Dreamopia - Kasturbhati!? Where's That???

So every now and then, I get these really weird yet realistic dreams - last week I had one in which a Chinese guy was torturing me making me do all weird exercises, saying he was teaching me the "Viper style" of kung fu. And yesterday I had another one - involving my parents, few of my old X-C friends (I donno why but X-C pops up everywhere) and a railway station which I don't think exists....

No Idea where It All Began!!!
Now this whole dream started on a railway station - no idea which one (Guess you can assume it to be Bangalore since I found my Bangalore friends aboard). So the train comes, and I jump into the running train and to my utter surprise, find three of the "warhorses" of X-C there - T Suraj, Suhas and Madan. So then we start talking and in the end, we arrive upon the topic of our future plans. And here were the responses...

Suraj : I'll go for a job. Then I'll complete my masters and shift to another company.
Madan : Of course, job.
Suhas : Higher studies. (I believe he had a book in his hand about higher courses in India)
Me : I know I won't get back to studies once I start earning - so guess I'll finish my studies on a stretch.

Eh? Such a Place Exists???
Then the train reaches a station (I believe it was the first stop). And my parents come and say we have to alight. Then I glance at the railway station and find a board saying "Kasturbhati Railway Station". I was like,"Am I dreaming - where am I?" Then my parents ask my friends whether the train goes to Lonavla. they reply in the positive. Then I asked them when they were returning (I had no idea where they were supposed to return). They reply they were returning by the 4 o'clock train (whichever train it was). Then the train sounds the whistle - we bid adieus and proceed to the exit and bang - the dream ends..... (I wish it had proceeded further)


Now the first thing I did today when I came online was to check if such a place actually exists. Alas! No such place can be found on the map of the world. Maybe it's my crazy imagination working in my sub-conscious state...

Seven Years of KVJ!!!

Finally it's 8th july again. Coming again as a reminder of the day I joined KVJ in 2002. Seven long years - even though I studied there only for 5 years, I keep visiting whenever I get the chance...

VIII-C : Couldn't have Wished For Better!!!
So I ended up in VIII-C. I guess it went like a cycle. 'A' section in Hindon, 'B' in Jodhpur - and now 'C'. (Incidentally, I went back to 'A' in XI.) So I got admitted on July 6, 2002 (Saturday) and joined school on July 8 (Monday). Then began the roller coaster ride which eventually ended in 2005 with us getting out of X-C and entering senior secondary. But those three years - would never come back....

When I joined KVJ, I didn't wish for any particular section. But now I feel that if I had been in any other section, I would've missed some of the very best days school life can offer....

The Class Which Was....
So this was the class which had the old stalwarts (should I call them so) - Hannah, Shreyasi, Tarun, Chitra and Vindhya among others, none of whom lasted till the climax class of X-C. Some left school, and others were thrown into other sections by force. And they were the ones who made VIII-C what it was - though the newcomers were quite a revelation. Mainak and Arun - studs in their own right, and climbing to the top in the academic ranks. Shreyasi was another notable "rookie" minting gold in the academic mine. I still remember our social teacher Mrs.Kamalakshi Agarwal scolding the class after the half yearly exams - I had got 98 and Mainak 95, the rest were way below us. I can still imagine her screaming,"You dead moronic children!" (That was her favourite dialogue). And she refused to take our class in IX, preferring the 'D' section. (But I guess she might've repented it later on - after all we were the ones notching two 480+ scores in the board exams.)

And incidentally, I was the quite guy in class - a reputation which lasted no longer than a year. For in IX and X, I was known as the chatterbox - I wonder what brought about this drastic change!

The Shock of the Year!!!
So the academic year passed by without much happening (or maybe my memory fails me). Then the final exams - and the results. And I hear my name being announced on stage for topping in VIII class with a "100 in Hindi". I was like "100 in Hindi???" (Mind, I had a really stingy hindi teacher in Jodhpur who gave me 64 in VI and 72 in VII - and I was the topper in both cases). So getting 90+ itself seemed quite impossible to me. But 100? No one could believe it - not me nor my teachers. And I had many people requesting my hindi "scribbles" - I don't think they were good enough to be called notes. And in the end, I didn't give them to anyone - what if they ask,"You got 100 by studying these?"

Frankly, I have no idea how I got 100. Later when was in IX, I went and saw my answer script solely to see it for my own eyes. And I find 99.5 on my script - .5 marks deducted for an essay, full marks everywhere else. Mainak had got 98. A stroke of luck maybe....


VIII-C was never that special to me - but it was the first step towards X-C. The first step to fun'n'frolic!!!

No Dearth of Good Old Friends!!!

