The Wonder Years

~ Ranjan Bhagat

“Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days.”

I am sitting here at Changi airport trying hard to remember what section I was in school. I am drawing a blank but I think it was section C till 10^th and then E or F in 12^th…and then it all starts coming back to me. I remember it wasn’t called 12^th but S7….Modern had to be different of course.  I can’t believe it’s been 25 years; almost all of that overseas for me. Time has flown but the funny part is that while my memory fades me in certain areas, I can still vividly remember the names, faces and the landmarks around me at MHS for all those years. I must admit “Facebook’ has helped jog my memory as well.

When I committed to writing an article for the reunion, it was a bit out of guilt and my way of trying to make up for not being there. I had no clue what I would write about and then the oddest thing happened last week. I was waiting at the Airport lounge and got talking to a lady from India.  We had only spoken for a few minutes and I mentioned I had gone to school in Delhi and then she asked me if I was a Modernite.  I was taken aback and asked her if she was a crystal ball reader as well and she responded “It’s not too hard to recognize a Modernite”. I wasn’t sure if this was an insult or a complement.  We Modernites have been accused of being arrogant before; but this person assured me it was all good as it had to do with our demeanour and our self confidence etc. etc. 

 

And  that is it….all these years we spent in Modern helped developed a positive, can do personality in all of us where we were not afraid to take on the world and it’s challenges. It didn’t matter what we chose to do in life. Modern taught us to compete and excel. Be the best …but do it right as well.

It’s been 25 years since we graduated and I am sure we have all changed in certain ways as we have experienced life.  Some of our hairlines might be receding, we might be going a bit gray and I am sure some of us have prospered and grown in the wrong direction as well….of course none of this applies to the lovely MHS84 ladies who I am sure like a fine wine, have only got better with age.  But then I am positive that while many of us might have felt the need to impress and “be cool” 25 years ago; when you all meet, no one will care.  Old friends will bring back special memories; some that you'll look back on, laugh nervously, and maybe change the subject.

I remember I started in P5, Junior School and couldn’t wait to go to Barakhamba and be with the big boys. Once I got there, it was the hurry to become a senior in S6/S7 so I could wear trousers to school (I must say it was pretty crazy having us boys wear shorts…forget the hairy legs but I not sure how I survived those Delhi winters). Then I couldn’t wait to go to uni and then work and explore the world…Now 25 years later, I can say that life has come a full circle with many of us who have kids going thru similar experiences.  I keep telling mine to not be in a hurry to grow up and enjoy school while they can as these times will never come back.  Yes...those were the good old days. 

So I think harder…. …I remember the morning assemblies and looking for my shoes after it was over. Oh! and before that wasn’t there a military style routine we had to do, where some senior with the loudest voice made us do some leg moving drills saying something that sounded like “wish rom”.  

How about that Sanskrit class where we started with “Om Shanti Om Shanti”…some of us were in fits of laughter during that seemingly long routine of closing our eyes and chanting Om Shanti.  I think an unnamed classmate even pretended to faint in that class..we all knew it was a prank except of course the teacher.

And those sporting chants “ Bolega Bhai Bum…BumBole” during matches with other schools. .I wonder if kids at Modern still do that. We had so much spirit.

I remember some of us were too cool to bring lunch from home, so it was good to have “real” friends who packed a good lunch and of course the canteen patties and orange bars.

Who can forget the Holi experience at Modern? I haven’t played Holi in 25 years (doesn’t help being overseas!!) as simply nothing can top the fun we had with water and colors (I admit there was some nasty stuff that was hard to scrub off) playing Holi in school. My guess is that times have changed and administrators place greater restraint on kids these days. It was fun but looking back, I still can’t believe what we got away with. So while my mind is drifting on the wild side..remember that insulation in Shankar Lal Hall that was used as ammunition to make people itch or those elastic band catapults; Oh and those fish oil capsules that when crushed made folks smell like rotten sea food.   There is an embarrassingly long list of things that are not print worthy….We had many interesting characters in school but I think with time we have all turned out to be good citizens.

And of course during Delhi monsoons…riding the bus in the morning and hoping that the school got flooded and we got a rainy day off to go to Nirulas or Bengali Market or to Chanakya.

Then there were those class picnics at Lodhi Gardens and Surajkund and those trips to Rajasthan.  There is little time to list all those bonding experiences as there were many more.

Last but not the least those wonderful teachers and administrators who tolerated a lot…but gave us some wonderful education and values to make us what we are today. 

I just got my boarding call, so need to sign off. To all my MHS84 fraternity…..thanks for all those wonderful memories… Finally a special appreciation for all those who are making the effort of coordinating the reunion. It’s not easy and there is a fair amount of personal time being sacrificed to make this event a success. I shall miss it… but my best wishes are all with you.

Did somebody say Golden Jubilee in 2034???  Let’s all pledge to be there in good health.

As they say "The best antiques to collect are old friends".