REWIND.... Several Years back.. The days of Innocent Sundar.(I am still innocent , but that was a time when everyone believed I was innocent ... oops... choo choo..ok....finger on my lips..no more controversies...I promise..)
Right then.. I am pulling my most favorite photograph. The date on the back of this photograph reads 03.03.1998 !
Some Memories..
It was right inside this class that I for the first time in my life felt really bad for being an 'average'. The class was supposed to be taken to IIT.The class teacher had announced the previous day to not to bring lunch the next day since we would be going to IIT.She could have left it at that. She gave too much build up. She said that IIT was full of deers and we could spot them the next day. Everyone in the class got excited. Next day arrived. However just an hour before the 'departure',the teachers made a mess and for some crap reason they said only 15 of them could be accommodated in the bus for the trip. So who were those 15 ?.
The choice of my class teacher were the meritorious ones.The first 15 rank holders. So.. That being the case , I was obviously left out.I was fuming with anger.(It all started way back...).That disappointment was too much to handle at that age.I was in tears. Half of the 'left outs' were in tears.It seemed like nobody cared. A punishment for being an average.
I went to my parents and complained.I urged my father to take up this issue of 'partiality' with the class teacher in the Parent Teachers meeting. He promised me that he will take up the issue in a big manner.So..I got ready for the 'war' and on the day of the Parent Teachers meeting ,I accompanied him.
However,the class teacher had taken the first step. She handed my Report Card even before my father could raise the issue.He just had a glance at my marks and not surprisingly , my father forgot the 'purpose' of his visit.! By the end of the half hour meet , I had had enough and I pulled some courage to speak about the trip to my class teacher. The class teacher consoled me by saying that I will end up studying in IIT ! and this trip meant nothing..lol.. and 5 years hence...I took COMMERCE GROUP..(for the marks I got in my tenth , I could not even get science group.. Where the question of IIT..)...
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.
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Moving on..
I think the photo was taken on the day of a games period.Most of the guys played cricket and the caps say it all.Moreover , I look dark and it confirms that it was straight after the games period that this photograph was taken.!
I vaguely remember the 'Jesus play' that we had staged.Vijay Shankar(Top row second from left) played Joseph.Praveen (Middle row fourth from left) played a sheperd and I played his Son.I still remember myself forgetting my lines and saying someone else's lines.
I have contact with 13 people in this photograph. I dont know what the others are doing presently and where they are.2 other persons from this photograph went to Vivekananda College and one of them was my classmate too.
There was a revamp of sections after class 5. Vijay Shankar , Varun(2nd Boy from left seated in the first row)and myself moved from 5B to 6A. So from 6A , I went to 7A and then to 8A.(Varun left the school after class 8.I'll write about varun separately sometime later.)
I went to 9A...The Real fun Began.....
I think I became a kind of 'poriki' in class 9. I have already mentioned in my previous blogs some of my 'looti's . As a continuation , I would like to mention about everyone in the following photograph , so that the memory remains...
So here it comes.. The Class 10 photograph.I am going to mention every incident I remember and about everyone I remember.
Wow.. Where do I begin...????..I'll go row wise.
The Topmost Row..- WE THE BOYS..
Crude but true..Normally 'cold war' arises with girls. Boys would fight with each other and then forget the next day.However , we had factions within boys too. Vijay and KD (bespectacled boy at the centre) never spoke with each other. Arul (The first from right) and Sivaram( fourth from left) never spoke with each other.I dont know the reason.I still think they dont speak with each other.
SO..lets begin with Vijay Shankar..
He was the Hard worker. He always wanted to win. He wanted to come first in class but could not. Not that he did not put effort. He did. But there were girls who would beat him. He was the first among boys though.(I once beat him in class 3. I scored 3rd Rank and he scored 6th Rank.I remember this because it was both the first and last time that I was among the top 3 rank holders! and my father gifted me a BSA Champ for my 'achievement'.) I still remember how upset he was when in a 'Class Test' in TENTH , he had scored 13 on 20 in mathematics.(I was in joy that I managed 8).These class test marks were averaged and then added to the term marks. So one had to score good marks in the class tests also.He told me that he would get centum in mathematics in the next test and make the average go up.Some say. Some do. He Did.. That was how determined he was.He was the only one in this class who went to IIT. He is presently in some European country doing some research. His present job description is as follows."Heterogeneous catalysis using solid acid zeolites for intelligent activation of methane in the Van Bokhoven Group, Institute of Chemistry and Bioengineering, ETHZ"...As you see.. He hasn't changed.However the thing that surprised me was the fact that in class XI he was into a relationship.
