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Golden Days It is hard to believe that it has been 25 years Since we graduated from 'Bal Vinay Mandir'. I was fortunate to be there from the kinder garden (and so were many other special friends), all the way to the end of high school. There were special bonds that were built during these years and so many wonderful experiences that we shared that made these years so special. I can still remember the days in elementary when we commuted using Green, Grey and Black bus. There was a serious competitoin about which bus is better and it had nothing to do with performance of the bus, but more with how one can twist the name of the bus or relate the looks of the bus and create a slogan. Of course, lmli (Tamarind) seeds were important as we grew up there were games and we competed to gather more and more seeds. Though I can't think of any reason what we wanted to do with those seeds but it was important to win. The best part of growing up was the playing. When we were in second grade the classes were held in the main hall. There were 3 sections and our class used to be on the stage and in between periods everyone would run round and round on the stage. I'd broken my hand falling from that stage and there were others who got injured, but that never stopped anyone from doing the same pranks. There was a 'Table Tennis' table that used to be in that room and high school students would come during break or after the school hours and play. Over a period of time the table disappeared from that room and no one played 'Table Tennis' at the school. When we were in the 9th grade and had keys to the sports room for getting the cricket equipment, we located the 'Table' that was gathering dust. Professor Saloman had recently joined the school and was very much interested in sports. He helped us secure a foom where we could put the table and there comes the challenge if one of us could beat the Prof. in the game then we would get one period off. That
"A faithful friend is the medicine of life."
was enough incentive and the game was played between Late Jaydev and the professor, and guess what the students won and we got the free period that we had earned. Now I realize that the Prof. Iet us win on purpose to promote the game. Of course, cricket was always the dominant sport in all our youth years and there was always a competition between Section A and Section B. The experiences that we shared while playing cricket were the best. One of those experience was to participate in a tournament in Kasrawad, Khargone. Mr. ghanekar was the principal at the school over there and Sandeep did enough purcuing to get us an entry in the completion. We spent a month practising and started a wonderful journey to participate in the tournament. Who can forget the chilly nights (thund gut gut gut), 6:00 AM walk from farm house to the school to drink tea. Of course, there were heroic acts too, Sanjay Piplia jumed in the well to save a colleague. The amazing food and late night chats, not to forget the movie theater where we watched a movie sitting on the ground. The games were exciting and we performed very well in an open tournament (no age limit). We lost in Semifinal and I can still remember Swanand's crying face appered as he had bet his life and lost it. Yes, it was special to have that much of emotional involvement and these memories we cherish forever. Apart from the sports the high school years were filled with infatuations, heart breaks and some seriousness towards the future. As we grew the life became more serious and the fun factor was replaced with the work factor. Time has become crucial and I don'd know why? Few years back we started a cricket club here in Michigan and though we get few months to play during summer it is still gratifying. Of course, we are having fun but the golen days were different. I'm sure that 25th Anniversary will be a great fun. I really want to thank Lalit for doing so much for school and the efforts that he and others are putting to make this event a success. Love and Regards, -Sanjay Kulkarni, U.S.A.