Meeting up with old friends and classmates is a memorable experience in itself. But when one gets to relive the schooldays after 40 years, it can only be called a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And that is exactly what 60 of us had last weekend when we met for the reunion of the class of ’72 of Saraswati Vidyalaya, Nagpur. For me, it was a 44 year reunion, since I had left school after completing my seventh grade.
Ma Saraswati, the deity after whom our school is named
Note: My kids tease me for calling my friends ‘boys’ and ‘girls’, but that is what we were for the duration of the reunion, so pardon me!
As reunions go, this one was a highly organised one. The whole process had begun a little over a year ago, when one of the boys had casually mooted the idea of a reunion in the Diwali greeting he had shot off to few of his classmates with whom he had kept in touch. The idea was instantly snapped up by the others and what followed could only be called a movement of sorts. Within a week of the proposal, a Yahoo group was created and friends were being inducted into it left, right and centre. The reunion was given a name too — Chalees saal baad…
Enthusiastic mails were exchanged, school photographs got uploaded which initiated animated discussion about the identities of the students and teachers. Nostalgic trivia was shared.Then came the forwards and jokes as everyone wanted to share nuggets of wisdom and moments of laughter with their friends. Some classmates discovered that they had been neighbours for years without being aware of it. With all this, also came the sobering knowledge of mortality as they found that several of their friends were no more.
For me the reunion began in the Duronto I boarded on 21st from Mumbai. There were three boys, one with his spouse, and we enthusiastically shared theplas and roti-subzi along with snippets of old Hindi songs and tried to bridge the gap of 40 years. One of them told me that he had attended my wedding in Mumbai, on behalf of his father who was my elder brother’s friend without even knowing who it was! Another old friend picked me up from the station the next morning and I relived my childhood days, when I used to visit his home with my mother – we were family friends.
Greeting long lost friends
When we went to the assembly point from where we were to be ferried to the resort that was to host us for the day, I felt that I had strayed into the venue of some wedding. Hugging, back-slapping and laughter were in order, as we found long lost friends. The two buses that took us to the resort was rent with raucous laughter, singing and hooting as we were transported back nearly half a century.
Words would sound trite if I tried to describe the day that unfolded at the beautiful resort. Introductions were slightly different. We were each given a small intro of two or three of our classmates and were to add our own comments while introducing them. The session effectively brought out a lot of ‘secrets’ about each, the nicknames — which at those times must have been irksome, but which now only made even the subject join in the laughter.
We had CEOs, doctors, bankers, deans, professors, teachers, homemakers, businessmen, entrepreneurs and bureaucrats. (We even have a lone MP amongst us who unfortunately could not make it to the reunion.) But the titles mattered little as we, the boys and girls of the class of ’72 mingled with each other on equal footing, each a superstar in her and his own right. The spouses and children looked on indulgently as we acted like little children, squealing and laughing and having a whale of a time.
Uh oh! What a mix-up, but Howzzat?
Post lunch, we had some games including cricket. I am proud to say that I clean bowled my friend in the very second (underarm) ball – even without being able to see either the stumps or the bat! Truly remarkable, wouldn’t you agree? Evening brought out the Latas and Kishores amongst us to the fore as the boys and girls belted out the evergreen hits of Bollywood of the 60s and 70s, to the accompaniment of enthusiastic dancing, as the rest of us huddled near the angeethis in the chill of the lawns. I surprised myself by staying awake till 12.30 AM!
The head boy and girl leading the class in prayer
The next day was ‘Back to school day’ and was perhaps the best part of the reunion. We were all dressed in blue and white, our uniform colours. The old prayer group led the prayer song to Ma Saraswati, the deity after whom our school is named. To make the nostalgia complete, a march past and mass drill session were also organised. The drummer of the class of ’72, provided the beat and the head boy and girl led the march past, as we tried to walk briskly behind them – the entire proceedings conducted by our own PT sir, who stood ramrod stiff even at his age!
Time for some aerobic action by the boys!
