"....मगर मुझको लौटा दो, बचपन का सावन,
वो कागज़ की कश्ती, वो बारिश का पानी..."
Who could understand these lines better than the old buddies from Patkar Guruji Vidyalaya who had gathered on the scorching, hot afternoon in summer just to relive those precious moments from young, innocent old school days!! the occasion was the completion of 25 years of the middle school days!!
Everyone was overjoyed and enthusiastic on the day, the arrangements were fabulous and big thanks to our female friends who exhibited their home-makers plus super-skilled professional nature and got everything fall at its place at the right time...bravo gals!!! :)
The major attraction for this event was the "beloved teachers" who witnessed our growth as students, trained us with all those rare virtues like hardwork, honesty and teamwork and took us to the external world with lots of efforts and care...just to make us realize what we had gained from them and what was the value of it!!
I was anxious too....like all others and was wondering whether the old classmates whom i was meeting after a gap of around 20-25 years would recognize me.....same with the teachers!!! but to my surprise, all of them not just recognized me but also shared a few hilarious and proud moments in past that we used to share!!
we all had gathered to relive the moments of those early school days, the fun that we used to share with class friends and we didn't have any disappointment at all....even before the start up of the event, we all were in high spirits and waiting for the moment chatting amongst us all....
and then we all stood up to offer the prayers to Gurus....like we used to do in our school days....followed by prayers to Goddess Saraswati....and the atmosphere became spellbound....
the teachers were excited too and probably were guessing our identity from our appearances, from our voices and so on....
"....एक ये दिन जब सारी सडकें रूठी रूठी लगती हैं,
I was watching the road outside my school who appeared familiar....we both recognized each other....he's grown old now and has witnessed many generations of students and a few teachers pass by him....he greeted me and seemed concerned with my well being....he was truely a caretaker.....he took care of thousands of kids like me and seen many seasons.....unlike the roads that we ride now a days which lead to nowhere and make us run than to stroll....not all the roads are alike...at least this road in front of the school was very hospitable!!
As teachers were speaking and expressing their minds, my thoughts went to the past and I recollected the days when we used to chat without letting teachers know and used to share a lot of fun, the punishments that we used to have, the tears we used to shed and the smiles we used to carry the next day....all was awesome....just wonder where did all those magical days vanish?? can somebody tell me....????
The fun test that was given in the class was quite a brain teaser and we came up with some really funny and hilarious answers....and we call us educated and professionals????.....i think we all needed a crash course to 4th standard studies!!!
The most exciting gift was the "progress card" that we all received with signatures of our esteemed class teachers....it indeed is a link between my pleasant past and present.....you never know what can bring joy to you and in which form!!! simply great!!! full marks to our organizing party for their creativity.....
We had cake cutting ceremony followed by felicitation of teachers and alumni who reignited the lights of memories....of course, not to forget that the marvellous arrangements and calligraphic display by school staff who was also acclaimed and acknowledged....
my mind was remembering my friends who could not attend the event due to some other commitments or being abroad....they were all missed....
"....हाथ छूटे भी तो रिश्ते नहीं छोड़ा करते
वक़्त की शाख से लम्हे नहीं तोडा करते...."
Our lives have different aims, different goals and different paths...but we do have a common meeting place and a place of respect....our school and the worshippers of the knowledge and wisdom....our teachers....
the event was concluded on the musical note with a few songs that would linger in my mind and so also in everybody else's mind.....The "natya Sangeet" by Agashe Sir was awesome and we could all know why he is still a "maestro" in our school fraternity.....the ghazal that i recited will linger for a long long time in my thoughts which truely explains the fun and excitement that we used to have in our early childhood and schooling days....those days would never return but surely can be relived for a while like we did last weekend and they will stay everfresh and evergreen in my mind!!!
"कभी रेत के ऊँचे टीलों पे जाना
घरौंदे बनाना बनाके मिटाना
वो मासूम चाहत की तस्वीर अपनी
वो ख़्वाबों खिलौनों की ज़ागीर अपनी
ना दुनिया का ग़म था
ना रिश्तों के बन्धन
बड़ी खूबसूरत थी वो ज़िन्दगानी..."
God Bless us all....
