Salute to the MAN ...Sam ...
Hi Folks,Its high time we salute this man Sameer for his untiring efforts in trying to get all ofus together. First he brought to us theDirectory, then this present facility of mailsreaching everyone of us and now we see himleading from the front in getting this off the ground. His memory is incredible ! and oh boy! What an exhaustive account of our school days he has given us. He has virtually taken usback to our college days 40 yrs back and when I finished reading this, I felt as if I wasjust now in college ! He came to Chennai ( India) recently and I had the opportunity of taking him out shopping and we in fact relived thosegood old days. I can even go to the extent of saying that he has shrunk the world for usand this is no exaggeration.Well, as Jawahar has suggested, I too feelthat we all meet sooon at a convenient time in Colombo of course, preferably at Royal, before we become NAKIYAS !!Are all those living abroad listening? I amwill be really worth it if we all do meetonce again.Sameer! I shall add to your list and alsocorrect some of your narratives in my nextmail. All said and done, hats off to you!!With love to all,Bala
Posted by Bala A.
posted by Royal 1961 Groupies @ 2:44 PM
3 Comments:
My dear Sam,
Fantastic. I thought I must pause a while, just after reading about
RITA, and congratulate you on a truly fantabulous piece of work that is very articulate,most interesting,extremely witty and exceedingly humurous.You must seriously consider doing this in a book form and I do think that any of us would mind buying so that we could,together with our spouses (multiple,in some cases!!) and offspring (officially known,unofficially known) and have a great laugh at all our antiques and the trauma and hassles that we had to face and undergo in our adolescent years!!
Keep it up Sam, you are a living legend.I'm so proud of you.
Best regards. Ifthikhar
Posted by Ifthikhar A.
Sam
I am speechless. Just finished reading your masterpiece. Your memory is mind-boggling. Either that or I am suffering early Alzheimer's symptoms. Because some of the incidents you have recounted I cannot remember. But many I can. Especially some of Jaldeen's exploits. Anyway, thank you pal, for this journey down memory lane. May I respectfully suggest, that when your days are done and when you bid the eternal goodbye, you leave your mortal remains for research? I would love to look at your brain. If you precede me, of course. In case you out live me, I have a friend in the USA who is Professor of Neurochemistry and he would give his right arm to study the memory area of your brain. Anyway, this is a priceless document and we should keep adding to it when more and more of the guys log in. And as Ifthicar has suggested, bring it out in print. And maybe present it to some of the subjects of the chronicle, those who are still with us. All said and done, don't we owe all that we are today to these many gentlemen who had the misfortune to deal with such a devilish lot, like us for six long years.
To add to the chronicle, there was an occasion when Ratnayake (is he the Attanayake, the elder you have referred to?) one day asked us to revise our lesson and got busy at his desk looking into something probably very important. As you might remember, on such occasions there was usually pin drop silence. Deciding that revision of lessons was a waste of good time, was it Ifthicar or Rafil, I am not sure, and I decided to play book cricket. To do this I had to turn around and face Ifthicar/ Rafil who was sitting directly behind me. Accordingly I did this and thereby presented my back to Ratnayake. I think we played England-Australia and I remember that I was the only guy who used to support the Poms those days and all the rest of you were staunch Aussie. We must have got through about two innings I think when I heard a throaty rasp 'GET UP'. I did so pronto and saw Ratnayake peering at my face over his half-moon glasses from two inches away. I received such a resounding slap that my right ear was ringing for hours and I think I am still a bit deaf on that side. I am not sure whether Ifthicar/ Rafil received the same treatment because I was in a daze for quite a while.
The memory of Jaldeen, sitting in the front row cowering with his hands over his head to protect himself from the shower of spittle issuing from Canto's mouth as he was addressing the class is an abiding memory for me. I would not have been surprised if he had one day brought an umbrella and used it. Canto of course, was blissfully unaware of Jaldeen's antics literally below his nose.
I have been following with growing interest the scholarly discussions between the guys about the problems of advancing years and ways of coping with them. All I can say is that you guys are being surprisingly naïve. I mean you guys have such a wealth of knowledge and information and advice on such an important subject as reigniting the dying embers of sex in the late mid and late fifties, I'm shocked you are giving it all away free. Write a book guys and count the dollars. It's a sure hot seller. Whether it works or not is immaterial. About Moin's reference to bypass surgery and sex, there is a theory that life begins afresh after a bypass. There are scientific explanations of course. In the years preceding the bypass naturally one has to restrict all activities, including exercises on the bed. So, the fresh unimpeded flow of blood to all parts of the body following new plumbing rejuvenates not only the mind but also the body.
Jawahar
Posted by Jawahar S.
Dear Sam,
We all owe you a lot for your tireless efforts to get us to keep in touch.
Some communicate more than others, and some prefer just to observe, but that's OK too. You have done your part.
To your list of those who were with us for a short time, I would add Torge Erlander from Norway who was with us in Form one. Also the Polish brothers Albert & George Okonski who were in Form 4 & 5.
Where is Bahar now and how is he doing? I was told his father wrote the words of the Royal Primary School song. I still have the words and music, if anyone's interested.
Now for something completely different. I wish to dedicate this song to the Great Class of '61 ( or 49ers, since we were born in '49.) This song came
out in 1968, the year when most of us left school. If you don't know the tune, you can download it from the internet.
Those Were The Days
sung by Mary Hopkins
(Music & Lyrics: Gene Raskin)
Once upon a time there was a tavern
Where we used to raise a glass or two
Remember how we laughed away the hours
And dreamed of all the great things we would do
CHORUS
Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way.
La la la la...
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days
Then the busy years went rushing by us
We lost our starry notions on the way
If by chance I'd see you in the tavern
We'd smile at one another and we'd say
REPEAT CHORUS
Just tonight I stood before the tavern
Nothing seemed the way it used to be
In the glass I saw a strange reflection
Was that lonely woman really me
REPEAT CHORUS
Through the door there came familiar laughter
I saw your face and heard you call my name
Oh my friend we're older but no wiser
For in our hearts the dreams are still the same
REPEAT CHORUS
That's it. Take care everyone.
Eric from the North Pole
Posted by Eric G.
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