The Nagpur group, which had meticulously organised the show had thoughtfully provided one of the most relished parts of our school days – the uble ber (boiled dried berries) and borkut (powder of the dried berries). The former delicacy had been brought by one of the girls from her home. Another one had lovingly made puran polis for her classmates. Mmmm…the tangy and sweet tastes brought back memories of those days rushing back….
The tangy taste of uble ber!
The felicitation of the teachers was an emotional affair, with the teachers being as moved as the students, as some of the students fondly remembered their primary/middle/high school days. Our middle school English teacher who is no more, was especially remembered for her sleuthing ways as she used to ‘catch’ errant students and report them to their parents. But every student recalled her wonderful teaching of the language. The IITians of the group paid rich tributes to the teachers who had given them such strong grounding of maths and science subjects, that they could clear the entrance exams without having to take any coaching.
An emotional reunion with the teachers at the felicitation function
This session also saw some ‘confessions’ of pranks played and the secret wishes of the boys wanting to ‘connect’ with girls since there was hardly any interaction between the sexes in those days. One boy recounted how while playing sankhli or chain tag, he used to try to get tagged when a girl was the last link in the chain, so he could hold her hand! And when he eventually did, he felt ‘he had died and gone to heaven.’ He of course refused to give the name of the girl!
Precious nuggets of such memories, good natured teasing, affectionate banter and oodles of fun marked our reunion. As I look at the memento that we each got while leaving, my heart fills with joy. And to think that I might have missed it all, had it not been for some wonderful friends who decided to include everyone who had been part of the group at some point in their school life and not only those who graduated!
Some friendships are forever, aren’t they?
Photographs courtesy: Bhavya and Ramya
The Cybernag 
[…] might have read my school reunion post some years ago. Well, I had had the opportunity to meet new friends and renew my friendship with […]
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Madam, this is such a lovely post. We hope to be doing this forty years down the line too. Aren’t reunions the best? They somehow have the ability to make me feel as though I belonged.
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The best thing about our reunion is that we have continued being in touch, now three years after the actual event. We have small get togethers in different cities and try to participate in weddings and functions to celebrate together. The children and spouses are pretty amused 🙂 Wish you have such reunions too.
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[…] then one day, a small music group happened. Started by one of my school friends on FB, it is dedicated to old Hindi film songs, though we also post non-filmy and new songs to set […]
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HI Zephyr!
Second Blog I am reading of yours and I think you are just making me more and more nostalgic…First the comics and now the School Days of Yore..
Truly, I too cherish my School Days a lot.. It were entirely days of pure and uninhibited joy.. To go back to those days and re-live them again is a blessing.. Those were the days, when there were fights, but without any egos and would be patched up the very next moment.. When, one looked forward to recess the most and would hungrily lap up one another’s tiffin.. Today, all these remain mere Formality..
Really touched my Heart after reading your Post…
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Yes, childhood has changed a lot from the time when I was a kid over half a century ago. I am sure you don’t belong to my generation but nostalgia is common for all ages when we yearn for the bygone days and the joys that came with them.
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Came across this writing by chance while looking at the school pictures. Loved it. Will you please identity the teachers in your photo. I am eager to know. I left Saraswati Vidyalaya in 1965 and I wonder if any of those teachers are there. It is a long shot but there may be one or two. Who do I contact from your group to find out how one can find out where those teachers are? I would really appreciate that. Thanks
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Welcome to my space, Anu! I am glad to know that you loved the post. Did you complete your schooling in ’65 or left school that year? I will mail you one of my classmate’s contact in case you want to know more about the school and teachers. He lives in Nagpur and is associated with the school. Do visit again!
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My mother-in-law went to Sarawati Vidyalaya, Nagpur around the same time you did! You may know each other. Small world. 🙂
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Wow, that sounds interesting. Mailing you, right away 🙂
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What a wonderful time you must have had. I can tell by all the smiles. Some friends when you see them again all time between melts away. Glad you had a wonderful time.
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Yes, we did Carrie. Our jaws were aching with all the smiling we did over two days. Some smiled away for three days since they had come before me 🙂
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Been reading you from Chennai even if my desultory borrowing of other people’s laptops did not allow me the luxury of left-handed commenting. Back in B’lore now so i can wonder about the coincidence of school reunions – I just had one too and my latest post was abt that – 33 years after! Enjoyed it every bit as much as you seem to have done yours!
