There are buildings, and then there are places that breathe. Techno Main Salt Lake has always been the latter, a campus that didn’t just house students, but shaped human beings. And on the evening of 23rd May 2026, as thousands gathered at the Netaji Indoor Stadium, Kolkata, something extraordinary happened. A college didn’t just celebrate its 25th anniversary. It came home to itself.
The Silver Jubilee of Techno Main Salt Lake (under MAKAUT University) was not merely an event. It was a reckoning, a moment to pause, look back across a quarter century of sweat, chalk dust, late-night labs, first-year fears, and final-year triumphs, and say with full-throated conviction: we built something real here.
Where It All Began
In 2001, Techno Main Salt Lake was a promise. A promise made to a generation of young aspirants who dared to dream of world-class technical education without leaving their roots behind. The dream belonged to Professor Goutam Roychowdhury, Chairman of Techno India Group, whose vision was as precise as it was profound, to build an institution where innovation breathes alongside tradition, and where technology, from AI to emerging frontiers, serves humanity, not the other way around.
That is not a corporate tagline. That is a philosophy. And for 25 years, every decision made within those walls has been a quiet act of devotion to it.
Situated in Salt Lake, Kolkata, the IT hub of West Bengal, TMSL grew into a premier destination for aspirants across the nation. Top rank holders in WBJEE, JEE (Mains), JEMAT, MAT and TNJEE chose this institution not merely for its location, but for what it stood for. Today it runs 15+ undergraduate programs and a variety of postgraduate courses, and carries the extraordinary distinction of being recognised as one of the best and most acclaimed academic institutes in Asia.
The Evening That Stopped Time
The choice of Netaji Indoor Stadium was itself a statement. This is the house of champions, an arena that has witnessed greatness. Bringing the Silver Jubilee here said, without words, that Techno Main Salt Lake belongs among the great.
Distinguished academicians, guests, students, alumni and faculty members filled that magnificent space as the ceremonial lamp was lit, graced by the distinguished presence of Padmashri Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, Former Director of the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata; Mr. Ashida Katsunori, Hon’ble Deputy Consul General of Japan; Professor Goutam Roychowdhury, Chairman, Techno India Group; Prof Manoshi Roychowdhury, Co-Chairperson, Techno India Group; Prof. (Dr.) Dipankar Bhattacharyay, Principal, Techno Main Salt Lake; Dr. Soumik Das, Vice Principal, TMSL; Prof. Soumitra Sasmal, Registrar, TMSL; and Dr. Anirban Goswami, Dean, TMSL. As each flame caught and held, it felt like more than ceremony. It felt like 25 years of collective effort being acknowledged in a single, luminous moment, every hand at that lamp representing thousands of hours of dedication poured into building something that truly matters.
The flame didn’t just illuminate the stage. It illuminated 25 years of memory all at once.
Words From the Heart
Professor Goutam Roychowdhury, a man whose life’s work stands taller than any words he could offer, spoke with the quiet grace of someone who has always let his actions do the talking. His words were few, but they carried the weight of everything he has built:
“All my dear students and professors, I have always been more comfortable working behind the scenes. However, on this auspicious occasion, I would simply like to offer my gratitude and blessings to all of you. May God bless you abundantly. I sincerely hope that, in the near future, Techno Main Salt Lake will become one of the finest engineering colleges in the country. Thank you very much.”
In a room full of achievements, accomplishments and accolades, those gentle, heartfelt words may have been the most powerful thing said all evening. A visionary who built so much, asking for so little in return, only that his students flourish and that his institution continues to rise.
Prof Manoshi Roychowdhury, Co-Chairperson of Techno India Group, spoke with a depth of emotion that touched every person present. Her address acknowledged not just the milestone, but the human journey behind it, and she did so while carrying a personal weight that made her words all the more remarkable:
“Even in a moment of personal loss, today feels special because every student of TMSL is like our own child. These 25 years are not just about an institution completing a journey, but about countless dreams, struggles, achievements, and memories created by students, teachers, and alumni together. From nervous first days to becoming successful professionals and entrepreneurs, TMSL has always believed in the potential of its students. Today, as we celebrate the pride of Bengal through education, music, and achievement, we hope every student continues to follow their passion, stay confident, and make both Bengal and India proud.”
That phrase, every student of TMSL is like our own child, did not sound like a figure of speech. It sounded like the truest thing spoken all night.
Padmashri Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, Guest of Honour and former Director of the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, brought both the gravitas of her distinguished career and the warmth of someone with a deeply personal connection to TMSL. As a mother of a TMSL alumnus, she has witnessed firsthand what this institution does to young minds:
“Techno India has always been like family to me. As a mother of a TMSL alumnus, I have seen closely how this institution shapes students into confident individuals ready for the world. What makes this journey truly inspiring is the vision of bringing talented Bengali students back to Bengal and building opportunities here itself. Along with education, students must also embrace the courage to become entrepreneurs and job creators, because growth comes from taking risks and stepping beyond comfort zones. Above all, life finds its true meaning in service, to family, society, and the nation, and that spirit is what will continue to make TMSL and its students shine brighter in the years ahead.”
