Graduation Day 2010 went off smoothly, except for a few bumps here and there...

The first bump, and a scaredy one at that, till 4.30 p.m. registered graduands hadn't turned up and there were blocks of empty chairs staring at us...tension piled up, till like with a wave of a magic wand, chairs filled and at 4.40 p.m. the hall was choc-a-bloc with black gowns and those neck sashes. Proud parents watched on as their children proudly marched to the podium to receive their degrees from Dr.Shanmugavel, Registrar, Anna University, Chennai.

And then, at 4.45p.m. they were asked to disperse for tea and be back for the procession by 4.50. Just imagine, the procession was to start at 5.00 p.m. sharp and they were all outside. They were herded in with a little bit of cajoling, hard pushing and promises and threats. Hah..ha...

The procession started on the dot and the whole ceremony went off beautifully, in solemn silence and appreciation.Everything went off, like clockwork.  The Chief Guest was astounded by the dignified and silent way in which the graduands behaved during the entire ceremony. 

As always, for me, it was a touching moment, because as a parent I know that it is a fulfilling and defining moment, when we know that one of the prime duties as a parent is fulfilled and that we are now formally turning them over into the hands of future.

This time, the role of student volunteers, in various committees, headed by Paracharan, must be mentioned. Silently, behind the curtains, they worked like ants, doing thankless jobs, which were all essential and significant in the completion of the ceremony. But for them, I would say, things would not have worked so smoothly. 

The only other bump was that Karuppurwalas entered the open air catering area, dressed as students and hogged away the food, leaving us short by about 100 plates. How I hate these nameless guys who are making GCE their playground , just because they are allowed access to the GCE campus to reach the main road. 

However, apart from this, I would say, the Graduation Day was a grand success, in terms of turnout, participation and conduct. The principal was indeed a very happy person, as his efforts to make the function successful and a signing off event, were achieved. He retires in May after a very successful, eventful and  significant,  development-filled tenure  that contributed in no small measure to the growth of the institution.