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Oh your hand is still out of service, is it? I will surely read your reunion post. I have heard of others in the recent past too. Looks indeed like the time when alumni are meeting everywhere. Probably to do with the weather being nice and cool and also since it is holiday time!
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The pictures say it all….Nothing like a school/college reunion. I was at my mothers place so could not read this post earlier. And I met a school friend after more than two decades. Words cannot describe the joy.
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Hey, hope your mother is fine and it was just a routine visit. I am so glad you got the opportunity to meet old friends. It is so gratifying, isn’t it? My regret was that I couldn’t go and explore the old haunts and relive those memories. I just saw one house where we stayed and the shops nearby and they are still there!
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Oh Zephyr! I think this is one of your posts to which I can relate so well.
We had our 1st reunion after 35 years of passing out from school. The enthusiasm and emotions were not less than yours. But we were not as organised as you all n met only for an afternoon. But the remarkable thing was that we were not in touch of each other n got together through FB.
We are planning to go to Vaishno Devi together in March. God willing, we’ll be able to make it.
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FB was not the route taken by our group though many are on it, perhaps because most of us comfortable with mails. Also, the local group was very active in locating friends. Wow! Vaishnodevi? A picnic no less! All the best for it to materialise and that you enjoy the experience.
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Since the time you first told me about the re-union, I had been quite excited and amused about it. When you told me you might not be able to make it to the event, I was furiously disappointed! Was so glad you didn’t cancel.. and reading this, I know you are equally, or even happier, that you could go!
I particularly like how you address your classmates as ‘girl’, ‘boy’. That’s the beauty of it. Your friends from the past will always give you the chance to be a lovely young girl that you were back in school (and you obviously carry the same charm even now… 😉
And another amazing thing about this whole event was that you all didn’t re-connect over social media, but the good old emailing groups. Very commendable! 🙂
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I have been teased enough about the boy-girl thing 😀 The girls remembered how we would run away if ever a boy accompanied his mother on some social visit to our homes, just as he would be ready to bolt 😀 Thanks for the ahem….compliment about my charm 😛 As for connecting through emails, it was thanks to the tech savvy ones who did all the spadework, else we might have relied on snail mail but still would have managed to gather the students! Where there is a will….
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The photograph of the Head Boy and Head Girl leading the class in prayer brought a lump in my throat. While in school, school assemblies and prayers were something that had to be done over with quickly. Today, I realise how important those 10-15 minutes were in the morning. So much so that I wish we had something like that at work as well !
And school or college reunions are not only about meeting our classmates and friends from school, it is also about the teachers who have made such an impact on us. I have never attended a school or college reunion, but have attended a hostel alumni meet. I have kept in touch with my teachers from school, college and university and thanks to FB with my classmates as well. I missed a school reunion last year and am now waiting for the next one to come up 🙂
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As someone remarked during those two days, what we detested then, has become dear now. The teachers who inspired terror can be recalled with affection and with indulgence. So too was the PT and prayer. We would half close our eyes and pretend to be singing while just moving our lips 🙂 And here we were singing full throatedly! I hope you get to go to the reunion this year. In which city is it? Meeting through FB and social media can only be a shadow of the real thing, but something is better than nothing, right?
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Oh what an awesome experience !
You, Lucky you !
Enjoyed your reunion with ya through your post !
Loved it !
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Yes, aren’t I? Wish you had been in Nagpur. I would have had more fun then and maybe you could have joined us 🙂
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that was really wonderful…..its really refreshing when those blissful days are lived again after so many years……. i wish i could join THEM too sometime in future……
Wish you and all your family members a very happy n healthy 2013.
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It was rejuvenating and not in the least tiring as such functions are wont to become. If anything, I became revitalised by it. Thanks for the wishes, Irfan. Wish you and your family a very happy, hope-filled and healthy 2013 too 🙂
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They say we all wear different masks…Adopt separate personas for different set of people…But with school friends, we can drop all those masks and be the boy/girl we always were…
It was a delight to read about Zephyr reuniting with the child in her….
