If I let my mind wander, it inevitably heads straight back to school. I skip and dance between the old but sturdy desks, or race down the khudside to the bottorn flat or even grab a pillow case for a predawn bhutta raid. It’s exhilarating, this beating back the years for a peek into the hallowed past so filled with the little pleasures of life. Emotions, sometimes conflicting, tend to burst at the seams until they, find expression through a trickle down the cheeks. This remembrance is really sweet sorrow.

It is this emotion that has held all of us together for so many years. For us, Victoria and Dow-Hill are not mere memories. They. are our sustenance, through good times and bad. And form a bond that seems to grow stronger with each passing year.

I don’t know if this magnetic attraction to the Alma Mater is weakening. But it is of some concern that succeeding generations have not opted for this blissful bond. It may be that some do not know of this Victoria and Dow Hill Association. Others may be feeling inhibited. But the best way to keep the memory alive is for at least one ex-student to round up a few from his/herbatch and join VADHA together. They could then have a two tier relationship: one, with their batch-mates and the other, together, with the rest of us.

So let us fan out, find ex-Victorians and Dow Hillians and get them into our fold. Together we can forge relationships and renew our common love.

Let’s do it. Let’s get closer. Like we are doing today.