School Souviner Date-24-12-2020

MEGA

2019

REUNION

BHPV SCHOOL 1 978 - 1 9 9 3 B a t ch e s | D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 9

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1 978 - 1 9 9 3 B a t ch e s | D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 9

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

07- Preface

Koka Prasad, 1980

08- Foreword &

acknowledgements

Bhupal Inampudi, 1988

10- Message

Kesava Rao Master

13- About our school

Paintings

14- School premises

Nayantara 1989

15- Bose block

Shair Khan 1993

17- Our pledge

19- Our school song

20- Our teachers

22- In the mango grove

Ahana Lakshmi 1978

25- A trip down memory lane

M.V. Surya Kumari 1979

29- Tips for turning a good speech

into a great one

Koka Prasad 1980

30- My yoga journey

MP.Sudhir 1981

38- Why returning to our roots is

so meaningful

Ram C Raju 1984

40- What got you here will take

you there

Singa Raju 1984

42- Over coming pain through art

Meenakshi Ram 1984

51- Attitude of gratitude

Manorama 1987

C O N T E N T S

December 2019

52- When the entire school

pitched in to help a family

Yatish Shetty 1987

56- Nostalgia

Vijji Suryadevara 1988

60- Childhood then and now!!!

Glory Janes 1988

64- Those were the best days of

my life

IndiraMani & Sudeep 1988

66- BackBenches to board rooms

TVN Ramesh 1989

70- Acharya devo bhava

Balla Radhika 1989

73- Sometimes I wish

Ch.Venkateswara Rao 1989

74- Fantasy of a funny girl

PEM Prasanthi 1989

77- Nostalgic place in and

around our school

Anupama Sukhlecha 1989

86- Glimpses of sweet childhood

D.Deena Kumari 1993

88- My dear teachers always in

my heart!

Sarita Velagapudi 1993

90- Dream big aim high

Anitha Manoj 1993

92- Gratitude debt of

gratitude

R.Ravi Kumar 1993

94- BHPV reunion buzz

P.E.M Prasanthi 1989

C O N T E N T S

Please Note: Some of the ar cles published in the Souvenir

may have undergone editorial revisions, dele ons, or

addi ons to adhere to language flow and consistency or

other ma ers related to grammar & / or general

appropriateness.

December 2019

Committee Members

PRESIDENT

Mr. Koka Prasad, 1980

VICE PRESIDENT

Dr. T. Jagjeevan, 1981

Mr. S. Srinivas, 1991

SECRETARY

Mr. Bheemesh P.L., 1989

JOINT SECRETARY

Mr. G. Sridhar, 1984

Mr. I. Bhupal, 1988

ORGANIZATIONAL SECRETARY

Mrs. V. Ratna Kumari, 1987

TREASURER

Mr. V. Sudarshan, 1982

MEMBERS

Mr. K. V. Srinivas, 1986

Mrs. Daisy Benjamin, 1987

Mr. G. Ravi Varma, 1991

Mr. A. Srinivas, 1991

Mr. K. Chandra Sekhar, 1992

Mr. G. Vishnu Vardhan Rao, 1993

Preface

1980 Batch

Koka Prasad

Team Leader, President

small talk to real talk! What began, as a

Acasual small talk became a reality. It was

13th Dec, 2018, I met up with Ratna

Kumari, 7 years junior from BHPV school for the

first time. We talked about our school days and I

casually mentioned that I never attended a

school reunion. “Lets have one” said Kumari. The

seed to the reunion was thus planted, I quickly

learned Kumari had the pizzazz for getting

things done, she played a pivotal role in the

making of the reunion.

On Dec 31, 2018 a survey was launched

seeking suggestions for the reunion. Following

the survey, an executive committee was

established. Project reunion was broken down

into manageable chunks with team leaders in

place. Several progress review meetings and

milestones were held through the year. Digital

media was harnessed to the maximum extent. A

Facebook page was created and WhatsApp

groups were formed for teams. Messages

poured in from far and beyond, with alumni

pitching in both physically and financially. We

were overwhelmed by the generosity and

helpfulness of our schoolmates.

“When you want something, the universe

conspires in helping you achieve it.” In the

months that followed every piece of the jigsaw

puzzle fell into place like precision clockwork.

The success of the mega reunion is the coming

together of brilliant teamwork and selflessness

exhibited by our alumni. We all had a single

vision, viz.“, to give the best possible reunion

experience like its never done before”

I am proud to have been involved with the

Mega Reunion, working with teams, rubbing

shoulders with batches from the year 1978 –

1993. This publication is a testimony of our

success story.

We strive to be better than the best, this

always has been our sole quest, A star-School

we’d like to be, the brightest in the schools’

galaxy, we are of the BHPV School.

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

Foreword and

acknowledgments

Memories are timeless treasures of the heart!!

eautiful memories are priceless moments

Bwe spend with our dear friends, family &

loved ones. On 21st Dec 2019, we the

proud students of BHPV EM School came

together once again at our favorite place, the

School premises and had a blast of a time with

our childhood friends to celebrate the grand

Mega Reunion 2019. And as they say all is well

that ends well, I think this would be an

understatement of how we cherished, enjoyed,

celebrated and took back home the beautiful

memories from the school once again.

But, did you ever stop and think how all this

transpired? Who, How, When, Where and What

was the inspiration behind this idea or concept

of Mega Reunion?

My forward note here is a humble attempt to

bring together and pen down a few lines about

all the passionate hearts that worked tirelessly to

make this Mega Reunion a grand success!!

How did the concept of Mega Reunion come

about? Ideas poured out, Brainstorming

sessions, animated discussions....

In the month of January 2019 a group of our

alumni from different batches met at Shri

Lakshman’s (1987 batch) house. The maiden

meeting was presided by Shri Koka Prasad 1980

batch & Ratna Kumari (ARK) 1987 batch. We

were told of the concept of Mega Reunion, it

instantly ignited a spark, an emotional

connection we had with our school and

everybody in the room said in unison 'Let's do it'.

What followed was a series of meetings and the

date for the reunion was set as 21st December

2019.

A committee was formed to oversee the

activities, different teams were also formed with

tasks assigned to them.

Finance is vital for any event. To fund the event

an amount of Rs.1500/- for single and Rs.2500/-

with family was agreed upon. As proceeds from

1988 Batch

Bhupal Inampudi

Joint Secretary

the tickets was not sufficient to meet the

budgetary target, passionate alumni from all

over the world pitched in making donations

generously. I worked with Ratna ARK and

G. Vishnu Vardhan Rao from 1987 & 1993

batches respectively, to rope in corporate

sponsors.

A tremendous response was received for the

event as efforts from Ramesh Tadi of 1989 batch,

Koka Prasad of 1980 batch, Shiva Vellapan of

1984 batch, Shair Khan and Majji Venu of 1993

batch put their heart and soul in online

propaganda by making promos for the event.

Daisy Benjamin and Manorama of 1987 batch, G.

Vishnuvardhan of 1993 batch, Chandra sekhar of

1992 batch, Majji Venu of 1993 batch, B.Radhika

of 1989 batch had taken up the herculean task

of inviting all our teachers personally.

K. Sambasiva Rao of 1986 batch along with

Ramakrishna of 1984 batch took care of the

catering requirements, they set up a huge

kitchen where all the food was prepared on the

premises itself.

K. Singa Raju of 1984 batch and S. Vijayasree of

1988 batch did a wonderful job of anchoring the

event.

Daisy Benjamin of the 1987 batch did an

astonishing job of conducting the facilitations

for our teachers.

A. Srinivas & L. V. V. Kumar of the 1991 batch

took care of the logistics at the venue and

preparing our playground into a huge parking

space.

S Srinivas (Vasu) of the 1991 batch did a

commendable job of setting up the stage with

large LED walls.

As I conclude, I would like to take this

opportunity to thank all the team members who

with their professional experience made this

Event a grand success.

