Growing up in school has been like an experience of living in a family. I have spent 14 years in The Mother’s International School and MIS has been the only school in my life! 

There have been many fun moments, emotional moments, stress points and I look back at

them fondly after passing out from the school, 25 years back. I categorically recall Geeta Tyagi Ma’am who taught us Mathematics in class VII and VIII. She had in a way redefined my choice of subjects and my career that followed. I was, quite like many other students, averse to Maths at all and was pretty scared of the subject when I had reached class VII. It was only then that I discovered my love for numbers; thanks to her. Since then, it was in Maths that I went on to score my best across all  numeric subjects, till my MBA. She had helped me with extra time at breaks through both the years. There was this touch of unconditional love and belonging that our teachers had exhibited in school which helped us hone our skills.

Another teacher I really want to mention here, is Ashish Roy Sir. He was the guru for us in athletics. I really owe a lot to him for the numerous medals I won in long jump and 100 m-relay races, all through the middle and senior school. His relentless push and encouragement to go above and beyond, was a value that I carry even today. I strongly feel that training such as these, help you achieve your dreams, as they instill a sense of passion and zeal.

I have made great friends in school who have inspired me to learn more, come out of my comfort zone and be a very different person today than I was in school – shy and reserved. I still remember that my friends had given me a tagline of “she’s the coolest one” during farewell party in class XII. That really was unlike the “cool” that youngsters are likely to use today with smart gadgets or funky hairstyles! It was “coolest”, as in being really introverted, shy and content in my own world!

One of the most hilarious instance that has remained with me is when we were in class IX, or was it Class X? During one of the usual PT class, all the girls were in the washroom changing from skirts (our regular school uniform) to shorts, and suddenly we heard shrieks. Some  of us actually thought that a lizard may have fallen from the wall, on to the floor. And then, we saw a boy amongst us in girl’s washroom!!! And behold, that was Supradeep, one of the naughtiest boys in our class. He quickly apologized and ran off saying he had entered by mistake, thinking it was the boy’s washroom. For many days, the girls believed this and it was only when we started to inquire more details of the instance that we came to know it was a “dare” thrown to him by the boys. True to his spirit, he had accepted the challenge and unflinchingly delivered!

As I pen each of these words, I am really emotional as it has opened a flood gate of memories. Some of which are incredibly photogenic to an extent that I can visualize the scene and even the expressions of friends and teachers. Everyone running into classrooms when Shekhar Sir would yell from one end of the corridor. Indu Ma’am’s mesmerizing smile, our sharing tiffin and sometimes opening empty boxes to stolen tiffin food, the loud cheer during Athletic Meet and Annual Day events, the shudders during exams and the relief at their results.

My learnings, my friends, my values, my achievements, my purpose of life was defined in the school. There have been many life-changing moments there that I will live with, and hope each of the student goes through their own wonderful journey of growing up in the MIS.