Many of them may be sexgenarians, a few of them may have reached superannuation but they remain young at heart and more important ‘connected’ to their communities, especially their peers at School.
It is the spirit of friendship and goodwill that has prompted former students of the Suva-based Nehru Memorial Primary School to have their reunion in the South Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe (at the Grange) on Saturday, August 17..
Arveen Kumar, a former New Zealander, now working for the Commonwealth Government in Canberra across the Tasman, reported in Indian Newslink last year that the first union held in 2012 was a memorable event.
Happy memories
“A group of friends from the Class of 1977 with an ex student from the Class of 1979 organised the first NMPS Reunion in Sydney at Thai Pothong, Sydney’s best Thai Restaurant. The reunion attracted four ex teachers and many ex-students from the 1960s to late 1980s,” he said.
According to Mr Kumar, the event, attended by 66 people, included ‘fun awards,’ presentations to teachers and an opportunity to talk about their school lives.
“All of us enjoyed hours of mingling over drinks and dinner with our teachers, who have retired,” he said.
But many former students who are now in New Zealand were disappointed that they had learnt of the event after it was over only through Indian Newslink.
“We had promoted the Reunion only through Facebook and we realised that not everyone has an account on this social website. We realised the importance of conveying news and information through this newspaper. We have therefore decided to organise the meeting this year in New Zealand and Australia,” he said.
Further information can be obtained from the organisers.
Email: exnmps@gmail.com
The picture here shows a section of the guests at the 2012 Reunion. They are (from left) Mr & Mrs Abdul Jalil, Joyti Sharma, Maureen Narayan, Angelene Kissun and Mrs & Mr Vikram Chauhan. Standing at a distance are Dr Yogesh Rathod, Jane Roy and Dr Nalini Rathod.
About the School
The Suva based Gujarat Education Society (GES) owns and manages three primary schools, including the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Primary School, the Nehru Memorial Primary School and the Indira Gandhi Memorial Primary School. It also runs the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School.
These institutions are named in homage to respectively the Father of Indian Nation Mahatma Gandhi, first Prime Minister of Independent India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and his illustrious daughter and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The alumni are justifiably proud of their education, heritage and discipline imparted to them.