December 2019

y Dear Colleagues and beloved

Mstudents, Ladies and Gentlemen.

At the outset I extend my warm Season's and

New Year, 2020 Greetings to all of you. I am glad

to know that our alumni are bringing out a

souvenir in connection with this Mega Reunion.

When I go through the titles of the articles

contributed to the souvenir, I am reminded of

the first magazine of our BHPV EM School titled,

“Blossoms of Tomorrow”, by our beloved Smt.

Rita Harish madam. The said magazine was

intended to nurture the hidden talents of our

young students. Sri. M.P. Purushottam, Principal

and Sri. P.L.N. Murthy, Vice-Principal are

remembered for their guidance in this venture.

I have the rare privilege of being one of the

senior most Teachers associated with our

BHPVEM school right from its inception on 1st

January 1973. In fact, I joined our school prior to

its inauguration to look after all arrangements

for its functioning. I was associated with the

school for almost 16 years till I demitted my

office of Vice-Principal to join as founder

Principal, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Dist.

Srikakulam (A.P) in the year 1988. It's a

memorable event to find myself as the youngest

teacher of the first batch of 10 teachers

appointed for EM School only, to teach the first

batch of 5 students of Class V in 1973, which

grew into first batch of Class X in 1978.

The BHPV School Managing Committee never

compromised with quality while recruiting

teachers and always selected “The cream out of

the Crop”. Our School grew from strength to

strength since its inception slowly but steadily

and soon attained the rank of one of the best

schools in the vicinity, thanks to the valuable

contributions made by the Management and

Teachers for the development of our school in

the initial stages. It's a privilege to have been

amongst talented teachers and to have been

endowed with zeal, enthusiasm, commitment as

well as vision to accomplish good standards

while building a “Temple of New Age – “Our

BHPV E.M School.”

I believe that the Mega Reunion is an

opportunity to meet and exchange their

experiences with each other and to have a social

audit of their work rendered while playing

different roles in the society. It's appropriate to

have reunions like this periodically. It's really

heartening to note that some of the key role

players (Teachers) who had been associated with

our school brought laurels to it by their

achievements in their lives, for example, Sri. C.V.

Narasimham, the then Head Master, BHPV EM

Primary school, has won the coveted President's

Award as Best Teacher, Smt. P. Nirmala , Hindi

Teacher receiving honors from different

organizations and Prime Minister of India for her

achievement of translating popular books into

Hindi language, Sri. B. Subbarayudu, P.E.T

receiving Best Teacher award and Sri. K. Kesava

Rao, achieving All India First Rank during his

refresher-cum-promotion course training held

at Officers' Training School, Kamptee,

Maharashtra state.

I am proud of our students who are GEMS in

present day society, serving not only our

country but many other countries across the

globe. I heartily congratulate all of them for

their achievements and contributions made in

different fields. Their parents and partners in

their lives deserve “Hearty Congratulations”.

We remember and place it on record their well

disciplined way of conducting themselves and

living up to our expectations while they were

studying in our school and playing their roles in

the society responsibly now. It is a matter of

proud privilege for all of us who were associated

at the school as their teachers and mentors to

learn that all our students have come up very

high and successful in their lives.

We are definitely not over-ambitious if we

expect our students to continue to live up to our

expectations but never to fail their parents,

teachers, the society and our Nation. This Mega

-Reunion event of the students and teachers will

definitely be cherished as the everlasting

memory of our school as all of us are meeting

after a long time. We cherish this by recollecting

our interactions with each other in the

classrooms, laboratories, playground, N.C.C.

Parade, stage of “Kalabharathi” etc., during the

BHPVEM school days. Perhaps, it may not be

possible to organize such a mega event like this

in this school premises in future for obvious

reasons. Hence, it is necessary that all of us

decide to rededicate ourselves for the cause of

“Nation Building” by our sincere and honest

efforts in our fields.

Let us pledge that we live up to the expectations

of our parents, teachers and fellow countrymen

and that we will never let them down. We will

also ensure that we always live a dignified life.

While congratulating all of you for your

success/achievements in your life, I wish you

best of luck in your future endeavors. May God

bless you with longevity and sagacity and give

what all you need in life to be identified as

worthy children of worthy parents; worthy

students of worthy teachers and illustrious

children of our motherland.

I shall call upon all of you to take care of your

health, wealth and intellectual to look after your

parents and family members well, to worship

your work and reach the highest peak by your

sheer hard work, to ensure that you donate your

might to this country in the form of your children

to play their roles as good doctors, engineers,

bureaucrats, social workers, lawyers, politicians,

social reformers, personnel of armed forces,

scientists and in the form of good teachers to

shape the next generations.

Wishing you all well,

Yours ever loving Teacher

Kesava Rao Master.

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

“Vidya Dharmena Shobhathe” or “Education

adorns righteousness” is aptly the motto of the

B H P V S e n i o r S e c o n d a r y S c h o o l ,

Visakhapatnam, because the Founding Fathers

realized that to dispel the darkness of

ignorance, the light of knowledge through

literacy was imperative. And this is how it all

began... About 45 years ago, BHARAT HEAVY

P L AT E S & V E S S E L S L I M I T E D, a H e a v y

Engineering Public Sector Undertaking found

its existence 16 KM away from Visakhapatnam

City. Among the major problems which loomed

large on the company was establishing a

schooling for the children of the employees.

The strength of workforce had raisen to 2600 by

1973 with 600 families occupying the

Township.

As a solution to the problem and as a welfare

measure to the employes, in the year 1973 the

then Management of BHPV permitted a private

Educational Institution “The Bethel Education

Society” to set up an English Medium Primary

School (upto 5th Standard) in the Township

area of BHPV. Since this arrangement did not

meet the expected result as per the agreement,

the management of BHPV took over the school

f r o m B e t h e l E d u c a t i o n S o c i e t y. T h e

administration of the school was entrusted to

the BHPV Management Committee which had

been constituted as a separate entity and had

began functioning w.e.f. 01.01.1974.

A humble beginning of the BHPV School

Managing Committee and of its Institutions

had thus started from 01-01-1974 with the

main aim of dispelling the darkness of

ignorance and ignite the light of knowledge

through literacy The tiny corn of 1974 over a

period of years grew into a mighty Oak, passing

through different stages and transformations.

From the academic year 1975-77 the school

was bifurcated into 2 separate schools i.e. BHPV

English Medium school and BHPV Telugu

Medium School which was till then working in

different shifts with the same Teachers.

December 2019

Our Pledge

“India is my country,

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

All Indians are my brothers and sisters.

I love my country, and

I am proud of its rich and varied heritage

I shall always strive to be worthy of it.

I shall give my parents, teachers and

all elders respect and treat everyone with courtesy.

To my country and my people,

I pledge my devotion.

In their well being and prosperity

alone lies my happiness.”

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

1993 Batch

Shair Khan

Rita Harish Teacher

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

Our School Song

We are of the BHPV School

To study and play is our rule

Life here is very inspiring

We work with a spirit, untiring,

We are of the BHPV School.

We are taught to be Correct, Neat and Quick

In all we do whether well or sick,

And try to improve every year,

So we’d leave with a conscience clear,


Our Alma Mater we’ll never forget,

And cherish memories so hard to get

We’ll be a family spread in the world

And keep the banner of our School unfurled


We strive to be better than the best,

This always has been our sole quest,

A star - School we’d like to be,

The brightest in the schools’ galaxy,


December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

Gurur Brahma

Gurur Vishnu

Gurur Devo

Maheshwaraha

Guru Saakshaat

Para Brahma Tasmai

Sri Gurve Namah

December 2019

20

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

In the mango

grove

“Don’t even think of trying to visit the mango

garden”, Sujay warned Arjav. “There is a horrible

old man who has threatened to tie us up to a tree

and beat us to pulp if he ever catches us”. And as

if on cue, an old man in a white dhoti and shirt

appeared from behind a tree with a big stick in

his hands.

