The Tagore open air theatre at IIT Kharagpur was packed to its full capacity as 3500 IITians turned up to listen to their alumnus, Google CEO Sundar Pichai. For Pichai, it was an emotional homecoming, his first visit to his alma mater since he graduated from IIT Kharagpur in 1993. “The last time I was here, I was leaving for the railway station to catch my train. It was a sad journey leaving the institute. I have not been back since,’’ said Pichai.
Twenty three years later, Pichai, now one of the most noted of IITians, addressed a gathering of students spanning different departments, who had queued up to listen to him since the morning, all wearing black Google baseball caps which they had earlier been given.
“When I first came to Kharagpur, I didn’t know any Hindi as I had just arrived from Chennai. But over the weeks I picked up a spattering of the language, confident enough to go to the mess and order food.
