They are coming from far and wide – from Singapore, Dubai and even Canada – to fulfil a promise made years ago. As over 35 students of the 1993 batch of mechanical engineering course of the Punjab Engineering College (PEC) get together here Friday, it will be a unique reunion.

The students will get together on the 11th day of the 11th month of the 11th year (of this century). Their reunion will be on 11.11.11. That is not all.

They will be meeting in Chandigarh’s Sector 11 near house number 11. The time of the reunion will be 11.11 a.m. The entire sequence of their reunion will read – 11.11.11.11.11.11.11.

‘Five or six years back the batch decided to have a reunion and planned it on this unique date. Some are coming from Singapore, Dubai and even Canada. Some students of that batch are in Chandigarh itself while others are settled in various parts of India. They are all coming,’ Anurag Aggarwal, president of the PEC old students association, told IANS.

The authorities at PEC, now re-christened as the PEC University of Technology, are gearing up to host the batch of students coming for the unique reunion. PEC is the alma mater of late NASA astronaut Kalpana Chawla.

‘The students of the 1993 batch had made a promise while passing out that they will meet after some years. We are happy they are keeping their promise of the reunion after so many years. About 35 students are actually coming,’ said K.K. Garg, PEC’s chairman of alumni relations.

In a recent e-mail communication to PEC authorities, Singapore-based Sanjeev Sharma wrote: ‘I think our story can be encouraging to others. And who knows, we might set a trend of alumni returning in such huge groups and contributing to the overall development of PEC community.’

After the batch gets together in Sector 11, they will go around their alma mater and attend some functions here. They will then be headed for the Kasauli-Solan hills