Arjav had been asking about the mango grove

on the other side of the road. It was June,

school holidays. Arjav and Parthiv had come

to stay with their cousins in a township about

thirty kilometers from the city. Beyond the

road was a fairly wide storm water drain that

separated the mango grove from the houses.

The next morning, after breakfast, they all

went out to play cricket with Sujay’s friends

and enjoyed themselves in the open ground

nearby before it became too hot to play

anymore. After a lovely lunch, Parthiv as

usual curled up with a book and Sujay did his

holiday homework. The house was quiet with

people sleeping or going about their work.

Arjav was restless. He quietly crept out of the

house determined to pay a visit to the mango

grove.

He walked along the side-road till he reached

the main road and quickly crossed over to the

other side. He could now see the storm water

drain. It was clean with piles of fallen leaves here

and there. There was no way he could jump

across – it was just too wide; and no way he

could climb down and come out to the other

side either. But, ah – what was that! It looked like

a pipe cutting across! Arjav walked quickly

towards that place. What luck! It was a pipe, a

fairly stout one too and yes, one could carefully

climb down and walk across to the other side.

Ahana Lakshmi

It was a little scary of course, but having come so

far, Arjav was determined to get ahead.

So very carefully, he got on to the pipe, and

started walking across. Now there was no going

back, as it was all he could do to carefully step

forward. He remembered how he had watched

the tightrope walkers at the circus a few days

ago. They had held out their hands to balance

themselves as they carefully stepped forward.

Luckily his sandals were flexible. He focused on

the wall in front of him and so intent he was in

going forward that he did not see the old man

watching him quietly. Just as he reached the

other end, he let his breath go and reached out

to grab what he thought was a protruding root

and almost lost his grip when he realized it was a

stick and at the other end was the old man!

Before he knew what was happening, the old

man had grabbed him in a strong grip and

pulled him up. Arjav almost screamed. Too late

he remembered Sujay’s warning. Would that

man tie him up to a tree and beat him? “Did your

friends dare you to steal mangoes from here?”

barked the old man, still holding on to Arjav.

“No. In fact my cousin warned me to stay off

from the mango garden.” “Where are you from?

You are not one of the township boys.”

“I am from Mumbai, here for the holidays. The

garden … you see, looked so beautiful and

quiet…the trees full of mangoes …I thought I

would come and practice playing my flute…”

“You have a flute?” Arjav reached into his shirt

and pulled out a flute. The man’s grip loosened.

He said, “Come on, play something”. Arjav held

the flute against his mouth and softly blew into

it, playing the basic notes. He looked up and

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

said, ‘You see, I have just begun to learn and

cannot play well, and so sometimes it does not

sound good and others around me make fun of

me. That is why I wanted a quiet place to

practice”. The old man’s face softened seeing the

boy’s concentration. “You will need a lot of

practice. Now that you are here, come with me.”

“You won’t tie me up to a mango tree, will you?”

“I am going to show you my favourite mango

tree, come with me. After that you may want to

be tied to it!” was the surprising answer. Arjav

was a little worried especially because the man

continued to hold on to his shoulder as they

walked on the path that led them past trees

laden with mangoes. Here and there could be

seen small piles of green mangoes that had

been collected. Finally they reached a huge tree.

Around it had been planted hibiscus bushes full

of red blooms. So what was special about this

tree? “Can you name some mango varieties?”

asked the old man. “I have heard of Alphonso in

Mumbai. Aunt said something about Malgova…”

“Here is Alphonso…”, said the old man, as he

walked around the tree. “See this is Malgova.

This round one like a ball is rumani. See this long

variety, this is kilimooku – it has a beak like a

parrot. This one, it looks as if it is wearing a pink

top…” and so on, reeling off names like Chinna

Rasam, Pedda Rasam, Banganapalle, Amrapalli,

Himam Pasand, Jehangir, Pacharisi, Neelam,

Chendura, Kallamani… till he stopped to take a

breath. Arjav sat down quickly. He felt breathless

too. “That many? Thatha (grandfather), how did

they manage to appear on just one tree?” “Many,

many years ago, I became interested in

mangoes. I thought I would try to grow many

varieties on one tree. This is done by a method

called grafting, sort of like taking a cutting from

a tree and attaching it on another in a special

manner”. “My aunt in Delhi was talking to my

mother about visiting a mango festival. She said

that there were so many stalls selling different

varieties. This tree is an exhibition all by itself!”

“Yes, this tree has more than thirty varieties,

though only about a dozen are bearing fruits

this year.” “Thatha, please can I bring my brother

and cousins to see this? I am sure they will enjoy

it”. “Yes. But you have to make me a promise. As

long as you are here, you should come every day

and practice your flute, only come through the

gate. And when your brother and cousins come,

please tell them to tell their friends not to throw

stones at mangoes. You see, this is my only

income. In fact, if you bring them tomorrow

morning at this time, I will even let you pluck a

mango and taste it. A mango fresh from the tree

tastes heavenly. I will also show you how to peel

a full mango so that the peel comes like an

interlinked bangle. ” “I am sure nobody will

throw stones at the trees ever after they see the

special mango tree. Thank you for letting me

practice my flute here. And you are right, I would

not complain if you were to tie me to that

wonderful tree if I could taste all the different

varieties, their names are so interesting!” he

laughed as the old man led him back to the main

road though a proper gate and showed him the

way home.

(The above story appeared in the June 2013 issue of Gokulam, an

English magazine for children published by the Kalki Group in

Chennai. The magazine closed down in October 2018. The story is

partly based on memories of BHPV and the mango garden across

the storm water drain opposite CMD’s house. I remember crossing

over to the other side on the beam mentioned in the story. The ute

player Arjav is my sister Bhuvana’s son. The tree with multiple grafts

was there in the family’s mango orchards in Srirangam (Tamil

Nadu).)

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

A trip down

memory lane

n the 1970s, our BHPV School implemented

Ithe Tri-lingual formula. So along with

Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, History,

Civics, Geography, and then we had English,

Hindi and choice between Telugu and Sanskrit

as third language. Yes! But we learnt ‘Time

Management’ and ‘Multi-Tasking’ then itself

Our school adopted Harijana Jaggiahpalem, a

village nearby. We, as students, went regularly to

donate clothes, books and carried out other

services. During Vanamahotsavam, we started

school gardening and later inter house

gardening competitions were also held.

One year, our teachers organized ‘Mock

Parliament’. This was held to an audience of

school management committee and all students

too. The senior most 3 classes took the benches

1979 Batch

MV. Surya Kumari

as the ruling party and the opposition. The

Home Minister presented the school activities.

The Sports Minister asked for higher budget

allocations for equipment. There was a question

answer session with the speaker trying to

maintain the decorum of the House. It was

informative and entertaining. It ended with the

leader of the opposition hoping that for the next

session, they would exchange seats with the

ruling Party. As it happened, ‘the prediction’

came true in the next General Elections.

As Abdul Kalam Sir says, our minds were ignited

by our beloved teachers. We of BHPV School

have gone into the wide world and brought

many a laurel to our Teachers and Alma mater

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

6 tips for turning

a good speech into

a great one

1980 Batch

Koka Prasad

professionals who have just put too much

content into their presentations. Far too much

for an audience to absorb - remember even the

best audiences face information overload after

20 minutes. How do you overcome the content

crisis?

4. Define who your audience is and use the

most appropriate communication channels to

reach them.

Analyse how your audience likes to take in

information - do they like to be visually

stimulated or do they enjoy just sitting back and

listening. Or do they like to get involved, to

touch and feel in a kinesthetic way. Work out the

best mix of visual, audio and kinesthetic and use

this in your speech writing.

1. Have a plan and set some objectives &

outcomes.

