A couple of rooms in Government Polytechnic at West Hill was where REC Calicut, was born – in 1961. The first year passed off peacefully. We joined in 62 occupying a few more rooms eating into their strained resources. We shared the same hostel with poly students. Adding fuel to the fire, our seniors, by mistake, also ragged a few poly students along with us. Mr Koman Nair, Poly principal, got very furious and asked all of us – students, teaching staff and office to vacate on the very next day. After a lot of pleading by our principal and others, he gave us time till Onam holidays. The Heat engines lab building (at Chathamangalam) was modified as dormitory; added a few toilets and two class rooms. After Onam, all of us were dumped at the dormitory with all beds lined up. At this moment, my classmates will be able to visualize the barracks-like scene at the heat engines lab. Staff and office remained at West Hill. Fortunately there were no girl students, the first batch of 5 joined only after 4 years.

Let me recollect a few events/incidents which will take the memories back, long back into those days:

Class rooms were just adjacent to the dormitory. People used to go to classes straight from bed in lungi and shirt, when the bus with staff arrives from West Hill. Those were days without barriers. Bed room was the class room. Everybody understood and was forgiving.

At night, gangs used to roam in the campus. Invariably, adventures of climbing coconut trees and plucking coconuts followed. With the thrill of adventure, coconuts tasted better than ever.

On Saturdays there used to be movie trips to town. Our competitors were medicos. Special emphasis was to dominate them in the balcony and also in the bars

One favourite past time was to go for 2nd shows at Katangal theatre in lungis, in the lowest class with the available money at month ends.

We had our share of health problems. Drinking water was simply being brought in trucks from the nearby river and used without any treatment. It was only a matter of time that Jaundice epidemic caught on like wild fire.

As the season changed, it was the turn of chicken pox. It was so widespread that isolation wards were set up in some buildings set aside for quarters.

Snake bites were a common menace.

Most of us were staying in hostels for the first time. Among all the joy, happiness and tension about examinations people were homesick. This is broken only by the train or bus trips to Ernakulam for vacation.

Ragging was in full swing at the beginning of the academic year. There used to be clashes with vigilant anti ragging teams who used to roam around at mid night.

Sports was another domain where the rivalry with the medicos came out in the open. Hockey matches were being staged at the Medical College. More important than the match was the physical Clashes after it.

Basketball used to bring out keen tussle between us. They used to be played at the indoor court at Physical Education College. Needless to say that this used to be followed up with physical fights with no holds barred. We used to win the matches but were no match to the medicos after it.

Fist fights did not confine to those with the medicos. Internal rivalry also fuelled nasty fights. Students were being allotted rooms in various hostels based on the year of admission. Internal sports contests were between various hostels. The tussle for the championship, once flared up into a full scale war and many of our friends were hospitalised for injuries. When you read this, our friends must be having horrific hallucinations of those days.

A notable milestone was the First flight of aero model, ushering in a new era in technical skill.

A Parabolic 3D arch was a memorable geometric art on the annual day. This was put up in front of the main building using strings.

Another milestone was the First REC Orchestra Performance. Till then one could not have visualized the musical talent hidden behind hard core engineering. A few erstwhile musicians of the first orchestra may be reading this.