(This article is written by Mrs Deepa Mishra, wife of Brajendra (1970181), after our batch visited Netarhat recently as part of our 40th-year reunion on Nov 4, 2010. Please share this with your spouse to make a visit to the hat again! - PR)
When we were making the reservations for our trip to Netarhat, I must admit that I had some reservations of my own… What if these ‘Old Boys’ notorious for communicating in a cryptic numerological language (181, 212, 167 etc.) make me feel completely out of place? What if there are too many of their ‘inside jokes’? What if I don’t click with the spouses? I took my chances and it paid off handsomely. These old boys were after all not old at heart. We had a wonderful peek into the past, made promises for the future and renewed the bonds that will last a lifetime. We had the time of our lives!!!
The exuberances kicked off with a ‘litti-party’ on the evening of Nov 2nd at Sai Dham in Ranchi. We basked around the bonfire in the warm hospitality of Ranjanji (Chaubeyji’s brother-in-law) and his family, some of us chatting till the wee hours of the morning. The next day, the same group of about 25 people reconvened for a sumptuous lunch at Sai Dham, shortly after which we left for Netarhat. The breathtaking scenery on the way to Netarhat had our hearts dancing with joy – it was perhaps a prelude to the bliss that this trip would bring to our lives…
We woke up early the next morning to watch the sunrise from our hotel’s terrace while sipping endless cups of tea and then hurrying to get ready to attend the school’s assembly. The men looked sharp in their couture suits as they took the seats on the stage according to their roll numbers. The school song, वन्दे! वन्दे हे सुन्दर मम सखा नेतरहाट सदा, वन्दे हे सुन्दर मम सखा नेतरहाट proved to be a real tear-jerker. The mood lightened a bit when during his introduction, Brajendra made me famous with his comical interpretation of अत्तदीपा विहरथ!!!
The following evening and the next day were laughter-filled and action-packed. The counselling session with the students, the discussions with the faculty, the tea party at school, the Antyakshari session around the bonfire, the spousal bonding during Preeti’s birthday celebration, the trip to Upper Ghaghri, sunset at Magnolia point, visiting every ashram (all 21 of them) on Diwali night and judging their art-work -- were just a few highpoints of our trip. While we were joking and frolicking most of the time, the team debated on some serious issues and made contributions towards the improvement of the school’s facilities.
As all good things come to an end, so did our trip… With heavy hearts (and heavier bellies from all the scrumptious food being served for every meal) we bid each other good-bye, making promises to meet again soon. I feel extremely proud to be a part of this wonderful Netarhat family and look forward to several such get-togethers in the future.
- Deepa Mishra