There is nothing worse than not knowing what

you want to achieve. Do you want to educate the

audience, inform, inspire, motivate or touch

their emotions? Always work out what you want

to achieve before beginning the speech process.

2. Have a formal structure - beginning, middle

and end.

Audiences love structure and the best speeches

stick to this tried and true rule. As they say: “tell

them what you’re going to say, tell them and

then tell them again”.

3. Avoid having too much content.

I have lost count the number of technical

presentations given by CEO’s, managers,

scientists, engineers, geologists and other

5. Research your speech using a range of

sources.

Be a keen observer of the trends your audience

is likely to be interested in and keep a file of

interesting articles and information. If you are

time poor- a few quick questions when meeting

an audience just prior to a speech, such as “what

are the issues facing your business/industry

/association at the moment?” can really help

target your presentation and build rapport.

6. Use personal stories, examples and

metaphors to make intangible concepts

tangible.

In many cases you are trying to sell ideas and

concepts in a speech. These are intangible and

often difficult for the audience to grasp.

Personal stories, examples and metaphors make

the invisible visible.

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

My Yoga Journey

My first Yoga class in Sydney was more

out of inquisitiveness and curiosity,

when a colleague suggested I should

try it. The class was quite a strong sequence of

asanas and before I knew it, I was going regularly

3 to 4 times a week and stopped going to gym

and the weights and cardio.

1981 Batch

MP Sudhir

and meditation. And now I have a regular

sadhana (practice) where every morning I

practice between 5:00 and 6:30 am, the last 30

minutes being meditation.

The change that Yoga has brought about in me

has been profound. I have never been more

healthy and fit. I was tending the asthmatic a few

years ago. Now that’s history. My core strength

has improved immensely. Mentally I am in good

space… a sattvic state of energy. Self-awareness

and mindful is always switched on.

I had gone to do a few short courses in

meditation and before long my interest in Yoga

grew. Read a few books and watched a few

videos and realised that there was much more to

Yoga than just the asanas.

And then the natural progression was to do

course. I choose IYTA (International Yoga

t e a c h e r s a s s o c i a t i o n ) o n a f r i e n d ’s

recommendation and also it was the most

comprehensive one around. The 9-month

course (part time) really was very detailed and I

was learning all about Pranayama, the Koshas

You don’t get emotionally disturbed and the

deep conscious breathing keeps you in a calm

space. Develop and kind and friendly attitude

and materialist things don’t impress you

anymore. I spend more time helping others and

serving the community. As the Director of

community services this year, have done a lot of

projects locally to help. Karma Yoga.

My relationship with family members, friends

and at work has improved a lot. You are aware of

your ego and the detrimental thoughts that

arise in you. Become a passive observer. I now

teach Yoga at home to family and friends and in

the Sydney Vedanta centre and corporate.

My passion is to teach this ancient experiential

science to as many people as possible for

holistic well being.

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

Why Returning to Our

Roots is so Meaningful

1984 Batch

f life were to be equated to the 4 seasons, I

Ihave entered the autumn of my life, having

turned 50 last year. Like many of my

generation, I have travelled far and wide but the

travel urge has not been satiated yet. As a

society, we all travel for many different reasons.

To escape from the humdrum, to feel alive or to

immerse into a culture so unlike our own, we

find new understanding and meaning in this

world. But increasingly, a major reason people

choose to embark on a journey is to revisit

memories, to retrace footsteps, whether they be

family, friends or a home. Social media has had a

huge impact in reconnecting long lost friends

from

one’s colony, or school or college.

Speaking for myself, it has helped me reconnect

with friends that I had not seen or heard from in

over 30 years, friends with whom I had shared

and spent many carefree, idyllic moments that

had generated memories for a lifetime. Many of

Ram C. Raju

us met recently but there was no talk about our

jobs, how much we were making, the future or

even about family. It was like we had dialed back

time and were back in school. Isn’t this what true

friendship should be about? I attended the 1st

BHPV High School Alumni Meet back in 2009

and am back in 2019 for the 2nd edition. Even

though I spent only 3 years in this delightful

colony school, these were the most joyful 3 years

of my schooling life and helped shape me into

the man I am today. This journey back to my

hometown is interwoven with emotion and

gives me a greater sense of history and identity. I

want to thank everyone who poured their heart

and soul into putting together this great event

and occasion. Occasions such as these, reaffirms

one’s faith in the joy of friendships and

relationships.

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

What got you here will

take you there

Each one of us tasted success at some stage of

our life and based upon which we create goals or

dreams for the future. Two questions come to my

mind, what got us here will it take us there?

Should our goals be fixed based upon our

success or failures?

Symptoms for Success - overconfidence, know it

all attitude, Contentment, comfort zone and

higher ego. Failure breads Hunger for success, I

need to know more, creative for new solutions,

grounded and humility. Reason for that thought

process was my experiences during the

childhood days. In BHPV township only two

categories of persons are recognized either you

are an engineer or a doctor. We are three siblings

and I was in the none of the above category.

While both my Elder and younger brothers are

engineers. Based upon marks obtained in 10th

grade only option available for me was to join

B. Com. True to the degree had to be Calm. What

after B. Com based upon marks I have got post -

graduation admission was out of question that

was the time when someone suggested I join CA.

Only consolation was atleast for three years I can

proudly say that I am doing CA. As the saying

goes that there will be turning point in everyone

life, that was my time. My handwriting was so bad

that the examiners decided not see it once again

and passed me in first attempt. I was basking in

this glory and joined A.F. Ferguson in Mumbai.

Put in lot of hard work 15 hours a day and

ensured that my team finished all the

assignments were completed on time. I was

expecting that I would get either a big increment

or promotion during evaluation time. To my

shock the rating given was “Average- Needs

improvement”. Immediate reaction was to give

my resignation letter but on second thought

wanted to give a piece of my mind to my boss.

After our discussion, I realized that when I was

trying to make my team mates job perfect, they

saw it as breathing down their neck, when I gave

them opportunity to work independently it was

thought that I was ignoring them, when I tried to

coach them they saw it as arrogance. It is not

what you say but how you say that really matters.

I realized that what got me here will not take you

there.

I joined public speaking platform called

Toastmasters to learn the methodology of “How

to say”. I thought I was a good speaker but it only

took them a couple a meetings to teach me that

still there is a long way to go. Through

perseverance, persistence and practice learnt the

skills from my mentors and became one of the

most sought out speaker of the club and was

invited to other clubs on speaking assignment.

That was an eureka moment of my life that I have

became a master of “How to Say”. Observing my

high confidence levels, my parents decided that it

was the right time for my marriage. First six

months showed off my skills of how to say, when

to say, where to say and my wife was floored.

Seventh month onwards nothing seemed to

work. That was the time I realized that what got

me here will not take me there.

1984 Batch

Singa Raju

What happens when your wife loves you a lot?

You try to find an excuse for a break, that was

what I exactly did, enrolled myself for one of the

yoga retreat program. We were supposed to do

meditation for which myself along with my friend

sat on the river bank. Suddenly I felt that

something was hovering on top of my head, I saw

in the water reflection that there was a hawk

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

which was circulating over my head. Slowly it was

descending down from 30 feet, 20 feet and 10

feet, I starting saying my final prayers. In one swift

action it descended into the river and came out

with one foot long fish within its sharp claws and

flew very close to me into the forest. I could see

the bewildered, bemused and befuddled look in

the eyes of the fish. After we assembled back, I

enthusiastically told the teacher of my

experience, his reaction was you are supposed to

meditate with your eyes closed. What did you

learn from this experience? I told him that we

should not meditate outdoors. There was

laughter all around which annoyed me the most. I

started pondering about the look in the eyes of

the fish. Probably the fish might have been going

on the surface along with its family totally

unaware of the destiny which behold him and

was caught off guard. Had it been swimming

deep inside it would be impossible for the hawk

to get to it.

