DEAR DAV, PLEASE TAKE ME BACK…

The Mind: Given a chance, where would to want to travel?

Me: To my childhood, to my school, to be with my friends and teachers… (no exaggerations!)

April 1996 to March 2007… That’s exactly 40 percent of my life and pretty much defines who I am today, what I think about, how I decide things and what I enjoy doing. The journey in DAV Burla gave me my best friends, my favourite teachers, the principles of my life and the motivation to go ahead in life, apart from the strong academics and numerous extracurricular activities. Summarizing a major chunk of my life in a single page is just impossible and I don’t know where to start while writing an article for my school magazine “The Revelation” as an alumni, the same magazine where I used to submit a couple of articles every year, once upon a time.

I very clearly remember my first day in school… Held in the MCL quarters in Anand Vihar, Burla, I was just too excited to mingle with so many children. Little did I know that the journey I was starting would make me up, bit by bit into the person I am today. We saw the school building come up block by block and floor by floor, the same way we were being built up as young people. Transitioning from pencil to pen, from bibs to tunics and from childish tiffs with classmates to lifelong friendships, eventually we transformed from children to teenagers in the sacred bosom of our school under the able guidance and care of our beloved teachers.

The best thing about our teachers is that they never taught us for scoring marks in the exams, rather they infused clear concepts and free thinking into us, which is the reason I can clearly remember most of the things taught in our history and geography classes and rationally build up on the concepts we learnt in science and mathematics. I still harbor the deep interest in English and Sanskrit languages, thanks to the world of magic weaved in the respective classrooms. Studies were never a burden, we studied because we were motivated and interested to study. The arts and music that we learnt in school still continue to be my favourite passions. The active participation in debate and essay writing competitions in school and outside as well as the annual sports and annual function, have armed me with confidence to face any competition in any setup with sportsman’s spirit and to try out any new project or activity with a positive attitude.

The cups and shields I received are my most prized possessions, whereas the punishments and scoldings I got are my most valuable lessons. Today, a small chat with my DAV friends lightens up my day whereas a single message from any of my teachers energizes me immensely. If I were the master of my own wishes, I would really really wish to return back to the simple and innocent DAV Burla days where our day began and ended with prayer and was filled with laughter and fun in between.

The Mind: So did you write all you wanted to, for the school magazine?

Me: I had barely started with random things that the page got filled up. I so wanted to describe the special moments with the bestest friends and the treasured lessons from my favourite teachers, but I think that would fill up a whole book. Just that the nostalgia ignited in me during this trip down the memory lane today will keep drowning me for atleast the next few days to come!!!