Another memory of Vijay Shankar that I have is the 'Help Age India' Quiz that we lost.Myself , Vijay and Vikram(My Senior) were team mates.It was buzzor round and the answer was Abandiranath Tagore (I forgot what the question was). I pressed the buzzor and answered Rabindranath Tagore and I earned negative points for the team. We were very upset. I was the culprit.I think he did not speak to me for a week after that had happened. That's the way he is.During our Class X excursion , we played truth or dare !. And Vijay's had to dance with someone.I forgot who he danced with. Aishwarya had to give flying kisses to Arul Karthik..! It took some bold shouting from Raksha our senior to stop the nonsense that was happening.Even I felt , things were going overboard that day.
Next to Vijay is Bharath and next to him is Arvin.(Note: He is not Arvind. He is Arvin.He was/is an atheist).Bharath was the fun guy. He would be friends with anyone. Arvin's sister was Akila. She was in Class 8 when we were in Tenth. I remember Bharath dancing and singing 'Akila Akila' song to Arvin's sister in the corridor.What fun he had. He went to polytechnic after class 10. Arvin is now in Perth doing some PG.
Next to Arvin is Sivaram. He was the class leader in class 9. He was the obedient monitor who would promptly note down the names and submit it to the class teacher.He had this notebook where he would note down names of people committing 'crimes' inside the class. Suppose say , I had spoken foul words. He would write 'Sundar - Speaking Bad Words'. And if I repeated it , he would put +1 next to it.!Every one in the class had 'Gaandu' on him.
During one meeting , he asked the principal what must be the student's reaction when some teachers use foul words. All the teachers in the hall were stunned.He asked this because Prathima miss(She was a superstar.First from right in the fourth row) would open her mouth and shout 'U all behaving like rickshawallas and panwallahs..& dressed like onyx workers..'.He was offended I guess. I was sitting next to him and as it always happens , they all thought it was me who had spoilt him and made such a nice boy ask such questions. It was made as though that he was my mouth piece. Sivaram is now employed in Pune after doing electronic media from Anna University.
Next to Sivaram is Muralitharan.The thing I remember about Murali is the fact that in class 9 he cursed me that I would never get any facial hair after we had teased him for his lack of 'maturity'.I cursed him back by saying he would never have any pubic hair.!.. Ha... I am sure he has lot of them now.. (oops).. He was a fun guy. He would imitate everyone and pass comments and would be always laughing. He is doing his PG in United States now..(Unbelievable!).
Next to Murali is KD (Kedharnath).As I have said before , he was my first teacher with reference to 'that'. The biggest problem with this guy was the fact that , he would be around us for all the crimes but this dog would study and score well.During Class 9 , in some application form , KD wrote 'Indian' when asked for religion.! A separate blog is required for writing about him.He has been part of that many crimes.He is also a Kamal Fanatic.(probably much more than me).He is presently doing his masters in Aerospace Engineering at University of Cincinnati.!(payapulla bayangarama padikkudu.)Next to Kd is Arun.He did his engineering from Sastra and is presently employed in Wipro.Probably , he was the most 'Conservative' boy I have ever seen.He once slept in history class and started snoring!.
Coming to the Second Row..( Not sure whether I should write this.. )
The first one from left is Lakshmi Manasa. A CA student.!Everybody (except Swathi)had issues with her and I dont think she is in speaking terms with most of them still. Next to her is Swathi.A very good person.She is now a Pal doctor(Dentist).Her best friend was the person left to her. The fifth girl from the left was Aishwarya and she was a Dubai Import.I dont remember much.The 9th girl from left is worth mentioning. Her name is Sowbarnika.I was once asked to sit beside her by my class teacher and I refused by passing some comments about her.That incident was pricking me for 7 years. I felt really bad. I apologized to her for my silly behavior recently and felt better only after that. Next to her is Poornima. The thing I remember about her is she is a huge Hrithik Roshan Fan.She had gone crazy when FIZA released.The Bottom Row , The first one from left is TK Lakshmi.Everyone says she was very helpful to others.(Enakku yaarume help pannala. Infact she was the one who complained about me to class teacher often).The fifth girl in that row is Preethi. In class six , I had slapped her.! Felt bad later but never apologised.
The Teachers.
