The Final Countdown

Well its been two months since the Chief Convener hit upon the grand idea of a reunion. And just a few days away from D day I am delighted to note that almost 70 of us will be gathering at the Opus this Sunday.

A lot of thought and effort has gone into making this event a success. The first task before us was to list out all our classmates. Names came up which were long forgotten and every name had some story attached. We'd narrate stories to each other and hopefully we'll have enough time to recollect all of them this Sunday.

Its been a wonderful experience talking to those lost friends and seeing those familiar faces all over again. I hope to see all of you there and maybe some last minute suprises as well...they're most welcome...

A final word for the Non Resident alumni.. If they wish they can send over their customised video messages and we'll play it out at the venue and make sure that your message gets across to everyone present (just like at the Oscars).

I am really looking forward to this one.. See you all at the Opus

Cheers
BISI

NPS Diaries

A Curious Interlude

Our ‘beloved erstwhile prefect’ who shares his name with the Congress scion was notorious for being a selective recluse. An insider who is now a part of the ‘upper strata of the Bangalore Glitterati’ was once left stranded on the 2^nd floor of our ‘prefect’s’ Domlur flat after the latter discovered (through the key hole) that our socialite friend has audaciously tried to circumvent his citadel of privacy. He even proudly advertised about how Shiten and the other two buddies accompanying him were given the treatment they deserved. One late afternoon some years back, Anand R Bhat and I hunted down the new residence of Mr Prefect who had challenged people (read ACE buggers) to find his house. The investigations, we decided has to be done on the pretext of a morning jog. At about 7:00 AM we got started on our mission. We jogged all the way till the New Tippasandra Post Office, which was the only known co-ordinate at that time. Preliminary enquires with watchmen in the area revealed that there were 4 newly build apartments in that area. The first apartment we tried was one next to Poorna Pragya school, but there was nobody there matching our prefect’s description. Following that, we decided to change directions and took a narrow winding road a little ahead from the post office where we spotted an apartment which had just received a new coat of paint. The watchman who was an affable ‘Nepali’ was at first reluctant to share information about the inhabitants but consented when we tactfully bribed him with a warm ‘hot dog’ from the near by Sweet Chariot. Our description matched with a person who lives with his family on the 2^nd floor he told. And that was our moment of crowing glory (even sweeter than the reception we received when we entered class the next day). We knew we had our man. In the afternoon we made calls to all those keen on a sting operation, and collectively we reached the second floor. Prefect’s house was the last down the wing.  We rang the bell and then leaned away from the key hole fully aware of the dire consequences of not doing so. No one appeared. Worried, we began to knock on the door. Then pound it. The door swung open. There stood the ‘beloved prefect’, busted!  A shadow of surprise crossed his face, as he reluctantly ushered us in. His voice had a palpable reverberation. "Why didn't you knock?" he said. "I got tired of waiting for you, and nodded off for a moment."

Old School High

Is there anything to match the nostalgia and romance of revisiting your old school? True, one gets maudlin and sentimental about bunking classes, protecting lunch from eternally hungry friends, getting "six of the best" from the principal a man with negotiable scruples, lusting unsuccessfully after girls, enjoying the dirty tuck shop grub (generally Sagar or Wafes) and last but not the least recollecting the shivers of  Ida Ma’am’s history quizzes and ‘worming of answers’.

The excuse this time is a class reunion. As readers of this blog will confirm, I don’t have much of an education, but the little knowledge I gathered was at my old school. NPS taught me almost all I know about life: don’t take yourself too seriously, laughter is the key to cheerful living, convictions and beliefs do not come from slogans and dogma but from the air one breathes, craving for well-cooked food is a sign of refinement.... It is said that you only make real friends in your school days. That is true for me. The days of school are surely the days of glory!

The author is a bon vivant, professional people watcher.

Reg Drive

Greetings All

First of all a very big thank you to all those who've taken the trouble to pay up. I know its difficult to part with paper that has Gandhi smiling out of it.

Now those who still haven't paid and are wondering how they should go about it, you've got two options :

A] Mental aka Dheeraj can be approached for wiring the money through the wonders of net banking etc. Please refer the post below for the requisite link.