What happens in our life is that when something

bad really happens to us or tragedy strikes us that

would only be the time when we introspect within

ourselves. Once our life is back on track we are

again back to our normal self. Imagine ourselves

as the fish swimming on the surface of the water

and could easily be plucked by the hawk of our

life just like that without our knowledge catching

us totally unaware. Do you want to be in that

situation. We should try to go deep within

ourselves on daily basis and that would be the

time when we will be not be impacted by any

external events and can be happy at all times. You

may do any meditation or observe silence by just

do nothing for 10 minutes on daily basis. You will

be amazed to see the results.

Once we follow that practice on regular basis we

can be confident that we can achieve anything in

our life and nothing is impossible. That would be

the time you can say that what took me here will

also take me there also.

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

Overcoming pain

through art

Mrs. Meenakshi Ram from 1984

batch has been suffering from

chronic body pain (fibromyalgia)

and a weak heart for nearly a

decade.

The pandemic made her a virtual prisoner at

home. Mrs Meenakshi, 52, who needs a

defibrillator machine for her weak heart, was

told by doctors to stay at home and not go out

because ill health made her more vulnerable to

disease and infection.

1984 Batch

Meenakshi Ram

as well as her “Firecracker Collection” for

Deepavali nearly sold out within a few hours of

their launch. You can continue to support

Meenakshi’s ventures by following her on

@meenas.creations on Instagram!

(Source: Tabla and Strait times Singapore)

In 2020, when the Earth went into

lockdown, Meenakshi satiated her

wonderlust by making miniature

polymer clay pieces of food and

drinks from around the world. With

420 miniature pieces, you can feast

your eyes on food from South

America, to India to Russia. Her

display made the news, and her talent

was showcased in the national

newspaper in Singapore.

Mrs Meenakshi Ram is a homegrown

self-taught artist who has dabbled in

virtually every art form that you can

name. She is most well-known for her

Tanjore paintings, each made with care

and high-quality materials. The

Tanjore Paintings depict scenes from

Hindu Gods’ lives, such as the Coronation of

Ram or Shiva’s wedding. Beyond traditional art,

Meenakshi has also ventured into polymer clay

making.

Mrs Meenakshi’s latest venture is to expand her

jewelry to around the world. In 2020, Meenakshi

launched her online business Meena’s Creations

to the world and it has been met with a

resounding success. The “Misnomer Collection”

Hanuman from the Thai Ramakien..raised

with relief, acrylic on canvas, embellished

with Swarovski flat backs, Swarovski rivolis

and the golden glitter-nail art, from

Beadtlesweet

December 2019

December 2019

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BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

URLjkjkjkjkjkjkj kjkj

December 2019

Attitude of Gratitude

Life is a journey from the caterpillar to the

butterfly moment. A beautiful library of

1987 Batch

memoirs, a collection of stories of those fragrant

Manorama

flowers compressed, and fondly treasured inbetween

the pages of our lives, our souls 4. Gratitude to our families, gurus for imparting

drenched in the essence of all those wonderful life’s lessons selflessly, to shape our careers and

experiences and all those who are an essential life as a whole.

part of those stories, which maketh our being. 5. Gratitude to our support staff, colleagues

Do we ever think about what could give us that house help, neighborhood etc, helps to create

one feeling, which makes our stories worthy and positive and inclusive surroundings.

full of life, starting from our birth to the growing From dawn to dusk, childhood to adulthood,

years, till the autumn of our lives. In this fast there are always people who encourage,

moving world, technology makes our lives motivate and inspire us in various walks of our

easier and everything seems just a click away, lives. The thought of gratitude isn’t to burden

momentary pleasures accessible at our finger our minds with indebtedness, but to add value,

tips. We are compelled to keep up the pace and meaning and fill worthiness into every living

momentum, whilst we try to catch up with life moment. We need to be grateful during times of

that’s happening around us. In-between the old both, adversity and joy, as one comes as a lesson

and the new, we often forget to be thankful for and the other as a blessing. There will be

what we have, and often chase things we don’t situations where we lose hope and belief.

need. So, in order to bring a balance in our lives,

If we hold on to negativity, anger, worry, hate or

we need to practice the attitude of gratitude.

sadness, we won’t be able to spread positive

JOY, is a state of being..

vibes. With a positive mindset, we strive to build

HAPPINESS, is multiplied by sharing.. awareness, trust and faith bring progress. This

GRATITUDE, is a sense of abundance. way, we create hope for humanity to prevail.

Acceptance of things as they are, creates

There are many ways to practice and understand

abundance, which is why an attitude of gratitude

the term ‘gratitude’, to imbibe the same in our

b r i n g s p e a c e . E ver y a c t a n d t h o u g h t

daily routine.

embellished in gratitude adds so much more

1. Gratitude to self ~ Being grateful to the five

meaning to life, brings in a positive change in

senses, our mind , body and soul , helps us take

the community as a whole.

care of our well-being.

Gratitude is not just a practice, but a way of life.

2. Gratitude to food, water, all the resources

The universe resides in us and we are the

provided to us , including the feeling of joy and

universe! Let’s all motivate, inspire each other

rejuvenation in the lap of our mother nature.

and celebrate gratitude ! Relax! Take a gratitude

3. Gratitude to the best moments of our life and pause, go for a gratitude walk, stop and smell a

our achievements, often connects us deeply flower and look at the way the flower teaches

with those values, people and situations which you, how wonderful it is to open up to life’s gifts.

helped us reach several milestones. It helps us to Let’s all be grateful to all the unknown blessings

accept our flaws and success equally.

coming our way!

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

When the entire school

pitched in to help a family

While the idea of the Mega Reunion was

being churned, one of our school

mates from the 1987 batch S. Kalyan

Chakravarthi, was battling a critical illness. The

dreaded disease sneaked up upon him without

a hint and suddenly one day he came to know of

it. When his treatment began, the prognosis of

recovery was not very good. However, Chakri

(as he was known) was very positive. At the time

videos were being made to encourage school

alumni from all over the world to attend the

reunion, Chakri sportingly gave a byte stating he

was looking forward to the event and hoping he

will attend. It would turn to be a poignant

record.

Chakri gave it his all and a hard fight it indeed

was. His classmates who were active on a

Whatsapp group were following the progress of

his health while hoping and praying for him to

recover fully. Whenever he was in Vizag (and not

out for his treatment), many old friends from

BHPV would meet him and include him in their

local get- togethers to cheer him on. It was also

during these meetings they understood the

need to support his family which consisted of his

wife and two young children. They were keeping

a strong front but that this was an extremely

difficult period for them was not lost on anyone.

Things were not looking up for him as the days

went by. It was around this time that an appeal

was made across various social platforms where

BHPV alumni existed for monetary help and

around Rs. 6,00,000 was collected that helped to

hire special ambulance to bring him back from

Chennai to Visakhapatnam.

But as they say, “Man Proposes and God

Disposes”. Chakri's valiant fight with his illness

finally ended on 13th December 2019. It was a

sad day for everyone who knew him and

especially his BHPV School batchmates who

were expecting some miracle.

The one special thing that our wonderful school

has given us was the spirit of camaraderie. That

was in evidence many times even before where

batchmates would empathize and selflessly

pitch in to support friends in need.

1987 Batch

Yatish Shetty

The BHPV 1987 batch on their Whatsapp Group

wanted to help Chakri's family especially

because his children were small. Within the

group they mobilized resources and tried to

help the family. However, with the Mega

Reunion coming up, it was suggested that

maybe more can be done. With a decent

attendance expected at the Mega Reunion, a

raffle could be arranged where people would

contribute to a noble cause while also having

the possibility to win some interesting prizes.

At the time this idea was conceived, it was not

sure how much funds would be collected from

which costs of the prizes would first have to be

covered and then the balance would go to

Chakri's family. It all depended on the goodwill

of the alumni who would buy the raffle tickets

on the Mega Reunion day. The prizes would

have to be bought first in any case and there was

a slight risk the cost of the prizes would leave

little for distribution. We would have to wait and

see.