These holidays, I’ve been popping my head in Bangalore every now and then. And it all happened in such a hurry I never got the chance to inform any of my old friends there that I’m coming. Nevertheless, I give them a ring once I land there and always, I’ll find at least one of them free and willing to meet. Last week it was Patiala. This week it happened to be Samuel aka Sam. X-C guys – can’t find such friendlier freaks anywhere else….

“Why Are You in Three-quarters???”
So I call Sam and ask him to come to school. A few minutes later, I see him literally sprinting towards the school gate (mind, he ain’t a very slim guy – so it was quite a scene) in three-quarters. I asked him why he didn’t wear trousers – and his reply,”We have to go in, ah? I thought we’ll just sit here and talk.” Anyways, we go in and sit in front of the staff quarters, gossiping all the time.


Then we decide to take a stroll in the school playground, hoping to catch hold of our old kho-kho coach. Alas, he was not to be found – so we just go, sit and watch the kiddos playing, remembering the times when we used to do the same….

“Where Are You Taking Me???”
As a custom (guess you can call it that), I always go and say ‘hi’ to my old teachers whenever I go to school. So I tell Sam to come with me. He was like,”I’m in three-quarters! I won’t come.” Anyways, no one asked him if he was coming – so I drag him over. But no teacher actually seemed to notice his attire – or maybe they chose to ignore…. Doesn’t matter as long as he didn’t get told-off.

“Why Does Everything Have to Happen on July 12th???”
But he refused to come to the ladies staff room. So I decide to go alone – and I find Vijaya ma’am there. And I was just enquiring about her brother-in-law and his daughter (I think her name is Divya – not sure). Vijaya ma’am had been my escort when I went to Delhi for the KVS Group Mathematics Olympiad back in XI class and I had stayed at her relatives’ house for some time. So I was just asking about their well-being, when she says they’re coming over to Bangalore on 12th, asking me if I can come over on 12th evening to meet them. Another commitment on 12th – and I happen to be shifting my house on that very day. So all I could say was that I’ll try to come.
I hope I’ll be able to meet them before they leave for Delhi and I leave for Warangal – let me keep my fingers crossed!

KG Halli Bakery – One Stop Shop for KVJ!!!


Well, I had to have my lunch – Sam invited me to his house. But I was pretty short of time, and I had no real intentions of filling my stomach to the brim – I still had to loaf around quite a bit and a full stomach makes it difficult. So we decide to go to the KG Halli bakery. And soon enough, we find other students of KVJ clustering there after school.

KVJ and KG Halli – the never ending association….

I had a bit of time left with me, so we start wandering near the HMT Watch Factory – the same place where, hardly two weeks back, the two of us sat with Mainak, Vijay and Suhas, blowing away bubbles of memories.


Let’s keep blowing….and memories will keep popping!!!

Once a Student, Always a Student!!!

Try however I may (I never tried – I suppose it wouldn’t make a difference even if I did), I can’t forget KVJ – its premises and of course, its teachers (the students have changed and I know only a few of the present students).

Another Excuse to be There!!!
So I had to go to Peenya to collect my industrial training certificate – and I was done with that work by 11:30. My dad advised me to return by bus – but I always had one thing or the other to do in Bangalore and I told him I’ll return by the 4 o’clock train.

Then I rush off to my old school – and I call my buddy Samuel (or Sam, in short) for company. So we start roaming around in school – no one questioned us (after all, I still know half of the teachers there). We kept running into one teacher or the other. And everyone had the same thing to say to me,”You’re back here, eh?” or “Roaming in holidays?” I can’t help it – I have three months of summer vacation and I’m more or less jobless during this tenure!

“You’re Retiring???”


So I got the news that Nair sir, who taught me maths in classes XI and XII, was taking voluntary retirement next week. I was pretty much surprised – when I was there last week, he said he was retiring in December this year. Well, what made him take this decision, I don’t know and I don’t care!

But I always felt he’s among those teachers who never seem like retiring. So finally he’s bidding adieu (many will be sad to see him go and some might be happy - I wonder). Here’s wishing him a happy retired life, free from freaks like us!


“You’ve Gone Down!!!”


Latha ma’am, as always, is concerned about the health of her students and on seeing me,”You’ve gone down. If you wear your old school uniform, you’ll look just like a school student!” (I’d have gladly accepted the offer, provided I get the same classmates, same teachers and the same classroom) And she had said the same thing when I’d been to see her last week!

And I had to say that after the bout of chicken pox in February, I never really recovered – not that I lack stamina, just that I never put on weight. So she said,”You’ve two weeks before you leave right? Eat well and put on weight.” And I was like,”If I din’t put on weight during the last two and a half months at home, would it really happen in the coming fortnight?”


Well, let’s wait and watch….

”KG Halli Culture” - en Route to Transition???

