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A few moments ago I was speaking to my classmates Udayan Bhonsle, Haresh Nanwani, Anil Patwari, Ian Saldanha and Zuzar Sardar. They had all arrived in Panchi, and were now gathered late at night at the Il Palazzo hotel, loudly and obviously under the influence. After a few emotional wish-you-were-here’s, they asked me to send them a little speech which they would read out at the Old Boys’ AGM the next day. Were they were really serious, or was it the mixture of nostalgia and alcohol? Anyway, I got to fantasizing about what I would say to my fellow Old Boys. Maybe it would go something like this:
My Dear Comrades and Brothers, How I wish I were there with you today. I think I speak on behalf of the many of us who just could not make it. Believe me when I say that right now some of us are tormenting ourselves wondering what we could have done: dodge a few commitments, postpone some deliveries, call in sick, or quit our jobs. But we couldn’t, maybe because we learnt to “see that task we do not shirk”. No question about it: this is a glorious occasion. A hundred years of history stand behind us, and we are proudly part of it. We especially remember our comrades who are no more with us. Their memory is alive in this our history and in our hearts. We know we’re missing a once-in-a-lifetime event, and we’ll have to live with that. Never mind. We learn to take life’s ups and downs, and we learn to disregard the wounds. But mind you: we’re counting on you all to record every single detail. So please take pictures, movies, everything. Do it for us, guys. We miss you.
And when you sing the old School Song, we’re counting on you to raise your voices to compensate our absence. Shout the words out loud and clear: Ut Prosim!
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