SVMC alumni reunite after 55 years, revisit precious memories

1968 batch of Sri Venkateswara Medical College reunites after 50 years, reminiscing and celebrating their friendship.

The good old friends, who had parted ways over half a century ago, came together with hearty laughs and an eyeful of tears at the reunion organised by the 1968 batch of students of Sri Venkateswara Medical College (SVMC), here on Saturday.

As many as sixty students of the same batch, many of them settled across the world in Ireland, the United Kingdom, the USA as well as across India, arrived at Tirupati for the two-day get together.

The alumni paid tributes to the departed among their classmates, including the former Member of Parliament (Chittoor) N. Sivaprasad and former Deputy Speaker G. Kuthuhalamma. They were also thrilled to see their senior and mentor G. Subramanyam, who served and retired as the director of Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS).

Recalling precious moments and anecdotes from their college life, they took a quiet saunter for two hours around the playground, hostel, library and now-refurbished classrooms. The senior citizens also expressed awe at the robust change witnessed in the civic infrastructure of Tirupati.

The event coordinator Ramesh Reddy recalled their period of stay at the SVMC campus during 1968-74, while his friend A. Bhaskar Naidu admitted that they were elated to meet their old friends.

A photo gallery was organised in the evening, where the friends got their pencil art portraits drawn. A souvenir of their emerald jubilee meet was also released on the occasion.