Dear friends,
Welcome to the first reunion of the GREMS class of 87(X)/89 XII).
Although I am not physically present here today, I wanted you all to know that I am here in spirit and hence this welcome message (which Rajesh graciously asked me to deliver – Thanks Rajesh). It gives me immense pleasure to welcome you here today – an idea that started with a casual chat that Rajesh (Umatt) and I had a couple of years ago has finally turned into a reality!! By sheer will power, today we have turned back the clock a score or more years back.
The GREMS batch of 87/89 – A group of naughty, screaming kids, that were all bunched together one fine summer morning in 1975 in the Junior KG class at the Refinery English Medium School in Agashe Madam’s class (for me and many others) to start a magical journey of education, discovery and growing up together. Over the next 14 years, many joined and many left the group, but the bond that ties us all together is here to stay. It is said that true nostalgia is an ephemeral composition of disjointed memories – and I am sure that today as you meet old friends and teachers after almost 2 decades what you feel, and what I feel sitting home talking to my dear wife about old school days, is nothing but true nostalgia - Nostalgia about those wonderful years we all spent together and impressions of which have left an indelible mark on the futures that we have built for ourselves today.
Since leaving the school and parting each others company almost 19 years ago, all of us have followed our destinies and today reached a point in our lives where we are enriched with many more relationships and friendships that we have formed in our college, professional and personal lives. From personal experience, I can tell you that after years of not being in touch, I have never been able to pick up and continue a conversation with any of my friends from college or work, like I have been able to with many of my friends from the school days and many of you would have felt the same thing as you talked to each other in preparation for this reunion. Yes, there is something about the bonds of friendship that we formed in those early years of our lives that will always be missing from all the other friendships that form over the entire course of our lives – perhaps it was the lack of an ulterior motive, or perhaps it was that we were too innocent to be judgmental – whatever it is, these friendships always go the extra mile.
Going back to the subject of nostalgia – they say it is never safe to be nostalgic about something until you are absolutely sure there is no chance of it coming back. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no chance of those days ever coming back, so it is safe to be nostalgic about it today. That is what the excitement of a reunion is all about – meeting old friends, hugging them and sharing memories that have been sweetened by the passing of time.
I will get you started with some of the wonderful memories I have from the 14 years I spend at the school and with all of you. On the “decent” side, there are the morning assemblies, reading the news, post-prayer talks on the stage, the exercises after the morning assembly on Fridays/Saturdays, the house quizzes (Go RED!), essay competitions(Go RED!), debates (Go RED!), school elections (Way to go! Anu), Interact clubs, the fun fairs, the picnics to Xeshwars (Uthkantheshwar, Galteshwar, Jalkantheshwar .. ), walking to school with Rajesh (Umatt) and Dashrath (Vala), Father Julius, who wanted me and Ganapathy to sit separately because we “talked” too much …. great 2 hours each day on the school bus (khataara) with Shailesh (Manwar) and Pankaj (Patel) and the cricket matches that we played before the assembly began !!, walking to the school bus stop on cold winter mornings and the “Taapni” we used to make .... On the other side, there are fun memories that can still evoke laughter every time they cross the mind – like the Saputara trip that many among you who were in the Interact Club would remember, Avtar Singh and his obsession with Samantha Fox or the occasion when Ashish (Chaubal) begged and got a beedi from the “mama” that was working outside in Beena madam’s class!!
Well, those are just a few strands from my own web of nostalgia. Of course, everybody here would have enough of their own to weave a carpet of old memories to share and I hope you do. As this evening wears on, all of you would have created another set of memories that you will share with your spouses and children for many years to come. I hope that in the midst of our busy lives, this trip back down the memory lane provides a welcome relief and reawakens the child in all of us and rekindles friendships that were on the back burner.
As we celebrate this reunion, please remember that this is but only a rehearsal for a grander reunion – a reunion where we should strive to get at least 85% of the around 85+ friends that are inherently part of this group. In the last 19 years, not many of us have kept in touch – perhaps due to the lack of infrastructure to facilitate this, or perhaps due to the hectic pace that life has taken. Let this be a new beginning and let us all strive to maintain this “new found” old connection. Please continue to try and locate as many more of our classmates as you can and bring them into the folds of this group. As you talk to each other tonight, I also encourage you to brainstorm ideas for giving something worthwhile back to the wonderful institution that molded our futures.
Last but not the least, I would like to acknowledge the tremendous efforts that all of you have put in to make this event a reality. I hope the next time around there are more of us available to help and organize a grander reunion.
Thank you all for a memorable childhood!
Enjoy the evening, make new memories and I hope to see you soon again
Best Regards,
Bala
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