35 MODEL- SOME NOSTALGIC REMEMBRANCES

35 MODEL- SOME NOSTALGIC REMEMBRANCES

(BY- MS GURMEEN SETHI)
CLASS OF 1978
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      When I go down memory lane thirty-two years thence,a voice echoes in my mind ..... ,"BETAJI KITHE LAGE PHIRDE HO?". That was Mr. Harbans Singh, our Panjabi cum Class Teacher who graduated each class with us from class 8th to class 10th.He was an epitome of love and affection, a fatherly figure who didn't like the boys talking to the girls. And if he did see any boy doing that then "USKI KHAIR NAHI".He made us write the daily diary which was an ordeal for us......but nevertheless he was our "PETHA" sir.
      I joined the school in class 8th in 1976.....the transition from Carmel Convent Sector 9 Chd to GMHS 35 was initially quite painful but gradually the new school grew on me.Today I can say with pride that I learnt a lot in this "model school" which I wouldn't have in a "convent".
      In fact, we owe a lot to our teachers'......Mrs. G Surjit Singh (also our principal), Mrs. Surjit Kaur, Mr Grewal, Mr Goyal, Mr Shastri, Mr H C Sharma, Mrs Kapoor, Mrs S Aggarwal, Mrs Jasmine Gill and of course Mr Gurdev Singh who despite flogging the boys mercilessly and pinching and pulling the girls' plaits was quite unpredictably affectionate in his lighter moments.

      I specially remember our librarian,Ms Sanyogita Kalia, who had a "mast" gait.She was more like a friend to me and knowing my passion for reading books, she would issue to me, two "Hardy Boys" or "Nancy Drews", instead of the usual quota of "one". To show my gratitude,I made tons of quotation charts for the library in calligraphy, which I'd learnt from Mr H C Sharma.

      Today when I behold the well-kept lush lawns of the school, I am reminded of the dry, uneven ground of the yester years where we sat for hours together, studying in groups for our board exams. In fact this idea was also of Harbans Sir , which we followed 50% of the time and the rest of the time was spent telling jokes and singing songs.

     "GARMEEN".........Oh, its Sandhu sir....telling me while practising shot put,"EH BAAL(ball)THODA HOR DOOR SUTTAYA KAR"......and I would meekly try to correct him"SIR....ITS GUR---- NOT GAR----"but he was deaf to my pleas and would continue with the same pronunciation even in a more louder pitch.

      "HEY CHIBU SIR  AA GAYE!!!! HOMEWORK KIA?? COPY DE DE PLEASE MONA??"......We all used to dread the maths period but were fond of Mr Goyal in our own ways. He was a grim man, who would ,without any warning , burst into a million dollar smile, showing his "beautiful 32" and the class would finally relax.     

      The Annual Function every year was an event I used to look forward to.....the English play practice, the Hindi play practice, the group song....missing classes ....practising in the porch outside the principal's office for hours....and then returning to the classes with a tired yet triumphant look as if we had returned after fighting a battle..... those were wonderful moments and the teachers' would also excuse our incomplete home-work with an understanding look and treat us with importance. "The Dear Departed ", "Mother's Day" and "Mera Gaon" are the plays we staged in the Tagore theatre....and guess who directed our plays? ......Harry Baweja ,the well known film director of today. Our theatre team included Rajesh Dhiri, Sanjay Mehta, Raminder Kaur, Sangita Aggarwal, (Late)Vandana Malik, Vivek Shauq, Lalit(1977 batch)besides me.

      I cannot pen off without mentioning the shoot of two panjabi movies "Sat Sri Akal" and "Giani Ji".The actors Prem Nath,Kamini Kaushal,and Monty (Prem Nath's son) were accompanied by Sardar Malik and his son Anu Malik(music director) to shoot a"prayer scene" and a "band scene" in our school premises .A few of us were taken to Art Gallery, Sector 10 to feature in a song sequence with Prem Nath. I vividly remember Kamini Kaushal cootchie-cooing persistently to a small baby pigeon perched up on her first finger , throughout the shoot.She was also continuously feeding the small birdie with a mashed banana and I'm sure the lil' one must've died of loosies.

      There's so much I can share and the memories are endless.....but who care's to read wat I write.....hey....any 1978 batch students who would like to share their experiences???? I'm reminded of the old song..... "BACHPAN KE DIN BHI KYA DIN THE..UDHTE, PHIRTE,GIRTE.....HUM",