I am going to mention only about some of them here. One is VJ(V Jeyalakshmi) , the English teacher. The teacher I loathed.(Fourth from left in the middle row). She was TK lakshmi's Chitti also. I dont know why , but I never liked her class.Once , for a letter writing exercise, I wrote 'Signing off' instead of 'Thanking you'. She was scolding me as if I had committed some murder.It was a letter to a friend and not a formal letter. I tried to make this point to her , but she would never listen. She said "You are using 'Signing off' . Do you think you are a MTV VJ ?.". I replied back "I am not a VJ , you are only VJ". I was referring to her name. The class broke into a laughter.She was an example of how a teacher should not be.
The ever great PGS sir.The Sanskrit Sir.His Sanskrit class were fun.We have had lots and lots of fun.Even though I have got plenty of scoldings from him , I never felt bad. He has even slapped me once.!He was very happy that I scored 83 in Sanskrit. He never expected it from me!.
Aruna Miss.The Vice Principal.(Fourth from left in the fourth Row).The person who was responsible for me going to class X.I had failed class 9.My class teacher Prathima wanted me to leave the school and join somewhere else since she thought , It was never possible for me to clear class X.However, the vice principal had faith in me. (Wise principal, I should say). However my parents had to sign an undertaking that I would study well.My target was that I had to pass quarterly exams. I did not. I scored 30 in maths. But still she persisted. I ended up scoring 74 in maths in my board exams.What an achievement!.
The School House captains were selected from class X only. I stood the election for Kapota House. I had given my symbol and started campaigning too. It was then Aruna miss called me and asked me not to stand in the election since I was 'provisionally' promoted to class X. This was the second time I felt really pathetic for being an 'average'.I had to obey her. That disappointment still hurts me.
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Well Back to the present. I met some of my old class mates recently.Some of them could not make it. I understand their problems.I myself being in mandaveli met bharath who is in mylapore after 7 years!.Life has changed so much.
We relived events of the past. It was after a long long long long long time that I laughed out heartily.An evening where I forgot worries temporarily and had a date with laughter and nostalgia ...!
Rarely.. Sometimes..In evenings and memories such as these.. Life seems to be Beautiful..!
P.S:- 100 !!!
Right then.. I am pulling my most favorite photograph. The date on the back of this photograph reads 03.03.1998 !
Some Memories..
It was right inside this class that I for the first time in my life felt really bad for being an 'average'. The class was supposed to be taken to IIT.The class teacher had announced the previous day to not to bring lunch the next day since we would be going to IIT.She could have left it at that. She gave too much build up. She said that IIT was full of deers and we could spot them the next day. Everyone in the class got excited. Next day arrived. However just an hour before the 'departure',the teachers made a mess and for some crap reason they said only 15 of them could be accommodated in the bus for the trip. So who were those 15 ?.
The choice of my class teacher were the meritorious ones.The first 15 rank holders. So.. That being the case , I was obviously left out.I was fuming with anger.(It all started way back...).That disappointment was too much to handle at that age.I was in tears. Half of the 'left outs' were in tears.It seemed like nobody cared. A punishment for being an average.
I went to my parents and complained.I urged my father to take up this issue of 'partiality' with the class teacher in the Parent Teachers meeting. He promised me that he will take up the issue in a big manner.So..I got ready for the 'war' and on the day of the Parent Teachers meeting ,I accompanied him.
However,the class teacher had taken the first step. She handed my Report Card even before my father could raise the issue.He just had a glance at my marks and not surprisingly , my father forgot the 'purpose' of his visit.! By the end of the half hour meet , I had had enough and I pulled some courage to speak about the trip to my class teacher. The class teacher consoled me by saying that I will end up studying in IIT ! and this trip meant nothing..lol.. and 5 years hence...I took COMMERCE GROUP..(for the marks I got in my tenth , I could not even get science group.. Where the question of IIT..)...
.
.
.
Moving on..
I think the photo was taken on the day of a games period.Most of the guys played cricket and the caps say it all.Moreover , I look dark and it confirms that it was straight after the games period that this photograph was taken.!
I vaguely remember the 'Jesus play' that we had staged.Vijay Shankar(Top row second from left) played Joseph.Praveen (Middle row fourth from left) played a sheperd and I played his Son.I still remember myself forgetting my lines and saying someone else's lines.
I have contact with 13 people in this photograph. I dont know what the others are doing presently and where they are.2 other persons from this photograph went to Vivekananda College and one of them was my classmate too.