However, on the day of the Mega Reunion

almost all who were approached to purchase a

ticket ended up buying it when they were

informed about the cause it was suppor ting. In

fact, there were many who purchased a whole

bunch of tickets. This was done by people with

absolute pureness of their heart – and to help a

fellow alumni's family. And it exhibited the

wonderful ethos that was built by our brilliant

school.

A total of 3 prizes which included 2 Suitcases

and a Microwave Oven, were awarded. In the

end, after covering the costs of the prizes, a total

of Rs.1,00,000 was available to be given to

Chakri's surviving family. This amount was

converted to LIC bonds with his children as

beneficiaries and presented to them. Chakri's

wife conveyed her heartfelt gratitude and

thanks to the entire school.

December 2019

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BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

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Nostalgia

Pulling my blanket tighter over my head, I

tried to ignore my mom saying, “Get up, it

is getting late”. She opened the door and

went onto the Daaba to water the plants. I can

sleep another 10 minutes before she is back. The

strains of Suprabatham were ringing in the air as

mom came back in yanking the blanket from me

followed by yanking of my sister’s blanket.

Suprabatham means Saturday. “It is second

Saturday, there is no school” I said hopefully. She

gave me a look and said “No it is not. Get up now.

Can’t believe girls sleeping so late. You should

wake up by 6am ….”.

There was more admonishing from her, but I

ignored that as I got up from my bed reluctantly.

Folded the blanket, put it away along with the

pillow and then proceeded to fold the cot as the

maid started cleaning the room. My mood did

not get any better as I was picking out my

clothes. I slept late last night as we were out all

evening playing in the park and then not being

able to resist a couple of hide and seek games

which meant I did not start my homework till

after Chitrahaar.

I started brushing my teeth, everything seemed

to move slowly today. My sister started banging

at the door, “Vijji come out, I will be late. You

always make me late”. “I just came in, and I don’t

make you late” I shouted back. Can’t believe she

is bugging me again. “You are so selfish” she

shouted back. “I am not, you could have gone

earlier than me instead you wait till last minute

and then complain” I retorted. Daddy was home

as he had B-Shift this week and he made his oft

heard resolution “When I build a house, doesn’t

matter how many bedrooms I will make sure we

have 4 bathrooms”. He followed that with “Be

nice to your sister”.

I came out as quickly as I could as my sister was

1988 Batch

Vijji Suryadevara

fuming outside. Just because she is younger,

they always take her side, I thought. As I started

packing by school bag the smell of Puri and

Potato curry wafted in. My spirits were

immediately lifted. I love Puri and mom made

the best Potato curry. She is a great cook but I

normally dreaded Saturdays with the boring Idli

and the inevitable Coconut chutney made from

the Coconut used for Puja that morning.

As I was leaving the house, my sister called out

“Wait for me I am coming too”. Together we did

some Olympic level speed walking through the

milk booth ground and then rushing to the Jack

fruit tree near the community hall where the

Vinayaka Chavithi celebrations were going on,

sprinting to the school as the school bell rang.

I rushed to my classroom in Bose block to put my

bag before joining the morning assembly. I tried

to stay behind the other girls as my shoes were

not polished, and I did not want to be pulled up

for bad uniform. The assembly went on as usual

the National song – Vande Mataram, followed

by Prayer and Pledge and then announcements

and a message by our principal Purushottam sir.

As he told us about the importance of time and

how we should do our work now rather than

postpone for later, I wondered how he was

always so well put together. Shirt tucked in

perfectly, belt buckle shining and those shoes – I

can see them shine all the way from here. Most

of our teachers are so well put together I mused.

Some 10th class girl was doing the thought for

the day - “A friend in need is a friend indeed”. It

was time to sing the National Anthem.

The rest of the day moved rather quickly. I was

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

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looking at the timetable as the 4th period was

ending, next period is Library. I cannot wait. This

was the best period in the whole week other

than PE which was also fun. I should go really

quickly to the library as I want to get one of the

Amar Chitra Katha books which were always in

such demand. I checked my bag to see if I

brought the Nancy Drew book to return to the

library. I had it, I am ready. Just then I head my

name called out “Vijayashree” – I looked up

startled, worrying if the teacher noticed me not

paying attention and rummaging through my

bag. Luckily, he called out a couple of other

names of other girls, so I was not in trouble. We

were told to go and meet RamaDevi teacher as

she was putting together a Dance for the

Cultural program that was coming up. I was

happy to be selected but did it have to be during

the library period! As all the selected students

met her, we were told we also needed to learn

the new BHPV school song written by Rita Harish

teacher.

Wow our own BHPV school song!

“We are of the BHPV School

To study and play is the rule

Life here is very inspiring

We work with a spirit untiring…..”

I woke up with a start as the pilot started

announcing “Ladies and Gentlemen, we are

approaching Vizag airport. The outside

temperature is…” I started belting myself in as I

tried to hold onto my sweet dream and my

childhood nostalgia. As I looked out of the

window and started seeing the outline of my

beautiful hometown, I could not help but smile. I

am so excited to be part of the BHPV School

Mega Reunion 2019. We were lucky to grow up

in Vizag and to have such a wonderful childhood

in the safe and fun environment of BHPV

Township. Free to play in so many parks, bicycle

from one end of the township to the other

without a care, get into trouble eating stolen

mangos and guavas, put together Vinayaka

Chavithi stalls, and enjoy movies and dramas in

Kala Bharati. We did indeed have a privileged

upbringing – not filled with money but with pure

innocent joy. BHPV Township and BHPV School

has shaped me and all other students and laid a

foundation for all our success in our professional

and personal lives. Whether we went on to

become teachers or doctors, homemakers or

scientists, lawyers or soldiers, entrepreneurs or

artists each and every student has achieved so

much. As we prepared for the reunion with get

togethers in all parts of the world, connecting

with classmates, seniors, juniors and listening to

their achievements and stories fills me with

pride. Like our school song said

“Our Alma mater we’ll never forget,

And cherish memories so hard to get,

We’ll be a family spread in the World,

And Keep the banner of

our school unfurled”

As my flight lands, I cannot wait to visit the old

haunts of BHPV township, to sit on those old

benches in the school, to meet old friends and

teachers and maybe even get to read an Amar

Chitra Katha.

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BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

Childhood Then

and Now!

lthough it wasn't as popular as “Malgudi

ADays, I bet most of us would agree that

the 'B.H.P.V Days' were just as much if

not more fun-filled and adventurous. A freeroaming,

campus that seemed endless but yet

secure with boundaries and security uncles

keeping watch.

We all know the kind of beautiful childhood we

had. Everything taught us life skills. Walking to

school and running back home for lunch and to

be back at school on time taught us time

management. Going to Krishna store or to

Kanna Rao's for grocery/vegetables and doing

the transaction in cash taught us trade and

money management in its small way. The

neighbors, celebrating every festival of every

faith and sharing the joy of that festival together,

taught us how to live in communal harmony.

This was our community – all parents worked

together in some shape or form, mostly all

siblings went to the same school, all parents

knew all teachers, all parents knew all parents –

Gosh, there was no escape! For those among us

that liked to be challenging, we didn't get much

far because, the teachers would get to us before

it went to our parents. We were given what we

called then 'punishments' right there, which

taught us discipline and that there is always

consequences. We didn't have to pay to play a

sport or be in any extra-curricular activity. I

remember Subbaraidu sir teaching us to play

football. He let all the girls form 2 teams and play

against each other. I at least never realized that

gender discrimination was a thing, at least not in

our school.

Well some of us were excellent students, some

of us average students, some were what they

1988 Batch

Dr. Glory Janes

called 'poor' students, and some of us were

considered useless students. No matter where

we were on this spectrum, we all turned out as

successful adults. And I'm definitely not

measuring success by material achievements.

