Some school day memories...

"I studied in a Christian missionary school, Seventh-Day Adventist, in Kaloor, Ernakulam, during my early years. When I think back to that school, the first thing that comes to mind is Fridays. We had a long lunch break at 3 PM. After lunch, we would play games like kabaddi and tag. The other times, we would practice for cultural programs. I still remember Manoj, who had a beautiful singing voice. His hair was a bit long, just like Yesudas'. He used to sing songs like 'Maadapraave va oru koodu kootaan va', 'Pranayasarovaratheeram', and many more. We all admired him. The beautiful Preetha J. Eapen, the chubby Maya, and the slightly dark-skinned Sandhya from our class would always applaud him.

Shashy was our class comedian. He would do mono acts and mimicry. When he ran out of material, we would create our own comedy skits. My closest friends were Biju Philip and Ubaid. Our friendship was seen as a symbol of religious harmony.

On Saturdays, we had moral studies class with Mr. Sebastian. Once, I shared with my mother what I had learned in class. I told her that all Hindu gods were just imaginary and that Jesus Christ was the only real savior. That's when she stopped me from attending that school. My mother enrolled me in a different school.

At St. Augustine's Boys High School, I was a top student, but Gopukumar always ranked first and I was second. Once, I told my mother that if Gopukumar wasn't there, I would have been first in class. The next day at school, I heard the news of Gopukumar's death. He had drowned in a pond. When I saw Gopukumar lying still, covered in a white cloth, with cotton in his nose, and a lamp lit at his head, I felt dizzy. I fainted. Mr. Mathew, our social studies teacher, splashed water on my face and got me some soda.

When I was in high school, I loved participating in protests. Whether it was the SFI or the KSU, I was always eager to be the first to shout slogans and march out of the class. Often, we didn't even know the reason for the protest. As the teacher's son, all the teachers were quite strict with me. Mr. Mathew was nicknamed 'Vishuvadi' (poisoned stick). He always carried a cane. The sound of students being caned in his class could be heard in the neighboring classrooms. Vinayak Prem had a habit of pinching other students. No one would complain because they were afraid of him. Once, he pinched me. I complained to Mr. Mathew, and Vinayak was severely punished. After that, he stopped his bad habit."