There was a revamp of sections after class 5. Vijay Shankar , Varun(2nd Boy from left seated in the first row)and myself moved from 5B to 6A. So from 6A , I went to 7A and then to 8A.(Varun left the school after class 8.I'll write about varun separately sometime later.)
I went to 9A...The Real fun Began.....
I think I became a kind of 'poriki' in class 9. I have already mentioned in my previous blogs some of my 'looti's . As a continuation , I would like to mention about everyone in the following photograph , so that the memory remains...
So here it comes.. The Class 10 photograph.I am going to mention every incident I remember and about everyone I remember.
Wow.. Where do I begin...????..I'll go row wise.
The Topmost Row..- WE THE BOYS..
Crude but true..Normally 'cold war' arises with girls. Boys would fight with each other and then forget the next day.However , we had factions within boys too. Vijay and KD (bespectacled boy at the centre) never spoke with each other. Arul (The first from right) and Sivaram( fourth from left) never spoke with each other.I dont know the reason.I still think they dont speak with each other.
SO..lets begin with Vijay Shankar..
He was the Hard worker. He always wanted to win. He wanted to come first in class but could not. Not that he did not put effort. He did. But there were girls who would beat him. He was the first among boys though.(I once beat him in class 3. I scored 3rd Rank and he scored 6th Rank.I remember this because it was both the first and last time that I was among the top 3 rank holders! and my father gifted me a BSA Champ for my 'achievement'.) I still remember how upset he was when in a 'Class Test' in TENTH , he had scored 13 on 20 in mathematics.(I was in joy that I managed 8).These class test marks were averaged and then added to the term marks. So one had to score good marks in the class tests also.He told me that he would get centum in mathematics in the next test and make the average go up.Some say. Some do. He Did.. That was how determined he was.He was the only one in this class who went to IIT. He is presently in some European country doing some research. His present job description is as follows."Heterogeneous catalysis using solid acid zeolites for intelligent activation of methane in the Van Bokhoven Group, Institute of Chemistry and Bioengineering, ETHZ"...As you see.. He hasn't changed.However the thing that surprised me was the fact that in class XI he was into a relationship.
Another memory of Vijay Shankar that I have is the 'Help Age India' Quiz that we lost.Myself , Vijay and Vikram(My Senior) were team mates.It was buzzor round and the answer was Abandiranath Tagore (I forgot what the question was). I pressed the buzzor and answered Rabindranath Tagore and I earned negative points for the team. We were very upset. I was the culprit.I think he did not speak to me for a week after that had happened. That's the way he is.During our Class X excursion , we played truth or dare !. And Vijay's had to dance with someone.I forgot who he danced with. Aishwarya had to give flying kisses to Arul Karthik..! It took some bold shouting from Raksha our senior to stop the nonsense that was happening.Even I felt , things were going overboard that day.
Next to Vijay is Bharath and next to him is Arvin.(Note: He is not Arvind. He is Arvin.He was/is an atheist).Bharath was the fun guy. He would be friends with anyone. Arvin's sister was Akila. She was in Class 8 when we were in Tenth. I remember Bharath dancing and singing 'Akila Akila' song to Arvin's sister in the corridor.What fun he had. He went to polytechnic after class 10. Arvin is now in Perth doing some PG.
Next to Arvin is Sivaram. He was the class leader in class 9. He was the obedient monitor who would promptly note down the names and submit it to the class teacher.He had this notebook where he would note down names of people committing 'crimes' inside the class. Suppose say , I had spoken foul words. He would write 'Sundar - Speaking Bad Words'. And if I repeated it , he would put +1 next to it.!Every one in the class had 'Gaandu' on him.
During one meeting , he asked the principal what must be the student's reaction when some teachers use foul words. All the teachers in the hall were stunned.He asked this because Prathima miss(She was a superstar.First from right in the fourth row) would open her mouth and shout 'U all behaving like rickshawallas and panwallahs..& dressed like onyx workers..'.He was offended I guess. I was sitting next to him and as it always happens , they all thought it was me who had spoilt him and made such a nice boy ask such questions. It was made as though that he was my mouth piece. Sivaram is now employed in Pune after doing electronic media from Anna University.
Next to Sivaram is Muralitharan.The thing I remember about Murali is the fact that in class 9 he cursed me that I would never get any facial hair after we had teased him for his lack of 'maturity'.I cursed him back by saying he would never have any pubic hair.!.. Ha... I am sure he has lot of them now.. (oops).. He was a fun guy. He would imitate everyone and pass comments and would be always laughing. He is doing his PG in United States now..(Unbelievable!).
