Amidst banter and nostalgia, 1987-batch students of Don Bosco honour teaching and non-teaching staff
Nothing could’ve stopped the old boys from Don Bosco from getting together last weekend. Not rain. Not traffic. Or any such excuse.
The batch of 1987 was meeting after 25 years. And what an illustrious batch it had become! One went on to be the world chess champion. Another went on to be Mani Ratnam’s blue-eyed boy. Another a TV star. And yet another turned out to be a heart surgeon.
Viswanathan Anand, Arvind Swamy, Vijay Adiraj and Jacob Jamesraj might be some of the most accomplished names in their fields of work but that evening, they were just boys from Don Bosco.
Sporting a badge that reads XII D, Arvind Swamy is catching up with friends when we ask him how often he got to meet them. “Some of us meet up once every while. But not like this,” he’s quick to admit before another old classmate grabs him away for a photograph.
Unsung heroes
The stage is busy with announcements as the students honour retired and current teachers and even the non-teaching staff with silver medals. “We decided that the non-teaching staff should also get prizes because they are unsung heroes,” says Ram Bhat of Mathsya Hotel who took the initiative to organise the reunion along with his old friend Deepak.
“I am glad I’m in a position to help many of my teachers as a doctor,” says Dr. Jacob Jamesraj, senior consultant and cardiac surgeon at Madras Medical Mission, fondly recollecting the days when the boys from his class used to gang up against their rivals from Asan Memorial down the road.
Aruna, Viswanathan Anand’s wife, jokes: “In their minds, they still think they are studying in Don Bosco. As they are driving past girls’ schools, they automatically slow down!”
The reunion was followed by a get-together at a beach resort during the weekend when over a hundred past pupils from the U.S., the U.K., Dubai, Australia, Indonesia and Singapore got a chance to relive their school days.
The reunion was organized by my batch mates Deepak and Ram. This was a
demonstration of how an institution if run right can mass produce over-
achievers. Sudish (the correspondent from Hindu) did a crisp capture of
events midst 42 year-olds trying to re-live their teenage years in 3
hours.
Wow..I am also a Bosconian from remote state of Manipur 95 batch. I was surprised to see the comment of Aruna wife of V. Anand mentioning..." their minds, they still think they are studying in Don Bosco. As they are driving past girls’ schools, they automatically slow down!” .... 100 percent correct....
The same thought is prevelent in minds of Bosconians all across India. Something that has been etch in mind during the most enjoyable times of their life. Proud to be a Bosconian....
The Hindu is a paper that gives me so much hope for Indian journalism.
With this article, it reminds us, once again, that news (and life) is
not only about the fast & sensational, but also about the slow, caring
and mundane everyday things. Kudos to the team !
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