignified, mentoring presence. I
never saw him lose his temper, or even raise his voice at anybody. At the same time, he was an extremely efficient manager and was also able to be friendly with all the students, and took great interest in their personal and professional growth. I think there is no doubt that the fellow feeling among the IITB hockey community, past and present, is definitely due to the tone and example set by Appaji.
I consider myself fortunate to have come under the influence of such an educator,and try to put into practice what Appaji taught me, in my own work. I wish him the best on his 60th birthday, especially many more years of productive work.
With best regards,
Mishkat Bhattacharya
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mishkat Bhattacharya
Assistant Professor
School of Physics and Astronomy
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester
NY 1462
Here are some old photos from my (Guru) collection.
Photo 4.jpg: from a local Bombay Hockey Association match that we played
in 1993/1994 (on the turf at the Churchgate stadium).
Photo 3.jpg: from inter-IIT 1991 in KGP. We came in second.
Photo 1.jpg: from a party that the hockey team threw for Banerjee when he
got married (circa 1993?) Folks in the picture include (of course, Banerjee and his wife), Pundir,
Dhatingan, Kadam, Sawant, Sameer, Bajwa, Bharat, Omkar.
