College campuses stand testimony to the fact that great minds evolve within the walls of the classroom.
“What’s in here to be seen?” she asked the day I planned my visit to the SRE campus.
“I create my own kind of joy in the places I visit,” I replied, “The perk is that you’re there, so I am sure I’ll find what I am looking for.”
And guess what, at the end of the day, I could hear her exclaiming, “I didn’t know that it could be explored in this way, too. Thanks for unveiling the beauty amidst these lifeless structures I would’ve never perceived otherwise.”
“After all, you’ve to spend another four years here. You’ve got to like something to make the most of it,” I stated.
Saharanpur campus, a subsidiary of IIT Roorkee, is situated about 40 km away from the main campus. Though the governing centre is the main campus, a few of the branches are Polymer and Process Engineering (PPE), Applied Mathematics and Scientific Computing (AMSC), and the Indian Pulp & Paper Technical Association (IPPTA) functions here. IPPTA, once a separate body, is now a part of IITR. It’s evident from the fact that its campus is separated by a road open to the public. All the administrative, admission, and official work takes place at IITR, except interviews and the teaching-learning process.
To ease the connectivity between the two campuses, a tempo-traveller (free of cost) plies from Monday to Friday at the designated time. It starts from the main campus at 12 noon sharp, with the boarding point at PNB/Green Gala, dropping off at SRE campus (near dispensary) by 1:15 PM, and by 1:30 PM, it disembarks from there for the main campus. The traveller takes their final round back to the SRE campus at 5 PM. It’s open to every IITR staff member and student, provided that you make an entry into the register.
I’ve been thinking of visiting the SRE campus right after my admission, but I couldn’t muster the courage and necessary information. Last week, both the situation and the weather were favourable, and I boarded the 12 noon bus. Except for the city traffic caused due to the visit of any political personality, the rest of the journey was smooth. The bus steered through the finest highways after crossing the city’s smoky and dusty roads, with the agricultural fields alongside it, making the journey panoramic. The best part was that only 5-6 people were there, and the bus didn’t stop anywhere except at the boarding and dropping point, thus reducing exertion. It took a total of 1.15 hours.
The bus stopped near the dispensary, where a bunch of people were already waiting to board it. I strolled around for a while and waited for my friend to take me around. We explored all three departments one after the other. The first was IPPTA.
We took the exit from the SRE campus, which opened into a public road beside which IPPTA’s entrance is located. The guard asked to verify our identity, post which he allowed us into it. The campus of IPPTA feels like it’s telling the story of its evolution and destruction. Several centres with heavy machinery are in a dilapidated state, have turned into a jungle and are occupied by peacocks, snakes and other creatures. I was surprised to see that even in that state, some parts of it are functional, too. Most of the machinery has rusted and is no longer in use. Some of them appear quite new, as if installed recently, but haven’t been used. A canteen is also there in one of such buildings. It was quite fun to find the equivalent Hindi word for the departments. However, a new centre has replaced the old ones, as you can see in the third picture.
Except for a couple of buildings constructed recently, most of them are old, thus giving a feel of university life. It has three hostels, for boys, girls and married, besides a quarter for staff and professors. For fun and recreation, the campus is equipped with tennis, volleyball, cricket, basketball and badminton courts. A multi-activity centre is also there, having a gym for both boys and girls, a TV room, with indoor games like Table Tennis and foosball. Refer to the first picture. The campus also has a guest house.
What won my heart is the ample sitting space in the cafeteria with a view. Aloo Paratha and Sandwiches are great here. Though the signboard says Multi-activity-centre but you’ll find only a canteen here. There is no restaurant or outlet like CCD on the main campus, where I am writing this post.
The evening view is one of a kind here. Since I stayed there for 3 hours, I am not quite sure about the campus life, but it must be beautiful and quiet, since it’s away from chaos. SRE campus, though small, appeared quite peaceful. If we take the main campus to be a city, it’s a town, a kasba. At the same time, I feel that there is nothing much to do here since all the cultural and sports programs, fests, and activities happen mostly in the main campus. However, a traveller is available for the students if they want to relish these events. But as I said, once you start liking the place, you’ll keep unveiling its beauty in different ways.
Since there is no traveller scheduled in the evening to take me back to the main campus, I had to board the auto till Ghanta Ghar. Private and Government buses travel at regular intervals to Roorkee from that point. In another 1.5 hrs, I was at the main campus. The visit to the SRE campus was one of a kind; it was etched in my heart.
©Shashank
P.S. Thanks, Saloni, for taking me around the nooks and corners of the SRE campus and making my visit worthwhile.
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