Most of us have never been accused of criminal

activity or been in jail. Isn't that enough now to

be called successful in today's world? If we're

responsible adults, and trying to do the best for

our children, spouses, parents and to the society,

that's a successful adult. What we learn in

childhood seldom brings results in childhood.

The fruits of a good and healthy childhood are

seen in the adult years. So yes, thanks to a

wonderful, free-spirited, boundary-less,

physically active, mentally strong, and culturally

diverse childhood. Now think about the

childhood our children have on those arameters.

Hmm, yeah. Not quite the same isn't it. And this

is not just our children, but the children as a

whole in this era are missing a vital part of

childhood.

Outdoor play and activity aren't safe anymore.

Not unless we know who they are playing with,

and they be in our sight. Electronics have taken

over outdoor activities. They are so much well

informed and smarter than I ever was at that

age. They don't walk to school or take a bus and

buy a ticket. Not that they should go through the

same stuff we did, but I wonder if they are

missing out on learning some essential life skills.

Just a thought. And not that we can do anything

to change it either. The society and the family

setting has changed and like we all know,

change is inevitable.

Some of us might sometimes feel that our

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children are the 'Generation of entitlement'.

Most of us are doing everything for them that

they need and giving them everything that they

need, they want, and then some. As a

professional in the Behavioral Sciences, here's

one most common concern I hear from parents

is that their child is so rude and disrespectful to

them. 'Nothing I do makes my child happy'. But

here's the kicker. 'The whole world says my child

is such a wonderful kid. They are always bringing

a smile to people around them. We don't

understand it. We love our child/ren so much

and are trying our best to give them everything

that we never even had a chance at. They are so

loving to everyone. But so angry at us. It almost

feels like our child hates us. So parents either

giveup and let the children have their way and

suffer in silence or become extremely strict and

everyone ends up angry and unpleasant home

atmosphere, and wrecking the marriage too.

The one thing that would help is for us as

parents to understand that our children's idea of

fun is way different than what we considered

fun. And the challenges our children face now

are way different from the challenges we faced

at that same age. They are living in a world where

anything you say to point a difference of opinion

is offensive. Being correct is not important, but

being politically correct is extremely vital. When

at home, we are teaching them and expecting

them to be respectful, obey elders (just about

any one that's adult), do what your parents ask

you to etc. And then they step out to get to

school and colleges, and the media and the

world is telling them different.

It's an age of 'Do what makes you happy'.

Whatever happened to 'Do what is right'? We

lived in a community where every child was

watched over by someone. If a girl and a boy

were found talking in a corner near the

vegetable market, some uncle would ask who

your parent was and what their badge number

was? (Now, how do I know this? Make a guess).

There were many eyes to watch us, and hence it

made us watch what we did or said. The

community was involved in raising children. The

family was a community in itself where children

were answerable to every and any adult, all over

the township and town. Now when we have our

own families, the family structure has changed

to a single-family unit where we rarely see

extended family. And so our children don't see

the uncles, aunts etc as having any right to

question them or correct them. The key is to

understand this shift in the family unit and the

shift in the ethics of conduct. It's all about 'you'

says the world.

Most of these changes have been very

productive but have destroyed a few of the good

characteristics too. Yes, we have to go along with

the flow and catch up with it. But we don't have

to compromise on the ethics that we want to

teach our children. If giving my tantrum

throwing toddler a cartoon is making my life

easier, I'd search for that remote control like a

maniac. Nothing wrong with that. But may we

not think, my toddler can have what he wants,

when he wants. We can definitely teach them to

wait, teach them taking turns, picking up their

stuff, putting others ahead. Yeah? Like I

mentioned earlier, children today are so

intelligent and they understand and appreciate

an honest dialogue. Set boundaries. Don't let

them pull you into an argument. You do not have

to argue with them. Proving yourself right to

your child is not important, at all. Do you ever

remember a teacher arguing with you to teach

you that 2+2 is indeed 4? Well, yeah! Nothing

ever gets taught through arguments. Not if you

are trying to teach, for sure. Keep it short, simple

and as an instruction. Keep your emotions in

control. Imagine you are teaching a neighbor's

child. What would your words and tone be?

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

Here's a fun thing real-life snippet. On my recent

trip to India last summer, my 4-year-old was

throwing a full-blown fit; rolling on the floor,

screaming and the whole nine yards. I wouldn't

let him get away with what he wanted and so he

says, 'Fine. I don't love you anymore'. I was taken

aback that a cute little 4-yr old could say

something like that. But well, he did. I said,

'that's fine if you don't love me, I still have to

teach you to do the right thing, and I will still love

you.' Flashback to 6 years ago. My daughter who

is 12 now and was 6 then, said the same thing

when I had to get on her for something she did.

And boy, did I get bent out of shape or what. I

cried, complained to my husband, and worsewhen

she came to apologize, took her on a guilt

trip. I just told her that she controlled me.

Wasn't going to happen again. So my friends, if

there's a take-away from this, it's that at the end

of the day, we love our children more than

anything in the world. And truth is, our children

genuinely love us with all their heart. They are

good kids. And we know that. Just be a little

insight from us into their world- that they are

figuring out life, figuring out how to fit in with

peer pressure and society telling them to do the

opposite of what we are teaching them. They

say, it takes a village to raise a child. Well, we

don't have that village full of resources anymore.

But nothing to fear. Breathe, and reach out to

your spouse, a friend or a professional if needed.

You don't have to do it alone. And when they are

adults, they will turn just fine, like you and I did.

Thanks to the community that we lived in. Now

let's be that community to our next generation.

Dr. Glory Janes (Marital Therapist)

Director & Trustee – HOINA (Homes of the

Indian Nation)

Website: www.hoina.org

Email: glow.janes@gmail.com

December 2019

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

Those were

the best days

of my life

f someone wished for a picture-perfect

Ichildhood which came true, then you must

be talking about the hundreds of kids who

attended “THE BHPV SCHOOL”. Each child must

be having a mixed bag of memorable stories to

share. Blame it on the no technology era we

were in back those days or the “Hitler” fathers

and the innocent mothers who believed in

‘spare the rod and spoil the child’ principle or

the scarcity of quality play equipment or the

meagre public transport we had to avail or the

fixed play hours or the humble public

distribution system of essential commodities

or the compulsory extracurricular activities

imposed on us, I can go on and on with this list,

all ended up to bless us BHPV kids with an

envious childhood we can boast all our lives.

Delightful encounters with sweet people like

Neelamma (front gate welcome) and Achinaidu

(school bell) to name a few and all the nonteaching

staff those days are still vivid in my

mind. The fleet of classrooms, the labs, the

library, Ashoka trees which lead our way into

the school, the notice board, the big gates at

various check points, the cycle stand , the pond

i n f r o n t o f t h e b i o l o g y l a b a n d t h e

unforgettable play grounds, all stood the test

of time and stand witness to our past , present

and future. The teachers who taught us were a

perfect amalgamation of power, expertise,

dedication, values, experience and personality

who not only imparted knowledge but also

role-played different characters at different

times in our lives. The integrity and selflessness

they showed in moulding each student’s life is

1988 Batch

Indiramani Sudeep

beyond words to describe. We shall always be

indebted to each one of them.

My fond memories include playing seasonal

games, community singing, performances on

stage every year, gardening, work experience,

competitions, elections, children’s day posing

as teachers, radio programmes, picnics,

delegations, pledge and prayer at the assembly

apart from the routine subject classes. One can

never forget the shopping centre which

harboured epic shops like Krishna kottu, the

cool kiosks which sold Phantom peppermint

cigarettes to chocolates ranging from Coconut,

Goldspot, Pineapple flavours all for not more

than ten paisa or at the most twenty. Rarely

spotting someone with a Cadbury Milk

Chocolate was the most envious thing then. My

mouth waters when I think of pickled mangoes

and gooseberries which shot us to ecstasy

available in the friendly neighbourhood next to

the school.