B] The others who reside in Bangalore or spend their weekends here can come over to Brio on 12th Main, Indiranagar (above Crossword) this Sunday ( ie Nov 23,2008) 4:30 pm onwards. It would be nice to see some old faces again .

So much for now. Until next time..Stay tuned ...

BISI

Why Child! Where is the fine?

Remember the days when we wouldn't pay the fine for not wearing our badges, and the diligent PT ma'am would chase us down and ensure we paid up. Luckily for her, we would all stand in line and walk right past her during assembly, like goats to a slaughter. Even more luckily for her, she had all the time in the world as she didn't have to pay an advance for our reunion at Opus!

Yes, the time has come my friends......... so 

Show me the money!!

While I am sure all of you want to attend, we need to make a payment to Opus right away if they are to hold the place for us. Please ensure you pay a sum of Rs 400 to one of the members mentioned on the right side of this blog. If you can not personally pay up, have one of your friends in Bangalore pay up. If you really need, you can even wire the money to one of our accounts and we will pull out the cash (mail me if you want to exercise this option and I will provide you with further details).

The reason I am making this horrendous post, is because we have overwhelming response in form of "I'll be there for sure", but not enough money to make an advance payment. Hoping you all will get your money through to one of the organizers ASAP.

NPS Diaries

Capital Punishment

I’m usually not the violent sort of guy but I must confess that I got a little carried away by the ‘Siddharth Brahma’ challenge, while back in school. For the uninitiated, Siddharth Brahma was a year junior and is 6ft 3’ 220 lb, bibendum like man who could readily be substituted as the Michelin logo. I’m a little hazy about the sequence of events but I shall put it down as I recall. The teacher’s day celebrations had just concluded and we were given a pre-poned short-break before the 4th period began. The trails for the house basketball matches had just concluded the previous day and in the Challengers vs Voyagers trial, I had successfully checked (much to his embarrassment) a Brahma shot. I remember getting into an argument with Pranay Shetty and Kunal Mukherjee in which I (in retrospect) foolishly boasted about overpowering Brahma. Being skilled agent provocateurs, with a sharp eye for popularity, both Brat and Kundol ensured that the words reached Brahma’s ears. In a flash, a crowd had gathered engulfing myself and Brahma in a human ring with chants of ‘Give us a fight, Give us a fight!’ all this in a snap of 2 to 3 mins and then before I could explain the context in which I made the statement, Brahma grabbed me by my collar and flung me towards the neatly lined lunch baskets. I barely managed to restore my balance and land on my feet. I quickly went into damage control mode by waving my white handkerchief as a peace flag, much to the amusement of the gathered crowd. This is called objective-oriented non-violence. 

Toast Master’s club 

I don't mind admitting that there are some moments which words can never hope to capture. 

One such genuinely classic moment was when Rahul R was named school prefect. The now recluse, erstwhile ‘School Prefect’ addressed the assembled dignitaries at the investiture ceremony in exceptionally personal terms expressing his surprise that he was chosen for the post. Dramatically, he produced a piece of paper neatly folded in four parts and held it aloft. Voice choked, eyes moist, head bowed, he told NPSites the noble traits they must embrace with insincere poignancy. It contained the words of the WWE wrestler Kurt Angle “Integrity, blah blah..” Bear now would be pleased to know that the West has a nice new artistic phrase for such speeches. It's called the Picasso Defence: you throw it all up against the canvas, and see what sticks. From courtship to con, art does have unusual uses.

Puerile Puppet Shows

School fests were an integral part of our times at NPS. One of the oft repeated rituals had to be half a dozen school kids standing, neatly line outside Shanti Ma’ams’ office requesting her to give them a letter stating that they have been officially chosen to represent the school (read bunk class, have fun and possibly earn money) for NIE Funfest/Cascades/etc. We all have our pet hates at fests and being a quizzing aficionado, mine by a mile is Antakshari. 