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The masks lay discarded and the titles squashed under the enthusiasm of the class of boys and girls, Purba. We all let our hair down, even me 🙂
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Class of 72? Wow. Kudos to your spirit and to the enthusiasm of everyone who made it to the Reunion. It’s only after meeting our dear friends after a long gap that we realize how much life has changed, how much we have changed and how we’ve missed them all along even without realizing it. It would be really great if reunions were more common, even if people are spread out across the world 🙂
Touchwood. May your bunch of friends get together and share your wonderful memories every now and then.
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It indeed was a phenomenal effort by the dedicated group of my class, who made it possible. It was a really memorable reunion. We have all changed, and yet have not in some basic way. I heard that educational institutions are mooting a regular alumni association including everyone who studied there. We hope to have regular meetings too.
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I hope this fever of reunion catches many others too… you boys and girls havent aged a bit! My sister in Canada enjoyed a similar one in Cochin the other day. I am yet to hear from her.
Actually our school friends always remain special since they are a part of our happy childhood memories.
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I am sure that it is catching up with others too. Look at the number of commenters talking about them! I am sure your sister had a wonderful time. How many years’ reunion was it?
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These reunions can be so overwhelming!
Glad you had it!
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I am glad too that I was included in the reunion bash, Deepak.
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That was fun, meeting childhood friends after so long……We too had a school reunion after 20 years of passing 10th standard.I cherish each moment i spent at my school re-union.
Childhood friends are the one who can’t be erased from our memory,they will be with us for ever.
Loved this post a lot, will come back for a second reading….
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Welcome here, Saritha 🙂 I am glad you liked this enough to want to re-read it. Twenty years is still a long time to have enjoyed the meeting and discovering, right? While some drift away or apart, we still manage to connect with some and they are the true friends.
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What fun! Isn’t it amazing how years of being apart do not matter at all with old friends? I wish you boys and girls have many more re-unions…as memorable as this one..:)
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The first one is always the best one. The rest can be only second best as the joy of rediscovering our friends wears off. But smaller and localised meets can keep the spirit alive.
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In a similar reunion …not after 40… after 27 years, I was in tears
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Of joy, I hope?
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what a lovely reunion Zephyr !I wish i could have something like that:)..You made me nostalgic about Nagpur too..
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I am sure someone in your group might soon take the initiative to set one up. And what is this Nagpur connection? I must find out 🙂
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I lived in Warora near nagpur for5 yrs, so we used to go to nagpur every sunday:)..loved the place..
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Warora? I remember that station from my train journeys 🙂 Nagpur has grown so much but somethings remain the same. I was delighted to see the shop at which we used to buy stuff including cosmetics!
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warora is baba amte’s place, I had written about his ashram once on my blog..nagpur and Indore two cities have both convenience of small towns and comforts of big cities..
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Why don’t you give me the link to that post, Renu? I have great regard for Baba Amte and his work.
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Recreating a regular school day was a superb idea! I belonged to the class of ’78 and am still in touch with a number of classmates. I love how we progressed from handwritten letters to late night phone calls to emails to chat to skype to keep in touch, interspersed with lovely meetings that could easily have been decades ago. It was such a joy to read about your reunion. Two years ago, Sury’s school mates (who have a yahoo group) organized a gala reunion in Delhi (where he went to school/college) and felicitated their teachers – it was a very emotional experience, he said.
I had the joy of visiting my school last year in Dec when I had a fab time with classmates and family friends. Almost all our teachers are alive and well except one, sadly, who is no more. We have a wonderful and active Facebook group 🙂
Really blessed to be connected, Zephyr. Thanks so much for sharing. Love and hugs, Vidya
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What is amazing for us is that many of the group are not so much on social networks and yet the contact was established and somehow one link led to another and then another. Some friends have kept in touch with each other in their respective cities, but others have lost touch even when in the same town. Some are not interested in reviving old ties. It takes all kinds, doesn’t it? And yet, 60 people coming together from far and wide just for this event means a lot. Sury is right. The reunion with teachers indeed is very emotional since they look forward to connecting with the students too. So did you meet all your teachers? Hugs to you too Vidya. Bless your heart!