Next to Murali is KD (Kedharnath).As I have said before , he was my first teacher with reference to 'that'. The biggest problem with this guy was the fact that , he would be around us for all the crimes but this dog would study and score well.During Class 9 , in some application form , KD wrote 'Indian' when asked for religion.! A separate blog is required for writing about him.He has been part of that many crimes.He is also a Kamal Fanatic.(probably much more than me).He is presently doing his masters in Aerospace Engineering at University of Cincinnati.!(payapulla bayangarama padikkudu.)Next to Kd is Arun.He did his engineering from Sastra and is presently employed in Wipro.Probably , he was the most 'Conservative' boy I have ever seen.He once slept in history class and started snoring!.
Coming to the Second Row..( Not sure whether I should write this.. )
The first one from left is Lakshmi Manasa. A CA student.!Everybody (except Swathi)had issues with her and I dont think she is in speaking terms with most of them still. Next to her is Swathi.A very good person.She is now a Pal doctor(Dentist).Her best friend was the person left to her. The fifth girl from the left was Aishwarya and she was a Dubai Import.I dont remember much.The 9th girl from left is worth mentioning. Her name is Sowbarnika.I was once asked to sit beside her by my class teacher and I refused by passing some comments about her.That incident was pricking me for 7 years. I felt really bad. I apologized to her for my silly behavior recently and felt better only after that. Next to her is Poornima. The thing I remember about her is she is a huge Hrithik Roshan Fan.She had gone crazy when FIZA released.The Bottom Row , The first one from left is TK Lakshmi.Everyone says she was very helpful to others.(Enakku yaarume help pannala. Infact she was the one who complained about me to class teacher often).The fifth girl in that row is Preethi. In class six , I had slapped her.! Felt bad later but never apologised.
The Teachers.
I am going to mention only about some of them here. One is VJ(V Jeyalakshmi) , the English teacher. The teacher I loathed.(Fourth from left in the middle row). She was TK lakshmi's Chitti also. I dont know why , but I never liked her class.Once , for a letter writing exercise, I wrote 'Signing off' instead of 'Thanking you'. She was scolding me as if I had committed some murder.It was a letter to a friend and not a formal letter. I tried to make this point to her , but she would never listen. She said "You are using 'Signing off' . Do you think you are a MTV VJ ?.". I replied back "I am not a VJ , you are only VJ". I was referring to her name. The class broke into a laughter.She was an example of how a teacher should not be.
The ever great PGS sir.The Sanskrit Sir.His Sanskrit class were fun.We have had lots and lots of fun.Even though I have got plenty of scoldings from him , I never felt bad. He has even slapped me once.!He was very happy that I scored 83 in Sanskrit. He never expected it from me!.
Aruna Miss.The Vice Principal.(Fourth from left in the fourth Row).The person who was responsible for me going to class X.I had failed class 9.My class teacher Prathima wanted me to leave the school and join somewhere else since she thought , It was never possible for me to clear class X.However, the vice principal had faith in me. (Wise principal, I should say). However my parents had to sign an undertaking that I would study well.My target was that I had to pass quarterly exams. I did not. I scored 30 in maths. But still she persisted. I ended up scoring 74 in maths in my board exams.What an achievement!.
The School House captains were selected from class X only. I stood the election for Kapota House. I had given my symbol and started campaigning too. It was then Aruna miss called me and asked me not to stand in the election since I was 'provisionally' promoted to class X. This was the second time I felt really pathetic for being an 'average'.I had to obey her. That disappointment still hurts me.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Well Back to the present. I met some of my old class mates recently.Some of them could not make it. I understand their problems.I myself being in mandaveli met bharath who is in mylapore after 7 years!.Life has changed so much.
We relived events of the past. It was after a long long long long long time that I laughed out heartily.An evening where I forgot worries temporarily and had a date with laughter and nostalgia ...!
Rarely.. Sometimes..In evenings and memories such as these.. Life seems to be Beautiful..!
P.S:- 100 !!!
5 comments:
Hey nice blog entry!! It rekindled my school memories!!
i always end up reading ur post -- very late !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
u r realllyyyy tooooooo muchhhh !!!! awesome stuff
rakhi ????... crush ???? !!!!!!!!! ....... dai yaaru da...
Haaaa.. Somethings are good if left unanswered...
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