A Cottonian’s walk down memory lane

Falah Faisal | NT

Returning to your Alma mater after 14 years is a surreal experience. So much has changed and yet some things remain constant. For example, waking up early to go to school used to be an experience I dreaded.

Now, the thought of visiting it no matter how early I have to wake up for it, fills me with excitement. And it isn’t just a casual walk-in; it is because the school is celebrating St. Peter’s Day – a tradition that is older than the country we live in.

As I pull into the parking, the changes are easy to notice. The old School Hall where we wrote out board exams is gone and is replaced by a mammoth Sesquicentennial Block built on the school’s 150th anniversary and the 2nd Eleven Field where we spent countless lunch breaks playing football is now all green with grass. But the atmosphere during the walk-in remains the same, lined with trees as students and teachers trickle in early and make their way to the auditorium.

The last time I was in the auditorium my eyes were welling up with tears as they played ‘Pyaar Ke Pal’ at my graduation back in 2008, and now even KK was no more. My eyes searched for teachers who had taught me, there were few and far in between since a lot of them had retired and the ones that remained had aged considerably.

As I found my seat, I saw my old principal Dr. Ebenezer sitting in the front row right before the ceremony got underway as the choir walked in singing the first hymn and everyone stood up to join in the prayers. The ceremony harkens you back to a time past as some of these rituals go all the way back to 1907 when St. Peter’s Day was first celebrated.

After the Principals of Bishop Cotton Boys and Girls School have addressed the gathering, Reverend Prasana Kumar Samuel steps up to the podium to tell us the story of Saint Peter and why he holds such a special place in the school’s history. After the sermon and affirmation of faith, communion is served and the guests proceed to have breakfast which is served to them in the 4th Eleven Field.

After quickly gobbling up my food, I can’t help but run around the school revisiting every nook and corner where I have 12 years of memories.

One of the first people I ran into was Chandrashekar, my Hindi teacher from high school. When asked about the school hall’s demolition he said, “It is a difficult task to house 6,000 students. When you were around we had 40-50 students in a class. Now we have 60. The school is constantly working on upgrading its facilities so that the students have a better experience.”

Walking around, everything the walls, the staircases, the field that felt humongous when my whole world was contained between the home and school look tiny when your horizons have expanded infinitely since. I run into another student who is walking around with the same amazement.

“I am coming back here after 7 years and so much has changed. I was part of the 150th batch of the school that contributed to building the Sesquicentennial Block and I think it is a great honour,” he says. We go find our old classrooms, visit the cafeteria where so many breaks were spent and I make it a point to say hello to the old goal post, one in which I’ve scored countless goals and conceded even more. It is almost difficult to leave as you have so many memories around every corner and you have no idea when you will be coming back again.