BITS Annual Dinner and Music Nite

April 9, 2005

It was that time of year again. The flowers were blooming, the days got longer, and the weather proved once again that the San Francisco Bay Area is the best place to live .So, instead of filing our annual income tax returns on time, we BITSians of the Silicon Valley Chapter decided to throw a regular five-star Pilani bash – the BITSAA SVC Music Nite 2005. April 9^th was a night none of us will forget in a hurry.

From 6:00 pm onwards, BITSians gradually began filling up the ground floor of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Milpitas, CA. People met old friends, made new friends, and engaged in  " lachcha "  as they used to in their college days.  About 180 BITSians and spouses of all age groups showed up, from the batches of the 50s and 60s right down to the late 90s and beyond, but there was certainly little age-consciousness, as fresh-out rookies mingled with veteran troopers and all felt a sense of belonging and identity with the Pilani brand. Prem Jain’s stylish safari suit caught the eye of several admirers, and the ladies were looking absolutely delightful in their colorful saris and salwar kameezes.

After an hour of mixing and matching around the BITSian network, the alumni were ushered into the banquet hall, where the event started. Karan Bhople, the emcee and son of ’74 alumnus Chandra Bhople, took charge of the proceedings by giving a mirthful and advice-filled intro to the event, and then handed it to Deepu Rathi ('73) . Deepu, with his usual poise and skill, gave a very informative presentation about what BITSAA’s latest efforts to improve the campus have yielded.   He said that after getting the campus hooked up to high speed internet and the latest personal computers, the BITS administration took the next logical step and equipped the new Library with Pilani's first elevator. BITSians definitely know how to prioritize. Deepu then introduced our keynote speaker, Cypress CEO TJ Rodgers, by artfully describing TJ’s accomplishments from his childhood to  his induction into the Silicon Valley Hall of Fame and his passion of wine-making. 

Click here for more pictures of the event.   

 

 

Karan Bhople, the M/C 

 

  Deepu Rathi (' 73 ), Secretary BITSAA SVC

TJ began  his speech by that Indians are vital contributors to Silicon Valley and if Indians left this place he and his fellow CEOs would suddenly have lots of problems. Then, he launched into a fascinating explanation of Cypress’s new focus on solar power, aided with diagrams, graphs, maps, and photos of his company’s latest technology, one that truly harnesses a permanent renewable energy source. He emphasized the increasing importance of solar power in relation to the increasing scarcity of oil and natural gas. His second presentation, about his interest in wine and wine-making, was just as intriguing because he introduced sophisticated wine-making technology that most people in the audience were hearing about for the first time. All of us were struck by the way he presented what many consider an ordinary interest as a fulfilling, lifelong passion.

After TJ was done fielding questions from the audience, Jayan Ramankutty ('75)  got up to say a quick word of thanks to TJ, and to the organizers of the event for spending so many long hours and late nights preparing, discussing, and deciding on the minutest details so that the night would run smoothly. Karan then announced that dinner was served.      

Keynote Speaker TJ Rodgers, CEO Cypress

     Jayan Ramankutty ('75), President BITSAA SVC

As the guests were on their last gulab jamuns and kulfis, Karan introduced the next speaker, Jerry Singh  ('64) , who presented his plan to, in his words, “make the Rajasthan Desert bloom.” He described CDDT, an effort to bring effective irrigation to the desert surrounding the Pilani campus. A creative idea that demonstrates the ingenuity in problem-solving that characterizes BITSians, CDDT, we hope, will have all the success in meeting its goals in time. Jerry convinced the audience of the power that alumni support would have on the driving force behind this particular effort.

            The final, and most awaited part, of the evening was the  Music Nite . The organizers did a terrific job in a getting a live band – EasternWinds – to perform as it really got the crowd on their feet and dancing. Boy was it something! BITSians and their spouses performed several songs on stage to the immense delight of the whole audience. Vibha, wife of BITSian Jayan, Kohinoor, wife of BITSian Srijit, and Shalini, an EasternWinds bandmember, sang some lovable slow filmi songs such as “Yeh Hain Reshmi Zulfon,” “Aage Bhi Jaane Na Tu,” and “Yeh Mera Dil,” while Siva, the founding member of EasternWinds, Jayashree, wife of BITSian Vijay, Deepa, wife of BITSian Pete, BITSian Bharat from the ’91-’95 batch, and the rest of the EasternWinds singers performed famous hits such as “Chaiyya Chaiyya,” “Dil Dooba,” and “Gori Gori.” Anand, BITSian from the ’95-’99 batch, perfomed a stirring and magnificent rendition of “Vande Mataram” to the raucous applause of the audience, and everyone got up on their feet and showed off mad dancing skills to the tune of EasternWinds’ “Aisa Jadoo Dala Re.” For the first time, EasternWinds had to play an encore to please the crowd, which was itching to dance more, and did they dance more or what! Some of the bystanders feared the floor was going to cave in. Everyone was amazed that the best dancers were also the senior-most guests: Satish and Sujata.

 

 

Trit on the keyboard, and Kohinoor

     Jayashree, wife of BITSian Vijay ('93)

Deepa, wife of BITSian Pete ('94)        

    BITSian Bharat ('91) and Vineet

 

  Shalini of EasternWinds 

Anand ('95) with a stunning “Vande Mataram”

 

 Satish ('64) and Sujata showing everyone how it’s done

                                          BITSians know how to PARTY!!!

             

The Batch of ’97 certainly weren’t bashful   

     

           Shiva and Dwij, the master  guitarist

The event was a huge success, and everyone walked away feeling excited and a little overwhelmed by it all. Naturally, none of it would have happened had it not been for Gopal Garg and Ashish Garg, the two main organizers of the event, Karan, the MC, and the many BITSian volunteers: Pethe, Mansoor, Sharvari, Shashi, Mayur, Gurpreet, Nachiket, Lakshmi, Krishna, the second Ashish, and Unni.  They deserve the highest thanks for putting together undoubtedly the best BITSAA SVC event in the chapter’s history. What a night! 

 

    

Gopal  Garg ('77 )  & Ashish  Garg  ('97)  

 

  The awesome, awe-inspiring volunteers

 

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