They flew colourful kites, worked up a sweat on the courts with basketball, lawn tennis and volleyball, gorged on golgappas and chowmein and belted out Bollywood hits.
Around 200 alumni of ISM, Dhanbad, had a blast with the past on campus on Sunday at the end of the two-day reunion fest.
Somewhat poetically titled 'Basant 2012', the event also gave a special touch of spring to 69 former students from The Class of 1962, which celebrated its golden jubilee year.
While Day One still had some professional touch with a "mineral congress", Day Two was only about fun, games and nostalgia.
More than 50 former students enjoyed the February nip while flying their kites. The young-at-heart crowd went for rounds of tennis, basketball and volleyball at the sports complex.
Others went to Diamond Hostel for a shot at badminton and table tennis.
"Nostalgia is at its peak," Randip Singh, of 1987 mining engineering, and CMPDIL senior manager in Ranchi, enthused. "We are on campus after almost a quarter of a century. This is the best way to strengthen the bond between alumni and alma mater."
Saikat Chatterjee, also CMPDIL senior manager and from the batch of 1992, agreed with Singh. "We never considered ourselves inferior to any IITian. But if students now are running a campaign for IIT status, I'll support them" said Chatterjee.
A 1962 batch mining engineering student Ashok Tooley, at present the director of EMTA Group of Companies, New Delhi, said he was proud his cradle "has maintained the benchmark in education, discipline and infrastructure". But he added he was distressed over Dhanbad's traffic.
Tooley and 68 others of his batch, with spouses in tow, enjoyed a walk on memory lane with current students.
They learnt about student societies Kartavya and Fast Forward, engaged in the education of slum children, computer literacy and more.
The alma mater also patted its distinguished 'old boys'.
Two ' S.J. Sibbal, former director-general, Directorate General of Mines Safety, and N.M. Bora, CMD of Oil India Limited ' were given the distinguished alumni awards.
Five got the Basant Samman. V. Ramani, Basant Kumar Kejriwal, S.P. Ahuja, A.R. Chetal are former ISM mentors, while N.C. Jha is the former CIL chairman. It was a poignant moment when Kejriwal's widow received the award.
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