Opening day: The results of the of the first batch of 60 students for a three year diploma course in Civil Engineering, admitted at Ajmer Polytechnic in 1958 had been declared. All students had passed and were looking forward for their studies for second year to commence. The intake for diploma courses in first year for 1959 was 120 in Civil Engineering, 60 in Mechanical Engineering and 60 in Electrical Engineering. The call letters along with a merit list of 300 candidates had been issued against a total intake of 240 students. The candidates were trooping in on the opening day with their guardians, friends and relations. Students of the senior batch were harnessed on the opening day as volunteers to take the new comers and their parents and guardians round the campus and the newly furnished class rooms, laboratories and workshops, before seating them in the central hall for the completion of the formalities for admission to first year. The candidates had the merit list in their hands and they took their seats in the hall in order of their merit. Calls were made, one by one, in order of merit. The desks of the teachers were arranged in the form of an assembly line. As the candidates moved along the serpentine path, their documents were checked. Thereafter, branch, sections and roll numbers were allotted. Finally, the candidates paid their fees and got the time table, which was going to be in operation from the following day. The whole operation took about an hour. Those who were able to get in, were happy. Those who were unable to find a place had no regrets. Informal interaction of the senior students with the incoming students and their parents on the opening day provided to them a sense of pride and belonging.
Categories of Staff: Class I and Class II staff included the Principal, heads of departments and lecturers. They were classified as gazetted officers of the state government. State Government appointed them on the recommendations of the Public Service Commission. Class III staff included instructors, demonstrators and technicians on the teaching side and clerical staff on the office side. Instructors, Demonstrators and Technicians could be appointed by the Director of Technical Education as also by the principals on the recommendations of Public Service Commission. Class IV staff included all types of maintenance staff, including peons, chowkidars, class room attendants, laboratoary and workshop attendants. Principals could appoint them after notifying the vacancies to the local employment exchange. From the very beginning we started recruiting qualified craftsmen from ITIs or candidates who had passed secondary or higher secondary school examinations, against these posts and encouraged them to pursue further studies for advancement in their careers. We were able to build up an extremely dedicated group of youngmen under this category, who were always ready to engage themselves in all types of rough and odd jobs from time to time. And there was no dearth of rough jobs during the formative years of the institution.
Incidentally, the office of the commissioner of Ajmer Division was abolished during that period and the collector of Ajmer was entrusted with the task of absorbing surplus staff of commissioner’s office in different departments of the government against vacant posts. As such, one of the peons of the commissioner’s office was absorbed by the collector of Ajmer against the vacant posts of the polytechnic. As soon as he reported, he found himself in the midst of young people, who were busy in tidying every nook and corner of the campus. That was something, which was not to his liking and therefore, he went back to the collector and lodged a formal protest. TN Chaturvedi an Indian Administrative Service officer was the collector of Ajmer at that time. He addressed a letter to the principal with the remark that it appears that the surplus staff absorbed by the collector does not seem to be welcome in the institution. My reply was short and simple. I wrote back to the collector that the state government had assigned to him the task of an absorbing authority. Once he issues the orders for absorption, his task is over. Thereafter, the absorbed person becomes a member of the regular staff of the institution. The collector has no business to entertain any pleas from such a person. The matter ended there. However, after almost twenty years, we met at Delhi in a meeting, when TN Chaturvedi was working as secretary to the government of India and I was working as Director of Technical Education in Rajasthan. When somebody asked TN Chaturevedi, whether we were known to each other, he shot back, “ I know him very well. He snubbed me once, when I was collector of Ajmer”.
Playgrounds: The conditions were almost ideal. 125 acres of land. Good clayey soil. Plenty of water from open wells. Bullocks for running the rollers and bullock-cart for transport of materials. And of course the biggest asset was keen and energetic staff and students. Everybody was raring to go for the development of grounds. The grounds were cleared, watered and rolled and the playgrounds started coming up one by one. While classrooms, laboratories and workshops provide the requisite knowledge and skills, the playgrounds provide opportunities to the budding youngsters to have some dreams and to sharpen their talents for the achievement of those dreams. When the Duke of Wellingdon finally defeated Napolean at Waterloo, the biggest complement for the playgrounds got its echoes in the words, “ Battle of Waterloo was won on the lawns of Wimbledon.”
Sports track: A 400 metres sports track on natural clayey soil was the first to come up. Everybody enjoyed using it for warm up for most of the outdoor games. One round or sometimes two rounds became the norm. The soil was periodically watered and rolled for keeping the surface in proper shape. Subsequently, when competitive sports emerged, cinder was obtained and the soil track was converted into a cinder track. Cinder track was softer and faster. At that time, cinder tracks were in use for most of the local, national and international sports events, including Olympics. Synthetic tracks, which emerged in sixties and seventies were very much faster. Sports tracks are a big attraction, because the user does not need any equipment or preparation. He has just to get on to the track and start running. And then it becomes an addiction.
Hockey and football: Hockey and football used to be the most popular outdoor games in the country at that time. Every school or college had its own hockey and football grounds. Naturally, without any further ado, the grounds were marked, provided with a sprinkling of clayey soil, watered and rolled. Goal posts came up and everything was ready to go. Most of the students had played hockey and football during their school days and therefore, the newly developed hockey and football grounds of the polytechnic were always full. As time rolled on, periodical watering and rolling of the grounds provided compact, level and smooth playing surface for hockey and football. Most of the students enjoyed a fast game of hockey or football.
Cricket: Cricket was not a common man’s game at that time. It needed all the equipment and was time consuming. Naturally, it was a low priority item at that time, unlike these days, when cricket has carved out a niche of its own. Played round the year and viewed round the globe and perhaps round the clock, cricket has emerged as the biggest spectator sport in the country. It promises lucrative careers and it is more of a rage. However, even during the good old days, when Ajmer Polytechnic was in its formative years, we had a small band of cricket enthusiasts in the institution. Fragments of stone were scoured from the hill in the campus and a soling for the pitch was provided. Pores were filled with natural soil and, watered and rolled. A topping of calcareous clayey soil obtained from Madar hill was laid. Gradual watering and rolling made it a perfect bouncy pitch for the boys. It was interesting to have a look at some of the teachers, who joined the students on the cricket pitch in the evenings.
Basketball: Basketball was not a popular game at that time. It was an extremely fast and highly technical game. We had a young lecturer from IIT Kharagpur, who happened to be a basketball enthusiast. He had improvised a basketball court during our first year at Lodha Building and the students had developed a liking for the game. Indoor basketball courts are provided with wooden floors. Outdoor courts are hard courts. Looking to our limitations we opted for a compacted clay outdoor court. A fast game of basketball provides all round exercise and is very perspiring.
Other games: Gradually, other games like volleyball, kabaddi, tennis, badminton, tennicoit and tabletennis emerged on the scene mainly due to the interest and enthusiasm of the students and the teachers, who provided their precious hours in bringing them to shape. Most of the students and members of staff spent an hour or more on the grounds in the evenings and in course of time that became a normal part of their daily routine.