Of Reunion and Reminiscence: Alumni Weekend at NLSIU
October 20, 2022
Reunions, townhalls, cricket matches, a campus walk, some food and merriment, and a whole bunch of nostalgia – this pretty much summed up the University’s first in-person alumni event since the pandemic. After a gap of three years, we were happy to see our graduates from across our various programmes reunite together for the Alumni Weekend held on October 15 & 16, 2022. The event was jointly organised by the NLS Alumni Office and the NLS Alumni Association.
Nearly 200 graduates came together on Saturday evening for an informal gathering and dinner off campus while a smaller group visited the campus and participated in the on-campus events over the course of the weekend. The event was an opportunity for alumni to learn more about NLSIU’s redevelopment master plan and also get updated on changes at the University and plans for the next academic year.
Reflecting on the alumni weekend, Mr. Varghese Thekkel, Manager (Law) at Indian Oil Corporation Limited, NLS LLM 2009, said: “Visiting the University after more than 13 years of leaving it is bound to remind one of the good times spent on the campus. But this alumni weekend was certainly more than that. To learn from the Vice Chancellor himself about the journey that NLS has embarked on – increasing its flagship B.A. LL.B. (Hons) programme’s strength, offering a 3-year LL.B. programme, the ambition to diversify into non-law subjects, and the proposed infrastructure expansion – was quite reassuring. I wish all the very best to the NLS team to continue their leadership in legal education and research.”
Mr. Dinesh Singh, Partner and Founder, Altum Law, NLS BA LLB 1996, was also involved in organising of the weekend activities as a member of the Alumni Association’s Governing Board. “While many alumni were interested in meeting up, we were unable to do so during the recent years owing to the pandemic. So, we felt this was the right time for such an event. Meeting many people from across batches at one forum was really exceptional. Even more heartwarming was to see the few staff members who were present during our time on campus who remembered and recognised us. I was also impressed with the graduates from the latest batch of 2022 who were so willing and enthusiastic in helping out with the event. Overall, it was wonderful to see alumni from 1993 to 2022 to celebrate bonhomie and camaraderie of the NLS fraternity!,” he said.
Some of our alumni also enjoyed a game of cricket on the campus sports field. “The idea of the cricket match was to do something fun on campus! Graduates from several batches took part and the match turned out be a game between what I’d call Seniors vs Juniors – the Seniors involved graduates from the older batches of 1993 and onwards, while the Juniors involved graduates from the latest batches,” said Dinesh.
NLS faculty member Dr. Mrinal Satish, along with Director – Clinics, Ms. Ragini Ahuja also conducted a session on electives at NLSIU. They interacted with alumni professionals engaged with various aspects of the law (litigation, policy, research, etc) and introduced them to the University’s offering of clinical electives where professionals could get involved in academics and bring their practice into the academic setting at NLS.
NLS faculty member Dr. Sarasu Thomas took a few alumni on a guided campus tour following which a campus lunch was served at the mess block in the Women’s Halls of Residence. The day wrapped up with a Townhall meeting with the Governing Board members of the Alumni Association. The Board also elaborated upon their plans for expansion of the membership of the Alumni Association.
For the NLSIU Class of 2004, the highlight of the Alumni Weekend was the opportunity to remember their dearly missed friend and classmate, Ajoy Halder. On Sunday, alumni from this batch visited the campus to have a hybrid (online and in-person) memorial for Ajoy.
Mr. Hari Gopal Krishna, CEO of Nimble Legal and an alum of the batch, said: “We were all pleased to see the infrastructure development on campus. I was delighted to see that the campus is a lot greener than it used to be, despite all the construction. We were fortunate to contribute to the construction of the quad in the New Academic Block and memorialise “Holder” through a prominently-placed plaque. We hope the students will sense his free spirit and lightness of heart in the new quad – and enjoy their free time there as we did in the old quad.”
Reflecting on the overall alumni weekend experience, he further said: “The alumni dinner was a blast and should be set as a new tradition. The sense of camaraderie among NLS alumni and the willingness to contribute is truly unique.”
We thank each and everyone who came together this weekend to celebrate the alumni community. Whether you participated in-person or virtually, you helped make this an event that we won’t soon forget. For those of you who may have missed attending the gathering this time, we look forward to hosting you at our next alumni event.
Please follow our website and the NLS alumni platform for further updates.
For queries, please reach out to the NLS Alumni Office at or the Alumni Association at nlsiu.alumni.worldwide@