As dawn breaks I wake up to stretch myself to the four corners of my bed making an attempt to conquer every part of it. I do not shy away from confessing the fact that before splashing water on my face or reaching out for my toothbrush I login to my Facebook account to check updates and latest reaction to my posts. Yes, you read it right, I am an attention seeker.
I found a heady update of 24 September DeNobili alumni, Delhi meet. After travelling to Bangalore, Singapore, London, Pune the meet was finally in my city and Kolkata simultaneously. One body and its simultaneous presence at two places (Delhi & Kolkata)! That’s the uniqueness of this alumni body. You name the place and the nobilians are there. Their spread throughout the length and breadth of the country and overseas seems to be similar to my early morning stretch.
Suddenly there was spring in my steps and I can relate my excitement retrospectively to the period when I studied at DeNobili. Back then, each day was a special one and so did I feel it today. As if I was getting ready for my school. As I drove my way to the venue I had relived every part of my school days, recalling every sweet and sweet incidents (nothing bitter to remember) yet couldn’t get enough.
However, large in number students gather they cannot make a school without a teacher and vice versa. So was the feature of this meet. Our fellow nobilian organizer had taken care of this vitality. The occasion was to be graced by the presence of two of our former school teachers. I can recall that they were the most feared one for being their strict disciplinarian and I attribute the discipline in my life to her effort. They were the same English teachers who were most emulated too for their distinguished diction and I must tell you that I copied their accent to the core, while at school. And today it’s reality of my diction and brevity.
As I reached the venue I marveled to find an alumnus of 1965 batch. After talking to him for a while I sensed the classic touch in his English that is so rare today. I wished if we had devised some ways to preserve the dialect. The next few moments saw the presence of alumni from the 1979 batch and their immediate juniors. After learning about their occupation I had another moment to feel proud of my alma mater. They all had something distinguished and distinct about themselves and yet so related with a selfless bond; DeNobili.
And then there were arrivals of alumni from 1990s, the era of ShahRukh, Salman, Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty’s. I remember it very fondly they were the heroes of my school when I was in my primary. I can relate them to their every activity and corner of school to which as a junior I witnessed. They too were an important part of growing days of my peers and me. They just couldn’t thank their fortune enough to see an old mate and for the next few moments my ears heard it repeatedly around “Saaley, tum bhi ho yahan”. There was a strange kind of relatedness and emotions oozing out. “Kabke bichde kaha aa ke mile!”.
And finally the moment came to which all of us were waiting eagerly. The arrival Ma’am Meera Varma. It was a slight letdown not to see Ma’am Rashmi Ashtikar who couldn’t make it due to some unavoidable circumstances.
Mrs Verma ma’am was soon surrounded by all of us very much like school kids waiting eagerly for their turn of handful sweets. And indeed we did get it in the form of pat on the cheek and a hug which was so much full of warmth and love. “God! We still have a guide to look up to”. And as we all touched her feet there were blessings unlimited. I realized that this sign of reverence has certainly something to do with the teachings we had in school which keeps our morality and ethics intact till date.
The next few hours filled the atmosphere in the hall with mixed emotions; mirth, laughter, nostalgia and a hidden wish to return to school days. Everyone present there, shared their experiences of being a nobilian and life thereafter. There were some jovial narrations of funny school incidents too. At another such narration a nobilian told us that how his married life went through a bad patch over his insistence to his son be admitted to DeNobili alone rather anywhere else.
As our talks progressed we moved on to a commitment to maintain this association and meet at regular intervals. There were some smart pieces of advice too to the proposed idea. One such being was getting registered as a society.
And it did not end it here. This alumni body has been growing in leaps and bounds in last few years in terms of connectivity and strength where the members share a common bond and pride of being a Nobilian, essentially a selfless association with each other. Few of us nobilians share the belief that if this huge group is directed towards any particular cause like the pressing problems of hunger and education in India, we will be a force to reckon with. Being educated in the best of environment we can contribute significantly to the society. “Where there is righteousness and selflessness in heart there is beauty in character; when there is a beauty in character there is harmony in the home. When there is harmony in the home, there is order in the society. When there is order in the society there is peace in the Nation”- Tamil poet. As we presented this idea in the meet we garnered support and encouragement which has led us to a conviction to initiate.
It was followed by a delicious dinner served in a typical Dilliwallah taste. The menu ranging from Chicken saagwallah to mouth watering malaikofta and Dal Makhani. As all good things come to an end it was closure call for the ceremony too. I can see that everyone in the hall wanted this moment to freeze, unwilling to get back to their normal course of life. And as I am driving back home this déjà vu is still to sink in.
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