The Magic of Reunions: Class of 1971 Celebrate Their 50th!

 The Magic of Reunions: Class of 1971 Celebrate Their 50th! 

There is something magical about reunions- more so when they involve folks we grew up with. Some have changed beyond recognition (in physique and otherwise) while many have remained much the same, presenting an older version of themselves. Some could not make it due to poor health, some could not -because sadly there were no longer with us.

In the old days, if I may use that expression for the 1960s, the number of students at School was much smaller as were the number of parents and OLs coming up for Founder's and other reunions. It might surprise you to know that most OLs stayed for the duration of Founder's in "Hospi" the old School Hospital. Everything was much the same from the time they were at school as kids. The white-painted cots and the red blankets looked the same. The only improvement was that the OLs were spared the dose of "Alba" (magnesium sulphate salts) dished out by the Matron as a "welcome drink " on arrival at the hospital. Then there was the mandatory photo taken with Headmaster K I Thomas near the Jacaranda tree on the lawns below Aravalli House, followed by the much awaited Past vs Present match and so on. 

With the passage of time, so many things have changed. I am told driving in Ooty and elsewhere in the Nilgiris around Founder's has become a nightmare! Apparently there are even traffic jams on the way to School! This was unheard of in those far away days when we were at school!

Those were days long past! 

To give a present day account of a Reunion, here's the Class of 1971 who celebrated their 50th anniversary of leaving school in January 2023. Yes, their Golden Jubilee was due in 2021 but the Covid pandemic pushed all that aside. To their credit, they didn't let this important milestone slip past without being celebrated as it should.

They appear to have planned this reunion well and executed it to perfection as described by Commander Vikram Karve, Indian Navy (Retd),  of Aravalli, 1971.

He has a comprehensive blog post in his personal blog:- "Lawrence School, Lovedale: Class of 1971- Golden Jubilee Reunion" . 

This link and photograph of the Class of 1971 is produced here with his permission. You will find the names of those in the picture in his blog post -which is like a travelogue. 

For OLs on social media, Vikram needs no introduction -being extremely active on all platforms. He joined School in 1966 in the 6th and passed out in 1971. He then cleared JEE and did Electronics & Communication at BHUIT, now IIT (BHU). 

Selected and commissioned in the Indian Navy under the University Entry Scheme in 1976, he specialised in Electronics, Radar, Sonar and Weapon Systems serving on frontline warships and holding prestigious appointments ashore. He was selected by the Indian Navy to do his M Tech in IIT Delhi in Communications and Radar Engineering. He became Professor and taught ME/M Tech courses at IAT Pune, now DIAT- a deemed University.

After retirement in 2010, he took to writing, and blogging and is the author of two published books. He is an influencer on social media. To know more about him, all you need to do is to "google " (used here as a verb!) his name.  

Thanks for sharing your post, Vikram. Great job, Ranjit Giri, Madan Pillai, and the Class of 1971!! You guys seem to have had a wonderful time. 

So whether it has been 5, 10, 25, or 50 years after you passed out from School, there is nothing like an OL  reunion to rekindle old friendships and bring back all those treasured memories. 

Link:  "Lawrence School, Lovedale: Class of 1971- Golden Jubilee Reunion" .