Her words on entrepreneurship and service carried a particular resonance in a room full of young engineers standing at the threshold of their futures.
Adding a touch of warmth and cultural celebration to the evening, Mr. Ashida spoke with simplicity and joy about being part of TMSL’s 25th anniversary. He described Kolkata as the cultural capital of India, a city defined by its music, art and rich heritage, and appreciated the soulful Bengali performances of the evening with genuine delight. He left the gathering with a thought that perfectly captured the spirit of the night: that while speeches should remain short, music should continue for long.
What 25 Years of Excellence Actually Looks Like
TMSL’s quarter century has been built on world-class research infrastructure, modern technology-enabled teaching and learning tools, and an industry-driven curriculum that has always kept one eye on the real world students would graduate into. The laboratories are not showpieces, they are working spaces where curiosity becomes capability.
But more than infrastructure, TMSL built a culture. A culture where passion and creativity are not extras bolted onto technical education, but are woven into its very fabric. Where a student who arrives uncertain leaves equipped, not just with a degree, but with a direction.
The Techno India Group, of which TMSL is a crown jewel, is itself a testament to what sustained commitment to education can achieve, the largest private education group in Eastern India, comprising 21 engineering colleges, 12 business schools, 18 public schools, 6 higher secondary schools, 40 ITI schools and over 100 cutting-edge campuses, with 5,000 faculty and staff members. Beyond education, the Group’s reach extends to mental wellness through Monoshij, healthcare through Techno India DAMA Hospital, eco-tourism ventures, and overseas collaboration programs. It even established the first private university in West Bengal, Techno India University.
When Music Carried the Emotion Further
The evening featured Somlata Acharyya Chowdhury, one of Bengal’s most beloved voices, whose music carries the rare gift of making collective experiences feel deeply personal. For alumni especially, her performance was a portal, back to the years when they were becoming themselves within TMSL’s walls, back to the friendships, the struggles, the quiet moments of realisation that this place was changing them for good.
Then came Sourendro-Soumyojit, the extraordinarily gifted duo whose artistry sits at the intersection of technical mastery and raw emotional truth. Sourendro Shankar Mullick’s musical genius paired with Soumyojit’s deeply moving voice creates something that feels both precisely crafted and effortlessly human. For an institution built on exactly that marriage, technical precision and human aspiration, there could not have been a more poetic choice.
But the most breathtaking musical moment of the evening was entirely unique to this celebration. Sourendro-Soumyojit personally mentored and trained 25 students of Techno Main Salt Lake, who then took the stage and delivered a memorable performance as a tribute to the institution’s 25-year legacy. Twenty-five students. Twenty-five years. Standing under the lights of Netaji Indoor Stadium, singing not just a song, but a thank-you. To their college. To their teachers. To the dream that gave them a stage.
The People Behind the Milestone
Think of the faculty who chose TMSL not for convenience but for purpose, who memorised not just their syllabus but their students’ names, struggles, and potential. Who gave extra hours without being asked, celebrated placements as if they were their own children’s victories, and quietly, consistently, held the standard high.
Think of the administrative staff whose invisible dedication made everything visible possible.
And think, above all, of the students. The hundreds of batches who walked through those gates wide-eyed and walked out carrying the TMSL stamp permanently on their souls. The ones who cracked GATE. The ones who joined MNCs. The ones who launched startups. The ones who went abroad and carried Bengal’s pride as carry-on luggage. Each one of them is a living testament to what purpose-driven education can do.
A Legacy Reaffirmed, A Future Declared
The Silver Jubilee celebration concluded with a vote of thanks, but the sentiment in that room was far from concluding. It was, in every sense, a beginning. A reaffirmation of the commitment to excellence in education and holistic development that has defined TMSL since 2001.
Because a Silver Jubilee is not a full stop. It is a comma, a breath drawn before the next sentence of an extraordinary story continues. The world that today’s TMSL students will graduate into is more demanding and more full of possibility than any previous generation faced. Artificial intelligence, quantum computing, climate technology, biotechnology, the frontiers are vast and the need for genuinely skilled, genuinely thoughtful engineers has never been greater.
Techno Main Salt Lake has 25 years of proof that it can rise to any moment. The foundation is unshakeable. The culture is alive and breathing. Chairman Professor Goutam Roychowdhury’s dream is not a memory, it is an operating principle, renewed with every student who walks through those doors.
Here’s to the minds already nurtured. Here’s to the futures yet to inspire. Here’s to 25 glorious years, and to everything magnificent that comes next.
Techno Main Salt Lake. Not just an institution. A legacy in motion.