5 reasons why you shouldn't take a U-turn from Apollo but visit NIT Silchar's Durga Puja

Apollo Club in Meherpur has pulled off a stunner. The Durga Puja Committee’s exhibition this time stands out not just in new Silchar but in the entire Barak Valley. The library themed pandal with names of books and authors that one ought to read is a great advertisement for the good habit – reading. However, the traffic reduces significantly just after the pandal of Apollo Club. Devotees or pandal hoppers take a U-turn from Apollo and head back to the town. Here are five reasons why one must not miss the NIT Silchar’s Durga Puja this year.

1: Presentation

National Institute of Technology (NIT) erstwhile known as Regional Engineering College, this year took a leap of faith in terms of the Durga Puja presentation. The pandal, though not based on a specific theme has been decorated well. The lighting finds its sophistication in simplicity. Above all, the pandal promotes causes that are essential to the humankind. There are banners state “No Soil No Food” promoting Save Soil. Moreover, there is very little usage of plastic spotted throughout the pandal and area is clean and green.

2. Tradition

NIT is a government establishment, which means, there is no specific owner. With the retirement of employees, they leave the quarters and new recruits come and occupy them. This has been the tradition. It is so easy to forget the past as we embrace the future. But this Puja Committee did not. In fact, it finds pride in its roots. The Puja in grade III campus started in 1991. The grade III staff along with the professors decided to have a Puja in the campus. What is worth mentioning here is that back in those days, NIT/REC was a secluded greenery and the heart of the town was far away. With private transport being few and far, it was impossible to hop pandals every day. This is the need gap it filled. Another reason why the tradition remains intact is yesterday’s students are professors today and at the helm of affairs. Professor BK Roy is the president of the Durga Puja Committee this year and Biplab Das is the secretary. Both were once a student of this institution.

3. Cosmopolitan Experience

India is a heterogeneous country and its beauty is in its diversity. It is not just many languages but the different dialects too. While most of Silchar is similar, once you enter the NIT campus, it is a different world. There are people from different parts of the country speaking different languages wearing different clothes and dancing to native beats. The confluence of culture and yet the oneness, the unity in diversity is a joyride. NIT serves “India” on a platter and something that can be highly beneficial for the younger generation who are likely to be exposed to the cocosmopolitan India, soon in their lives. As Albert Einstein says, “The only source of knowledge is experience.”

4. Humbleness and Generosity

Success boosts the ego and it easily gets to the head. The members of the NIT Silchar Durga Puja Committee, at least, have a Central government job, which for many is the yardstick of being successful. A lionshare of them have a doctorate, which is the top of the pyramid in this country. The have abundance of knowledge, they teach thousands of students and yet they remain grounded. The president serves prasad to the vistors, the secretary greets them and there are other professors doing their respective duties.

5. Magnanimity

This is for the parents with young children who are studying in 8th, 9th standard. Make it a point to visit the campus of NIT Silchar with your ward. It is important for them to experience the magnanimity that NIT presents. The campus is huge, the architecture is appealing and there is a huge possibility that the young child will look at it and say, “I want to study in this college”. This happens all the time. This is how one gets inspired to go through the rigour of preparing for the entrance examination that isn’t getting any easier. With the country moving towards artificial intellengence and machine learning, data science will remain a boom. Engineers are highly valued and freshers from NIT are getting packages upwards of 20 lakhs. Use the puja as an excuse to give them a tour of the campus.

Bonus Tip: Once you visit NIT Silchar for darshan, on your way back, you can eat at the dhabas that have opened around campus. By doing so, you will save a lot of wait time that you will waste sitting outside restaurants in town.