One could complaint of sore grapes (No offence Risha and Barsha who were champs at it) but I’ve even heard Karthik Raveendran wishfully remark “Oh! I should have pick up Antakshri. That way I too like Barsha, would have a shot at the Rs 2 lacs jackpot!”  That bright, intelligent, vivacious young boys and girls of sane mind have to cram up Hindi film songs and then compete against each other seems to me a criminal waste of time. These antaksharis are fronted by vacuous hosts who reduce the proceedings to a farce as they spur rival teams in a phony contest. Don't be fooled by the audience appearing to be absorbed; this is provoked by off-camera handlers who tutor them with cards which read, 'clap', 'sway', 'sing', 'whistle'.

The author is a bon vivant and professional people watcher.

Those were the days, my friend!

Makes me sound really old (like my mum when she says the words)....but then those were the days.....school days. With the reunion around, and all the "Reunion Committee" meetings (where we discuss more about how much fun we had in school than actual get some planning done), I must admit I remember those days even more than before.

And guess what??? I have an opportunity (albeit after 5 years) to meet those people who in some way or the other have made a memory of mine, special. So Anup, however modest you'd like to show you are, you are worthy of the appreciation we show.

Remember the time .....

when despite trying our level best our white shoes never remained white till the P.T. class? And how we'd make a mad rush for the duster and the chalk?

or when we'd pass chits to each other in class and then during that mad criss-cross of paper routes, we'd get the chit that was meant for someone else?(I got to know many a secret that way)

or when lunch break always seemed too short and History/Geography/Hindi class seemed too long (esp after the lunch break)?

or when we'd make "arrangements" for a particular Physics assignment with other benchmates?

or when we just couldn't stop giggling the moment someone mispronounced "orgasm" instead of "organism"? (Some of us still do it.....now c'mon you know it's true)

or the favourite excuse for bunking a class during Tarang/Festoons was "Ma'am I have to go for the play/dance practice "?

Just the thought of those times brings a warm smile on my face.

Of course, we had our share of sad times too. We lost one of our friends, Mridhula, quite suddenly. An unexpected departure of a soft and kind soul. But the good memories of the times when we sang together at school events, walked together from school back home and shared notes when we were absent, I still hold on to and take along with me.

5 years out of school and it feels like eternity. Damn...I do feel old now. But even today when I pass by Indiranagar 13th 'A' Main, I look out at the beige building....for whom/what I still dont know. Maybe another throwball match, or a group of students waiting for their van or just the sight of the plain old grey-brown skirt and striped white shirt(which I hated in the beginning, but began to take pride in later)

I don't know about everyone, but "school" brings a flood of memories, both good and bad, and I'm thankful for both kinds. We, the naive beings that we were, may have hurt many and have been hurt by many, but all was forgotten with a single "sorry da". How I wish those times would come back.

Though those days won't be back, we have an opportunity to fondly remember the old memories and create new ones with those who were an integral part of 15 years (+/-) of our childhood.
Hope to see you all at the reunion!!


Risha

The Latest

Greetings All

Thought I'd give an update on the happenings since my last post :

1) The date and venue for the grand reunion have been finalized. It'll happen at the OPUS on Sunday, December 28,2008 ( 12 noon onwards )

2) A route map will shortly be uploaded by Dhondhi our Techno Wizard.

3) Entry charge of Rs.400 (thats Indian Rupees, although Dollars of the equivalent amount would do as well) will be levied per person. Those interested in bringing along their significant others / better halfs / escorts are most welcome to do so. However the same entry charge applies to them as well.

4) The Chief Convener, His Holiness Anup Nair, will be sending out the official invites by email shortly. All are requested to RSVP asap clearly stating their willingness (or reluctance) to be a part of the proceedings. And those who are ready willing and able please get in touch with any of the people mentioned under the contacts column and make the necessary arrangements for making the payments.

5) Those who wish to contribute their recollections and nostalgic memories of school, can send an email to me with their articles. I'll put it up on the blog so that everyone can share those memories.

That'll be all for now .... And leave you with a fond memory " Number 1 stay wherever you are ; Number 2 two steps, Number 3 four steps, Number 4 six steps..Class open order Forward march... ONE TWO PREE "

Regards

BISI