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State�s oldest college hostel reviving legacy

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Sept 6 - The State�s oldest college hostel Krishna Kanta Handique PG Hostel (First Mess) of Cotton University (formerly Cotton College) will rejuvenate the legacy of its 116- year-old heritage this autumn.

The alumni of this Hostel have formed an association named �Cotton College 1st Mess Alumni Association� which has been registered as a society after a series of meetings held at the hostel premises.

An alumni meet is being planned soon, which will include activities like exhibition, documentary, get-together, quiz, seminar, brainstorming sessions and publication of a souvenir. �This Assam-type hostel is now being conserved as a �heritage building�. We intend to channelise the alumni initiative for greater public cause,� it said in a statement.

The Association�s president Dr Tarakeswar Choudhury has appealed to all former boarders and employees of this hostel to get registered for the purpose. They may also personally submit their contacts to Dr Debajyoti Barooah, assistant professor, Department of Physics, Cotton University.

Established in 1901, the Hostel is an embodiment of generations during the glorious journey of the historic Cotton College. Initially known as the �Hindu Hostel�, this hostel later became well known as the �Hindu First Mess� or �First Block� or the �First Mess�. Professor Indu Bhusan Brahmachary was its first superintendent. It is noteworthy that stalwart like Dr Surya Kumar Bhuyan was its superintendent.

Since 1983, the Hostel has been reserved for the postgraduate boy students. In 1986, the Hostel was renamed as the �Krishna Kanta Handique PG Boys� Hostel� after the world famous Sanskrit scholar and Indologist and the first vice-chancellor of Gauhati University, Krishna Kanta Handique, who was also a boarder of this hostel during 1913-14.

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