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I read this post early morning, but could not comment.. I have come back again to READ it all and yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
I love it , I love it the reunions of boy what a sight it would be seeing all the mates , althought its not been 40 for ours but still WOWOWWOW
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It was indeed great fun Bikram. hope you have yours too and we get to read about it 🙂
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Hugggggggssss…was lovely to read this…the best part was seeing the morning assembly! 🙂
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The Assembly was the best part for us too, not to say that the other events were not. It was awesome 😀
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Reunion: The word brings back memories of the sweet moments spent among friends, family and the most fun times in school/college…
As always loved reading your cute post…your excitement emitted right from the start to the end of the post…And yea enjoyed reading and giggling to myself on the cute pranks by the boys..haha…really sweet. 🙂
The pics, the concept and the whole organizing bit….Wow..Real fun to see and read.
Even when we are connected via internet with our school or college buddies. Its a different kinda rush when you meet them in person….a real high… to discuss personal lives, to see what’s happened of our teachers, the news of our kiddo days crushes…and so many things
I recently missed my school reunion which got concluded two days ago…couldn’t travel due to work..Was a real bummer. But now awaiting for the next one to happen 🙂
Glad you had a good time at your re-union and shared the happiness of it via your post. Reading this I am sure lots of re-unions would be in planning process now 🙂
Wishing you a Happy Joyful and Smiling New year ahead. 🙂
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Oh I am so sad to hear that you had to miss your reunion. As I said in my post, this one was once in a lifetime experience and the efforts were indeed mammoth. But the result was for everyone to see and enjoy. Meeting your old friends in person is great, especially after such a long gap. Pranks and pranksters make for the spice of any reunion and we had those in plenty. Thanks for the wishes Dimple and wish you a wonderful new year too. 🙂
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Hi Z,
Having 60 from your school – Class of 72 would have been one hell of a task. Recently my brother joined his class reunion from school. Class of 92 i guess, they had 8 😦 Just goes onto prove once again that ‘old is gold’. Had fun reading your post and wondering if we would ever be able to get so many together much though the know how of who is where is much better today.
Here’s wishing you and all your batchmates stay connected.
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Indeed, Mayank. It was a mammoth task and the group did it in style and with commitment. Old indeed is gold.
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Hmmm…I envy you, Zephyr! I would have loved to be in your place! Nostalgia is a nostalgic word…which takes us years back to our schoold days, than our college days…which were full of innocence! Good to know that you could recognise many of your friends. I loved the way the meeting was conducted with prayers, games and singings! The child in us comes out at this time. It must have been funny for the spouses and children! We tend to forget the dislikeness of some of our old classmates! Maturity?!
And the eats! It must have been the height of nostalgia!
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For me the going back to school part was as important as the previous day’s events of renewing and making new friends. It was an indescribable feeling of shedding all those years and layers of subterfuge that we add as we grow older, stripping to the innocence of childhood. We could actually visualise the time we stood there and obeyed the commands of the PT sir or marched to drum beats. Only, this time there was an audience 🙂 We don’t remember anything bad actually Sandhya and when we do, we gloss over it because it seems so trivial. Can one feel bad about a teacher scolding us or a fight we had with a friend? The ber was really the height of nostalgia 🙂
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Ah reunions are super amazing. I just had a smallish gettogether with my school friends. Meeting them after 22 years, and yet we connected like there was no gap in the middle. We were giggling like school kids and reminiscing. My kids and husband got to hear anecdotes and saw the pure affection that we shared. It was mindblowing. Every year when I come down to Mumbai, I seek out my many school and college friends and look forward to connecting with everyone now with spouses and kids. It is an awesome feeling. I think the friends we make in our student life stay with us. We are our real selves going back to our college days behavior devoid of any pretense. After my own long tale, let me get back to your post. This was a huge moment for you. I am so glad you went. How amazing it is to meet everyone after 4o years! And relive assemblies, songs, exchange anecdotes. It is truly an experience to treasure. Warm hugs to the wonderful person that you are. You make a great friend. I can say from experience :). Loved meeting you in person.
