After 27 years I met my schoolmate Mahesh Kumar Ramachandran today for breakfast in Bengaluru. We both studied together from 7th standard to 10th in Shrine Vailankanni Senior Secondary School, T.Nagar (Chennai). The last we saw each was around 1989 when we completed our 10th grade exams and Mahesh switched to Alpha Matriculation School and our education/career took us in different routes. I continued to live in Chennai, Mahesh settled down in Bengaluru, we got reconnected only few years back thanks to Facebook.
In two and half hours over the breakfast in Gateway by Taj at Residency Road, Bangalore we talked about the interim 25 years – college, work(s), marriage, kids & parents health. Then we moved to our likings – books, movies, and travel. It was fun. There is something magical about School friendship that you can’t put your fingers on.
Venkatarangan (left) and Maheshkumar Ramachandran (right)
We have many fond memories together, two incidents we cherish was our shared experiences of going to two camps when we were in our school NCC (National Cadet Corps) program for two years. The first camp we went was for 5 days at Vellayan Chettiar Higher Secondary School, Tiruvottiyur – it was the first time I was staying away from my parents!
Taken during the NCC Camp I went in 1989. I am the first from left, Mahesh is second from the right.
The second camp was for 10 days in Pune, assisted by Indian Army it was called Shivaji’s Trail trek, which took us by foot to many of the forts in and around Pune conquered by Chhatrapati Shivaji. Going to the camp under demanding conditions for a 15-year-old tested my endurance and developed the confidence in me that have stood me in times. The only reason I went for the camp in 1988 was the persuasion by Mahesh!
The only photo we have our NCC Camp, Pune – Shivaji Trail Trek 1988
A detailed account of my experiences with my unit of National Cadet corps is here.