Everyone, who has, in one way or the other, been attached to KV-1 Jalahalli, would know about KG Halli. Many students are from KG Halli – and they are usually the ones who have no interest in studies and flunk in exams. So the “KG Halli Culture” is something despised by many….

Will They Ever Change???
So other day, when I was at school, I found myself with Mrs.Sherin John and Mrs.Meena Thomas (both English TGTs, with whom I’ve had very good student-teacher relationships over the years) in the staff room. And somehow, we ended up discussing KG Halli.

So, as expected, it was all about old students sitting on KG Halli roads, smoking and doing all sorts of indecorous activities - conduct unbecoming of a student of KVJ. Sherin ma’am had a personal experience to share – about one such guy, who after seeing her staring at him, ran for his life. Meena ma’am quips in,”At least he had that much shame left in him!” So all in all, in Sherin ma’am’s words,”It’s an insult to us teachers to find our students sitting on the roads!”

A Blessing in Disguise???
Then we ended up on the topic of the proposed abolishment of class X board exams by the Indian government. I, personally, have no wish to write on this topic about which hundreds might’ve have already written about. But Meena ma’am made a comment, which really caught me unawares. When Sherin ma’am that all the class X teachers would be free most of the time and they will be at the school canteen sipping tea or coffee, Meena ma’am said,”Then in place of the Swati bakery, there would be a Coffee Day or an Expresso in KG Halli!”

I was like,”Would it really turn out that way?” Either Meena ma’am has a futuristic vision, or maybe she is a bit too optimistic.

Keeping My Fingers Crossed!!!
But it was an “exquisite” vision – a Coffee Day in KG Halli! I believe it would do a hell lot of good to the crowd there – perhaps a first step of the long walk to innovation? As more and more teachers become regular visitors to KG Halli (and I mean teachers like Sherin ma’am – with a stern stare and a sharp tongue), perhaps the alumni of KVJ would be back on track en route to finding success in life.

I’ll be keeping my fingers and legs crossed so that even if the class X board exams are abolished (which I really hope doesn’t happen), we’ll have a vicissitude to look forward to.


Looking at the brighter side of everything…..

Why Me???

This incident just struck me and I had to post it....so I'll keep scribbling...

Well, sometimes in life, you become a part of a joke (or rather you become a joke) – but later, you think about it and have a hearty laugh. This happens to be one such incident.

So it was on June the 21st – during our reunion. As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, Girija and I found ourselves leading the pack on MG road, followed by HS, G and Mainak. So as we were trotting along, we reach an auto stand. There an auto driver, seeing Girija and me walking, comes up and asks,”Uncle, want an auto!?”

And I was like,”You talking to me?” Maybe he had a poor eyesight (I hope he did). Another question - if I looked like an uncle to him, did Girija look like an aunty???

And all this after all my friends accused me of looking like a kiddo, walking around with a school bag! :-D

Just another reason to smile in life…..

A Bet I Wouldn’t Mind Losing…..

Well, I picked up this habit of saying,”What’s the bet!?” whenever I had a disagreement with someone back in class XII. Though I no longer use it, once in a while, it just happens by chance that I end up keeping bets. And here’s one of them….

It’s Arun vs. Sunita!!!
So we happen to be the two parties concerned. Pretty much a straight-forward bet. If she manages to come to Bangalore within the next two years, she wins – else it’s my victory. Of course, I don’t usually keep bets I feel I might lose – and the chances of her travelling all the way from Delhi to Bangalore seem pretty bleak (I believe her parents won’t allow!).

Anyways, she isn’t someone who would refuse a challenge – especially from me (we’ve been at loggerheads ever since our school days). So she agrees – and then we had to decide on what the loser had to. After all, it won’t be any fun without making the loser realize his loss…..

“Tilting in My Favour!??”
So we start racking our brains. She suggested that the loser treats the winner –but that’s just way too common. We were members of “the” X-C after all – we had to do something out of the blues. So I get a brainwave – I’ve no idea how the others would feel about it, but it doesn’t matter anyways.

So it was decided that if she wins, I take out a lady teacher from our old school KV-I Jalahalli out for lunch or dinner. And if I win, she does the same with a gents teacher. Looking back, I feel I won’t have such a hard time even if I lose (I’ve always kept in constant touch with my old teachers and I trust them to squeeze me out of tight situations), but if she loses, she’ll have her task cut out (she has never even spoken to anyone in the past four years)….

“Did I Keep Such a Condition to Make Her Come???”
I get a feeling I kept such a condition that she’d rather come over here than face the prospect of fulfilling the not-so-easy condition – it happens to me at times, just out of instincts! So guess I’m keeping my fingers crossed – for what I don’t know! I hate losing, but this one time, I’m ready to yield….


A win-win situation for me? I’ve no idea….