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