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You have told me about the mini reunions you have with your friends every time you come to Mumbai. But to have one on such a scale would require a lot of work and planning and efforts of many people, starting with identifying and getting the contact details of the alumni to actually contacting them. Ego and one-upmanship take a back seat as arrangements are made and seen that everyone has a great time. The back to school was the best part since we got to relive the days when we saw the playground, temple and of course the teachers! Hugs right back, Rachna and the feeling is mutual. Loved meeting you too 🙂
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Wow aunty!! Sounds like so much fund 😀 I love the prayer and the aerobics pics!
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*fun
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It was indeed, Ash. The assembly was just as it used to be and with our PT sir in attendance, it was not hard to go back in time 🙂
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And, oh, what fun the ‘back to school’ day must have been, I can imagine! 🙂 Doing aerobics and the prayers after ages! 🙂 How sweet!
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It felt great to be doing the march past with the drummer going great guns and our PT sir standing there on the stage!
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Loved this post, it is so beautiful and full of emotion. 🙂 Glad you had such a fun time!
Reunions, naturally, are bound to be fun.. that too one after so many years! 🙂 Sadly, I have never had the chance to attend any. I remember coming across a few of my old, old classmates on Facebook, and being thrilled to get the chance to talk to them once again. If that felt so good, I am sure a proper, full-blown reunion would be so much fun!
The OH had a school reunion some time back. I was teasing them by calling it an ‘Old Boys’ reunion. 😀
The uble ber and pooran poli were such nice, sweet touches! 🙂
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I was in two minds about going, but I am really glad that I did. I have heard about friends coming in contact through FB, but even if that were to happen, it is always more fun to relive the memories and what better way than to recreate the atmosphere at school with old friends? If OH is ‘old’ what about us? we are all positively ancient by that standard 😀 The reason our reunion was a success was because those who contributed to making it a success did it all very unassumingly and quietly. So many of us didn’t even know about who arranged for them, till much later. No self promotion and no ego hassles.
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super patti.. had tears reading the post.. now i am going to share the post with my friends and want to meet them all..
loved the photos.. i am sure it must have been a super experience..
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We were some patis and thathas there, Ashreya, but for those two days, we were none of that as we became children. The children who had come with their parents were so indulgent 🙂
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Loved this post Zephyr. How did you guys find each other? I cannot even imagine getting back to my school friends with all changed addresses and phone numbers and cities and countries.
This is amazing!
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Our group is indeed amazing. You should meet them to see what makes them tick! And to think that today you have all the social networks and other search media to help connect with friends!!
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I completely loved the post!!! especially the assembly and aerobics part.. i have been visiting your blog for quite sometime but never commented. Had to comment today on such a cute post… also feeling jealous that my class of 97 had had no reunion till now urs is a class of 72…
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Thanks a lot Kshipra for liking this post enough to comment on it 🙂 How about organising a reunion, then? I am sure it will be well worth the efforts. As I said in reply to someone else, the older we get, the more we tend to appreciate our childhood and the friends thereof.
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Zephyr !!!! First time I read all the comments till now on your post. All of them are connecting with you isn’t wonderful !!! Nice to see that you enjoyed every moment of the Reunion. You hv already added one more admirer to your group who has witnessed the momentous Reunion. Now many more will join your blog. Nice to see unwinded Zephyr
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Friendship and meeting with old friends are both universal and so would evoke such sentiments in all the readers, right? The mails in the group were each wonderful commentaries and reports of the reunion and I have just added my version too, that’s all. Glad that you liked it Radha! And not just me, we all were in a liberated mood, weren’t we?
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Beautiful post with beautiful pics…loved the post..I send you an email as I was unable to comment earlier. So sparing you here 🙂
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Will wait for the mail, Latha. Glad you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. It would have been longer, but I consciously cut the length so that you could all read and not get bored 😀
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Totally loved this post Zephyr. The pictures are so full of warmth. It must have been the best ever reunion.
