There is nothing quite pleasurable as the reunion of former schoolmates, regardless of age or their present occupation.
That was what exactly happened when Air Marshal S. Varthaman, who is presently Senior Air Staff Officer at Central Air Command in Allahabad, hugged some of his contemporaries (in the school) like Major General D. Rajan, presently Commandant of Services Selection Board in Bangalore, and Air Commodore (retired) R. H. Karve, at the alumni meet held in Sainik School, Amaravathinagar, on Saturday.
The entire atmosphere had a camaraderie which helped the old students of the school travel down the memory lane to recollect some of their ‘pranks' and of course, the time spent on the campus.
Air Marshal Varthaman was one of the few students present at the alumni meet who joined on the first day of the commencement of Sainik School, Amaravathinagar, on July 16, 1962.
Commissioned into Air Force as a fighter pilot in December 1973, Mr. Varthaman had been decorated with Vishisht Seva Medal and Vayu Sena Medal, among others, in his career.
Honour
Another illustrious alumni, Major Sreeram Kumar, who was recently awarded Ashok Chakra by the Indian Government, was honoured at the meet with the title of ‘Amaravian of the year'.
Air Marshal Varthaman dedicated a MiG 21 fighter plane to the Schoolon the behalf of Indian Air Force, during the course of the reminiscence meet.
Similarly, Captain G. Vijayasarathy, who had also joined the school in 1962, dedicated an anti-aircraft gun once used by Indian Navy to the school. Providing fun and colour to the reunion meet, cultural programmes were conducted under the supervision of Sainik School principal J. H. Samuel.
