Mumbai: It’s a golden reunion for NBWS SSC batch of 1975 in Ghatkopar

Amidst the ongoing SSC board examinations a school in Ghatkopar held a gathering with a difference It was the reunion of the schoolrsquos first SSC batch of 1975mdashand the exstudents all wore the school uniform of white shirt maroon tie and the metal badge which was specially made to commemorate the occasionAmong those who attended the Golden Reunion were batch SSC topper Subash Mahadevan and Marathi teacher Vidya Patil 82 form PrabhadeviThe 32 exstudents mostly in their midsixties flew in from from New Zealand USA Bengaluru and Delhi for the reunion held on February 27 at SIES Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Memorial School formerly known as NBWS High School in Ghatkopar WestRajeswari Nair science coordinator at SIES facilitated the reunion and recalled that it began with an email from exstudent V Krishnan in the US a month earlier proposing the meetup Nair accompanied by Devdas Nair treasurer of SIES and chairman of Dr APJ School Society got in touch with as many of the 46strong batch as possible to organise the meetupldquoThe rest as they say is historymdashan unforgettable experience that will stay with us foreverrdquo she saidldquoIt was heartwarming to have our alumni back in their alma mater and we felt honoured to share this special moment with them It was incredible to see 32 out of the 46 students all in their mid60s from across Indian and overseas participate in school attire The event began with a traditional lamplighting ceremony followed by school prayer and national pledgerdquo she saidThe Humble BeginningsSpeaking to MidDay the alumi recalled their journey stating ldquoThe year was 1964 The neighborhood Ghatkopar W had two wellestablished schoolsmdashFatima High School and Sarvajanik Schoolmdashwhere most children went But our parents chose a different path believing in the vision of a new school that would shape the future What awaited us was no grand school building but instead three car garages in two different residential buildings Shakti Nivas and Vasanji Bhanji building repurposed into makeshift classroomsrdquo the exstudents recalledThere were no proper desksmdashperhaps not even chairs Rainwater would flow past the garages on stormy days and large street dogs would watch us with curiosity as we tiny fouryearolds bravely made our way inside But once we stepped in magic happened Our teachers filled those barewalled garages with warmth laughter and knowledge We made our first friends learned our ABCs practiced multiplication tables and celebrated birthdays in the simplest yet most joyous ways The garages may have been small but our spirits were boundless We even had two divisionsmdashLalitha Teacher for Division A and Yogam Teacher for Division B Those garages became the cradle of our friendships friendships that would last a lifetime We cannot ever forget our dear watchman Joshi who was a man of all seasons our hero ndash always so protective and even carried us on his shoulders during rain floodsA New Chapter BeginsIn 1967 an exciting milestone awaited usmdashwe moved to a brick school building at Rifle Range Ghatkopar W It was just a singlestory structure then but for us it was a palace For the first time we had a school bus making multiple stopsmdashGopal Bhuvan CSD Quarters and moremdashtransforming our daily commute into an adventure Even more exciting was the merging of our two divisions into one unified class Mary Joseph Teacher became our class teacher in Standard 3 and we proudly wore our first school uniforms complete with a badge The school tie came a year later Class 4 ndash The Legend of Eliyamma Teacher If there was one teacher who inspired both fear and deep affection it was our beloved Eliyamma Teacher Strict yet loving she commanded discipline with an iron hand and sometimes a cane but beneath that tough exterior lay a heart of gold She had a special fondness for the boys and we in turn adored her Many of us cried through Standard 5 missing her firm yet caring presenceBecoming lsquoBig KidsrsquoBy Standard 5 we had officially graduated into Secondary School earning newfound respect at home and among neighbours Our guide on this journey was our young tall and evergraceful class teacher Ms Mary Verghese Koshy She instilled in us a love for perfectionmdashencouraging neat handwriting wellcovered notebooks and a sense of discipline that shaped us into diligent studentsOur class steadily grew welcoming new friends each year Every new student brought fresh energy new talents and new mischief We bonded competed learned and most importantly stuck togetherA World of New SubjectsBy Standard 8 a new academic challenge awaited usmdashPhysics Chemistry Biology and New Mathematics Each subject had a dedicated passionate teacher Gemini Baburajan for Chemistry Sreedevi Teacher for Physics Balakrishnan Sir for New Maths amp Laxmi Venkataraman for English Our dear class teacher taught us Biology tooThis was also the year we also wore full pants and also became Scouts and Guides proudly wearing our new uniforms and learning survival skills team work and responsibilityThe Sanskrit vs Marathi DebateStandard 9 brought a tough decisionmdashchoosing between Sanskrit and Marathi Many of us were torn because our Marathi teacher the ever energetic charming Vidya Patil was so full of life and energy making every class fun Though we split into two groups our bond as a class remained unshaken recalled the alumniClass X ndash The Terrific Batch of rsquo75The final year brought a new SSC syllabus unfamiliar to both students and teachers There was tension uncertainty and a flurry of revision classes in February 1975 Then came the moment of triumphmdashThe Class of 1975 achieved a 10037 pass rate a record that still stands strong today Our success was a testament to the dedication of our teachers the hard work of every student and the unwavering spirit of friendship and support that defined our class they saidSixtyfiveyearold Subash Mahadevan topped the SSC batch scoring 537 700 marks He recalled ldquoI scored a distinction in SSC and as we moved to acquire higher degrees we lost contact with most of our classmates Some became chartered accountants insurance professionals and bankers while others settled overseas or left Mumbai It was only during our silver jubilee meet 25 years after leaving school in early 2000 that we got reunited again Today nearly 10 per cent of our classmates have already left the world and those who could not attend the reunion were either out of the city or themselves unwell or were taking care of their elderly parents grandchildrenrdquo50 Years Later ndash Still the Same at HeartldquoToday half a century has passed since we walked out of school as graduates ready to take on the world We may have grayed a little gained a few wrinkles and seen lifersquos ups and downsmdashbut in spirit we are still those same young boys and girls who laughed learned and dreamed together Between us time has stood still We are The Class of 1975 ndash The New Batch of SSC Maharashtra Pune Board The Terrific rsquo75 Herersquos to our school our teachers our friendships and the memories that bind us foreverrdquo said Krishnan VldquoInstead of meeting at a hotel or resort we decided to meet in the school after 50 years and were overwhelmed with the positive response from school management to welcome us open heartedlyrdquo said the alumniNew Name Old LoveldquoOur beloved NBWS school though it may now have a new name and new management the essence of NBWS remains the same in our heart It is still our sweet school the place where our childhood memories were shapedEvery brick every wall every class room the benches the steps and the corridors hold the echoes of our laughter our lessons and our friendships They always call out for us Just as a married daughter remains deeply rooted in her parentsrsquo hearts our school will always be oursmdashwoven into the fabric of our lives and memories Nothing has changedmdashstill our own schoolrdquo said the emotional gathering