HIGH ON SDA QUOTIENT

Meet Nivedita Bhattacharya of 1987-88 SDA Vidhan Sabha batch. She was the chosen one for the post of HEAD GIRL when she was in class Xth. She is today a well known TV face. I happened to watch Nivedita on the stage of Prithvi theatres in Mumbai last year. Without any alma mater bias she was undoubtedly the best performer in that play. The play had veterans like Makarand Deshpande. Nivedita is a senior theatre artiste today. She has groomed herself beautifully. Her sense of discipline is enviable. Nivedita is married to actor KK of Sarkar and Black Friday fame .

From Lucknow's Bengali club girl to being Bhabhi in Kya kehna to now holding her own in TV soaps Nivedita has travelled far and wide. You can catch Nivedita these days in an important role in Balika Vadhu -

Rahul B Seth of 1989-90 SDA Vidhan Sabha batch was a singer always. Every batch has a few phoren return students. They mostly bring in with them another set of culture, music and exposure. Rahul was one of those in 89-90 batch. 88-90 were  super active years in SDA. In 1988 SDA participated for the first time in an interschool event. It was called the CROSS ROADS. This was organised by the ST. Francis College. In 1989 SDA enjoyed the biggest inter house sports event till then.

When Rahul came from Africa he brought with him hip hop for our batch. He had above average language skills. He spoke and wrote beyond his years. Rahul was one of our solo performers at Crossroads in 89. He subsequently became one of the house captains. Its another story that my house did beat him black and blue:).

Extremely respected in the Mumbai ad world today Rahul writes, composes and sings. Ah!! Its not just ads now. Rahul has written and composed many a Bollywood songs. In recent times Yamla Pagla Deewana's music was directed by him. He sang playback for Sunny Deol. Only Tinku Jiya was Anu Malik's song in that movie. There was a goof up in the opening credits but the end credits mention him as the music director and lyricist. Unfortunately we could manage only the opening credits. Check out Rahul Seth's music here-

THE SQ- Editor's Note

A very warm welcome to old and new students of Seventh day Adventist Lucknow. A hearty welcome to another creation by OSA.This is our Newsletter. It will be called THE SDA QUOTIENT.

This will represent each one of us. It will be a piece of work we'll look forward to read. We hope you'll feel ecstatic,sad, angry, tranquil and much more while reading this blog. In short we wish you'll feel ALIVE and HERE.

We will write about everything. We will debate about arts, sports, food, politics, books, policies, science and religion. For that matter anything under the sun. Nothing will be a taboo subject here.

THE SDA QUOTIENT is high on Multiple Intelligences. We don't care much about IQ. So we'll contain all that you want to share. Feel free to express your joys and fears!

OSA has some fantastic writers, achievers,failures and gossip mongers. So polish up your skills friends! Give us your best!:)
For the first edition my sincere thanks to Anshuman,Vijay and Virendra. Guys without you this Newsletter wouldn't have happened. Thank you Sameer for coming up with the idea of a Newsletter! And thanks Mr Bagchi for promptly lapping it up! All of you have high SDA Quotient.

When I look back I can't but remember with fondness our modest upbringing in SDA. Our class of 89-90 had kids from all sections of the society. We were a mixed bunch. We were a confused bunch but we were a bunch of great friends.

While I welcome all I must say a loud halloooo to -

Bips, Swati,Arunima,Anwar, Mehvish,Apoorva,Urvashi,Sameer, Manish Pandey, Manish Rajput, Raja Sarkar,Rajnish,Vikas,Anshu,Priyank,Kaushal,Ekta,Anshuman, Vijay, Alex, Shweta,Amit Khare,Rahul,Muksheet,tariq,Sujat,Vijay Chopra and Ruchika Seth. And for you I must play-

The above mentioned names are old friends from across the school. Some of them are friends of my brother. Some siblings of my friends. So to old friendships, new explorations and more meaning!! Get ready to test your SQ

Rukmini Sen
Editor TSQ

Nuances of school time crushes

Teenage crushes are the most cherished part of adolescence and school life plays an important role in it. Teachers, who are role models for students especially in secondary standards, are predominantly the subject of such fancy by starry eyed students. I also had my share of crushes, which ‘graduated’ with each standard during my times in Seventh Day Adventist, wherein I had spent 13 years right from nursery to class tenth (1978-1991).
 
In retrospect, it would be difficult for me to pinpoint, what exactly would be enchanting and endearing in my crush at any given point. It could be simply the face, command over a subject, smile, communication skills or  something not that explicable. The nuances of crushes remain a mystery to me, and I guess this subtlety beholds its beauty. At different times spans, my crush ‘subjects’ were the teachers of English and Computers. Strangely, English as a subject takes the cake for giving me the maximum number of crush candidates.

One would agree that an infatuated pupil would always hold his/her crush in high esteem and expect the best treatment in lieu. I remember, one of my crush in class eight or ninth (do not remember exactly) evaporated, when my crush chided me in front of the whole class for exclaiming ‘ya’ instead of ‘yes’ to her. “What is ya, why don’t you just say yes,” she said sternly, while I was flabbergasted as it was the first time I was subjected to such ‘humiliation’ by my darling teacher. A girl in my class also had a crush on a male teacher, but she saw the last of it, when she was punished along with other students, who could not give satisfactory answers.