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All reunions must be fun, but I will be biased and say that ours was the BEST 😀
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This is like the cutest post ever…I loved loved loved reading it…you made me smile so much!
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I am glad you smiled so much RM. We did have so much fun that it came out spontaneously in the post. Hugs.
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This was just pure nostalgia. I was so touched and moved and excited and thrilled as I read through this lovely account of a mind blowing reunion. 40 years..omg.. that is so sweet and so dreamy. It must have been such an experience seeing all the friends after such a long time and recounting all those memories, all those moments, all those unforgettable experiences.. wow. I feel so happy when some of us close friends manage to have a get together every 2 years or so. I can imagine how much special this would have been.
And wow.. such elaborate arrangements and such a fine and well organized get together. That is even more special and spectacular. I am so glad you had such a wonderful time. Wish I too manage to have such a get together one day. 🙂
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I knew this post would bring you to my blog, Raj 😀 I have missed you here. It was like a dream when one of my classmates found me and invited me for the reunion, which I think was very sweet, considering that I didn’t complete my schooling from this school. It was so wonderful to find out the nicknames you were known by, the pranks each got up to, the trials we faced with the teachers and so on. And nothing would have been so great had the arrangements not been so impeccable. They deserve a special award for that alone!
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I feel so lucky to be present there to witness all this, lucky to be the son on one of the Alumnus of the school. It can’t be put in words, how great it was to see my Father getting 40 years younger. It was my honor to see 60-65 people who are 50+ years old becoming High School Teenagers for 2 days.
I had goosebumps while reading.
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Lovely to see the son of a classmate here, Neeraj. We enjoyed having you all there too and being the silent spectators as your parents took the limelight. It was a role reversal of sorts, wasn’t it? 😀 Glad you enjoyed the round up. Do keep visiting.
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This is just how you narrated it to me piece by piece the moment I picked you up from the station. I hope I also get to see a reunion like this after so many years. Its going to be much easier to find people surely since we are all connected in some way or the other. But actually getting people to one city and meeting; I am excited about the prospect of a diamond jubilee reunion already! 🙂
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Just to clarify. Not yours, but MINE! 😀
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First have a silver jubilee one and then wait for the diamond one 🙂
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Oh I remember how you had to endure that avalanche of news, right? I wouldn’t let you even nod off 😀 Finding friends might be easier for you guys, but the commitment and enduring powers of our generation might be missing in yours 😛 It was more like organising a convnetional wedding and unlike the latter, there were no tensions that marred it, as the organisers were all so generous in giving away the credit to the others than hogging it themselves 🙂
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It’s good to know that you had fun and were able to relive some of those days. I guess it should have been pure bliss, but I am not sure how many of them were able to recognize each other?
I guess age does a lot of things to us. Initially, we develop a lot of ego and the very sight of our old friends may not be acceptable to us, later on we (might) become more amicable. I hope some of my old friends come back to their senses at least when they are old.
Destination Infinity
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The reason why this reunion was a success was because we are all getting older and appreciate friends more than ever, and if they are childhood ones, what better? Also, most of us have not changed except maybe have put on weight or have turned grey. And don’t forget that we had started the process of bonding a year earlier, though I was a late joiner 🙂 I am sure you guys will find your way to one such meet too 🙂
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I read this with so much of interest, Zephyr as I could sense the excitement in your tone. I had a reunion with my classmates a couple of years back, but it was much more muted! I’m so glad you all had this wonderful experience. Looking forward to hearing more – in person. ♥
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One of the spouses told me about the reunion they had organised, also in Mumbai, which was a half day affair when they couldn’t bond so much. Ours was graced by two boys who flew all the way from the US for the occasion and then flew back for the Christmas dinner — not to miss either event 😀 Sure, I will tell you more when we meet 🙂
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Wow – that’s a lot of commitment to old friends, isn’t it! Looking forward to meeting you soon.
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OMG this was soooooo sweet…. I could actually visualize my school days thoughts its barely a decade I am out of it… It seems like you had a real great fun there… I love those smiles in all the pics.
