Sundar Pichai recollects college romance during visit to his Alma Mater

Google CEO Sundar Pichai blushed as he recollected his campus romance from two decades ago. Pichai, currently touring India, was speaking to more than 3,500 students at his Alma Mater, IIT-Kharagpur.

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He remembered the days when he had to walk across to Sarojini Naidu Hall, the only girls hostel in the campus then, to meet his future wife Anjali, who was a classmate. 

"It wasn't always easy," revealed Pichai. "If you had to get someone at the girls hostel, you had to walk in the front and request somebody. Then they would go in and loudly say, Anjali, Sundar is here for you." 

Thunderous applause and laughter greeted Pichai's anecdote. "It wasn't exactly a pleasant experience," he added smilingly. 

Those were the pre-internet days. "I guess it's moved on by now," said the 44-year-old, who graduated from the institute in 1993.

Before joining students for a live conversation, Pichai spent some time in his Nehru Hall dorm, which he felt was "exactly the same after all these years".

He also regaled students with stories of bunking early morning classes. "It's a rite of passage when you go through college," he said. 

Pichai ended his session by obliging for a selfie with the crowd. 

Image: YOUTUBE SCREENGRAB

His full conversation can be viewed here.

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