 My crushes still retain their freshness and fragrance of innocence. They are my companion in solitude and never fail to give me an elated feeling. God has been rather kind that I have crossed paths or conversed with two of my school crushes. Without mincing words, I admit that I still behave like an infatuated teenager near them.

Virendra Singh Rawat works as a journalist in Lucknow.

SDA Batch 1991

You want to create/write-Recommended Elizabeth Gilbert

Recommended Maya Angelou video! Oprah reads out Maya!

The Solution Focussed Therapist!

Adult life is full of stress and stressors. However, we can cultivate skills to deal with stressors. We have amongst us a solution focussed therapist.

Solution focused brief therapy (SFBT), often referred to as simply 'solution focused therapy' or 'brief therapy', is a type of talking therapy. You can discuss your problems with a SFB therapist.

SFBT  focuses on what clients want to achieve through therapy rather than on the problem(s) that made them seek help. The approach does not focus on the past, but instead, focuses on the present and future. SFBT is one of newer forms of therapy.

If you have an emotional issue to discuss feel to write to us on goodoldsda@gmail.com

Your name will be changed and we assure you confidentiality.

Its 2012. Lets all get ready to live, breathe and act. We dedicate Maya Angelou's poem
Still I Rise to the invincible human spirit-

Still I Rise

You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? 'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells Pumping in my living room. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops. Weakened by my soulful cries. Does my haughtiness offend you? Don't you take it awful hard 'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines Diggin' in my own back yard. You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I'll rise. Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I've got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs? Out of the huts of history's shame I rise Up from a past that's rooted in pain I rise I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise. Maya Angelou

Editorial Team's book recommendation

Do you love reading? Wondering which book to pick up this week?
We have a few suggestions-

- Lucknow Boy by Vinod Mehta
Vinod Mehta is Outlook magazine's editor. One of the most respected editors of the country shares his life and vision of journalism. A must read for anybody and everybody interested in journalism.

- The Art of Happiness
The Dalai Lama and Dr Howard Cutler

- Colour Purple
The book got Alice Walker the Pulitzer in 1983. Yes its an old book. You may have seen the movie. However, if you haven't read the book you ain't read nothing!:)

- Fear of Flying
Erica Jong's master piece.

- Indigo
Satyajit Ray's short stories.

- A Free Man
Aman Sethi

Recommend your favourites to fellow SDA mates. Mail in goodoldsda@gmail.com

My Sojourn At SDA

Not many of you would be knowing me. But that should hardly be a deterrent when we are tied by a common thread – Seventh Day Adventist – your and my alma mater. Better put, the aviary of our formative years.

As I begin to recollect the kaleidoscopic memories from my school days for this write up, I feel a lot younger and energetic. For a change, the odd grey strands in the scalp and a receding hair line pose no worries. This one is for our SDA, perhaps among the first schools in Lucknow to introduce the five-day concept.Whosoever’s idea it was, the person deserves an award for making schooling so comfortable. 

While Seventh Day Adventist High School had its roots at 17 Vidhan Sabha Marg (where itstands tall even today), my association with it started at its sister branch in Indiranagar. I was in class III. And, the saga continued till class X. Indiranagar branch, though a small entity, was nurtured well by its first principal, Mr Curtis, and later by Mr William K Singh. Teachers were good, industrious and driven by a missionary zeal to produce a bright crop ofstudents. Lot of attention was paid to English language and that helped us alot in the future.

The branch flourished for next few years. In the name of a playground, we had a terrace! Though not very big, it was spacious enough for two ‘field games’ -- Kho kho and Dog in the bone. School children are excellent copycats. My class set the trend for the two games, and soon other classes followed suit. As these sports soared in popularity, the boys had to accept a bitter truth – girls were better players. But there were no complaints. We  were content in admiring the long-legs of our female batchmates. In those primitive times, when internet and i-pods were unheard of, this ‘exposure’ was a great booty for the eyes.

That was the sprouting of teenage.

My batchmates and I were lucky to be taught by teachers like Daya Ma’am, Anju Ma’am, Manisha Ma’am and some more whose names I fail to recall. However, one teacher I found most amusing was Mr Tahseen Khan, our biology teacher. Except for this subject, he taught us everything. He bombarded us with innumerable incorrect facts and figures. I never evinced interest in plant or animal kingdoms, but enjoyed his antics.

Just when SDA Indiranagar was beginning to climb up the ladder, it was uprooted by a quake. Due to some management issues, it was decided that Indiranagar branch would be withVidhan Sabha’s. Mr William K Singh left suddenly and Mr V Thamby, the principal at 17 Vidhan Sabha, took the common charge. We were in the middle of class IX when the marching orders came.

We were uprooted. Now, we had to cover a distance of 10 km for academic pursuits. It was like running  a marathon when you cycle your way to school.  There was little choice but to adhere to the diktat.

To be continued…
PS: In next write up I’ll dwell on how an outsider became friends with the natives of 17 Vidhan Sabha. Till then, bye.

Vijay Chopra works with Times Of India, Lucknow Branch.
1995 batch