Totally adorable 🙂
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The smiles were there throughout and we had the greatest fun. I really appreciate the Nagpur group that had taken all the trouble to see that everything went with clockwork precision, without passing the tension around. This reunion was special because many of us are not on social networks or even computer savvy and yet we managed to connect up and have a blast 😀
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I must add that I thoroughly enjoyed watching all of you as your years fell away and you were in your teenage once again, reliving the past very successfully!! :))
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Oh yes! It didn’t take any efforts on our part to do it, I guess, because when we saw each other, we only remembered ourselves as we were back then and that made it easy 😀 I didn’t miss all those indulgent smiles from you guys 😉
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You have described the reunion wonderfully well…. Great descriptions, apt pictures and the nostalgia so much alive in every word !! Keep up the good work! ,
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Hey Leela, what a lovely surprise to find you here! I am sure you felt the same way — happy and euphoric watching Nattu have so much fun with his friends. the spouses deserve all the kudos for coming and partaking of the joy. I only have complaints against the male spouses who didn’t turn up 😦
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Zepher that was euphoric post with nostalgia! I could feel it in every word of your narration and also in the lovely pictures! We had a similar reunioun on 25 yrs of completion of engineering and 35 years of passing out from school. Such moments are treasures which very few things can match. Hope you celebrate the 50 years ( Pachas Saal Baad) with equal gusto!!
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Pachas saal baad sounds too good to be true 🙂 Not a bad idea at all. For me it was more poignant because I left that school after middle school and so most of the classmates were new friends for me. And sometimes the latter becomes easier than picking up from where one left off. Have you written about the reunions you have mentioned? Do give me the links if you have.
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Zephyr, You have planted an idea for me to write about reunion so will remember that…. I joined the blogworld pretty late..
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Goody good! I am glad that the seed has taken to the soil and we can expect a post from you soon 🙂
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Nice. Even I like these reunions after a long time. But internet kind of lets you find people and stay connected.So you don’t have this charm of rediscovering people after so many years because even though you never communicate you know who’s doing what and staying where through facebook or linked in,
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But Karthik, you forget that we belong to your parents’ generation and so not all of us are computer savvy as this generation is. So for us, meeting up is the only option to renew friendships unless of course there are smaller groups as in Nagpur and Chennai as in our case. The bane of social media is that everyone knows everything but ultimately knows nothing about the person 🙂 Ours was the perfect one because we are growing older and now is the time when old friendships can be cherished more.
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I was transported back to my school,reading your post.It must have been a very special experience–how i envy you.It was so very well planned.I am surprised your teachers were still available.I do wish a classmate of mine arranges such a reunion–it would be a delightful experience
Ahem,did you take the belan with you ?
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We had the most dedicated group and each one of the mail group contributed to keep up the momentum and also make the event a success. But the actual arrangements were nothing short of spectacular and perfect. As one of them confessed, it was a team effort and while the meetings to decide things would often turn stormy, they would always part with a hug and a handshake once outside the room. That is the kind of camaraderie that can make such events a success. As for the teachers, it was remarkable that there were 11 of them!! And no, my belan was left behind. Did you want me to scare my long lost friends with it? 😛
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Reunions are fun. I loved this reunion post where you described every single part of it in detail. The assembly and aerobics part was wow! Class of ’72 – I wasn’t even born in 72. The best part about reunions is that no matter how many ever years after we meet, we are the same individuals that were during our school days. Even when I meet my school-mates, I am not the same Susan as I am in the present – I am the Susan of those days. And some boys play the same pranks still! Wow! I went on a nostalgic trip. Thanks for the beautiful memories that you led us through in the post and my personal memories in my mind.
Joy always,
Susan
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Your comment has come almost as soon as I posted it and I take that as a compliment to the post and its contents 😀 Ya, we are old, but that didn’t stop us from doing goofy things, pulling each other’s legs and acting like kids, much to the amusement of the children and spouses who had joined us. You are right about us being the same children we were once, despite the titles and the posts that each holds in his and her life. We all came down to the level of children but like the good friends we were, also wowed at the others’ achievements, feeling proud that they were our own and basking in their glory. Thanks for liking it and I am glad you went back to your own school days 🙂
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