I still remember friends offering robbed

mangoes escaping the caretaker( the infamous

thotamali), the endless loosing of pencils and

erasers, impositions, uniform defaulters,

beatings from the PT sir, a pinch on the hand or

the thigh whichever was accessible, the painful

twisting of the ear, again priceless endless

blissful tales of the school which may have

come down as blessings to make us all worthy

people today.

I have wonderful memories about my school

and will cherish them all my life. “Those were

the best days of my life.”

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

Backbenches

To Boardrooms

As usual it was a scorching sunny day... where

this blissful place is completely surrounded by

Asoka trees, water trickling out of the taps, its

outlet so cleverly setup so that the water is not

wasted but always flows into the little garden

next to it, keeping it lush green. Entering the

room was no different from any other, with

clusters of chatty boys engaged in serious

animated discussions, some girls quietly

giggling on witty jokes, covering their mouth

but their sparkling eyes tell you everything that’s

going on. Few showing off their cleaning skills

with the duster on the black board while few

others practice their rangoli and artistic writing

skills, changing the dates or the thought for the

day.

There were a few gratified-fun groups who live

in their own world. The tumult of feelings not the

same all around, with some very studious kids

getting ready to show-off their work and

impress the teacher, while at the other end few

students just wake up from their slumber and

remember their forgotten homework ( hehe –

yeah, this was typical and count me in on that list

). And did I say this was one of our typical

classroom at school? If it’s sounding like a local

market, it’s not anyone’s fault.

This paradise of unlimited and unrestricted

freedom is about to change, as our class teacher

enters the room, she waits for a moment and

continues with the same old daily phrase.

“Tell me when you all have finished talking” with

an irritated expression that crept down her face

after seeing all the nonsense that’s going on,

“This class is worse than a fish market!” she adds

on. The class suddenly goes eerily silent and

deadly quiet, to pin-drop silence as if there was a

magic spell bound over them. Except for the few

happy souls at the end of the classroom still,

oblivious to everything around them and

enjoying their vivid time while giggling, making

1989 Batch

TVN Ramesh/Lekisha

waggish jokes and imitating each other. These

naughty and carefree students are the so called

‘blessed’ back-benchers (I can already imagine

the smirky smiles on the readers faces

remembering their jolly good last bench days).

Living in a completely different world of

joyfulness, future-ness, carefreeness, and

happiness. They were the smartest of the lot–

except when it comes to studies for most of our

cases hehe..!!

What a privilege it was being part of the back

benches. Alas!!! If anybody couldn’t enjoy this

atleast once in their school life. Believe me it is

nothing less than a paradise. Though most of

you would think, only those students who want

to keep a low profile and stay away from the

teacher’s eyes or radar choose to sit in the back

benches, apart from the boys and girls who are

genetically born taller – but all these students

had most precious and happy memories of their

student life. ‘The best from the back benches is

waiting to be discovered in the future’. Yes, the

back benches always had improvised,

instigated, visualized, created, and laid down

future plans. Let me put here some excerpts of

the past olden golden days.

Sitting on the venerable and uneven wooden

desks for three, they create their own space, a

world where their thoughts, actions and results

are completely different from what you can

imagine, their friends’ circles are visionary – all

those Google circles, WhatsApp and Facebook

friends’ groups and circle ideas of present days

actually originated here.

Remember those melodious morning wishes as

the teacher enters the class, which sound so

soothing and irresistable (pun-intended).. “Good

Moooooooorning Teeeeacher” gets stretched

that extra 10-15 seconds to enjoy that bliss.

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

Thanks to these back benchers, who end up on

the school annual day stage performance, who

are fear-less and more popular with students.

They believe in their peers than the teachers in

the class. While all the students take notes from

the teacher’s black board, these blessed students

comprehensively copy from their friend’s

notebook – now do you realize where codesharing

and cloud sharing ideas came into light

for airlines and online data centers? Many of the

class students on many occasions had no clue

why some of the backbenchers were asked to

leave the classroom all of a sudden (hmm). Don’t

worry, it’s time to reveal the secret now, this is all

because they dared to open the tiffin boxes,

lunch boxes and eat before the recess and lunch

breaks, enjoying life on their own terms, eating

under the desk and sharing punishment times

outside class rooms.

The masterpiece of chalk art on the blackboard or

classic, traditional rangoli ink designs on desks or

the beautiful wood carvings/ graffiti especially

made by the girls in the class, shows the future

engineers in making; working on their designs,

prototypes & plans. Currently sitting in the

boardrooms at many MNC’s contributing and

shaping the world. Planning, execution,

improvisation, time and resource management.

You may hear these terms in the corporate world,

b u t a l l t h e s e h i g h e n d re s e a rc h a n d

brainstorming sessions happened decades ago

in the schools’ back benches, right from chalking

out the schedules for the cricket match to be

played in the next interval & lunch break to who

will take turns to bat and bowl in next day’s

interval and lunch breaks with such detail and

precision. Students from the back benches are

the real champions. They were not just involved

in classroom activities, but everything they could

do during that time. For instance; eating,

sleeping, chatting, drawing, making paper boats,

aeroplanes and sharing jokes which are all usually

not allowed. Through this write up of back

benches to boardrooms, want to say that

everything we as students did and learnt in our

schools help us reach to these heights in life,

please be thankful to the school, teachers and

most importantly your best pals. Also want to

cherish the beautiful memories with all of my

BHPV school boys and girls who share the same

feelings, this transformation – always astonished

things – is this really happening. Realizing this is

true brings big smile on face and heartwarming

feelings, remembering those glorious-notorious

days of our childhood at school.

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

Acharya

Devobhava

1989 Batch

Balla Radhika

uper excitement running in my veins as

Sthe clear sky dawned brightly. I had

everything - done and ready to go, a few

minutes earlier than usual to reach school. Ha,

yes, to reach school, you heard it (here – read it)

right. When things fall in place as per our wish,

school is the only place to preen and enjoy. You

are not yet into the reason for my restlessness

and thrill to be in school. I often realize that when

I am this super excited I tend to forget the rest of

the world I inhabit. After building up this

uproarious anticipation what I say now is going

to be a dampener but who cares, I don't , ha ha

ha.

Any idea what's happening here…. That's called

creating anticipation and curiosity whichever way

it is to draw your attention. I remember one such

teacher during our high school days, who used to

build up so much curiosity to connect it to the

topic. Most of those trailers used to be from our

day to day life experiences. I wish you to be able

to guess the name of the teacher after listening

to this – an all time favourite line – of the teacher.

“ Beginning of the month – king

Middle of the month – middle class man

end of the month - ------ “

This used to be the teacher's way of explaining

how chemicals react and how energy is lost or

gained. Coming back to my original excitement –

dear all, I have an aluminum pills foil digging a

hole in my bag

“ HOLE - empty hole

Not WHOLE - full”

Every line he used to say to enrich our knowledge

in chemistry used to have a line – tagged. Hi Hi

Hi…. Back to my aluminium foil and the reason

why it's giving me exhilaration. To make Practicals

in chemistry lab interesting Hari Gopal sir, used to

make us bring things from home. As far as I

understand, this is to make us feel that chemistry

is not a foreign subject but a part of our life.

I admire his teaching methods, he interacts with

every student in class, draws their attention and

involves them.

The enjoyment we had when we collected rain

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

water on terrace in buckets and used that as

distilled water is great – it made us feel like

scientists.

The brown ring experiments, the fruity odour -

essence, the rotten egg smelling H2S – all bring

back the wonderful memories of school days –

this is what made our chemistry sir, a very

inspiring and energetic teacher.

His body language, funny way of explaining with

w i d e a n d e x p r e s s i v e g e s t u r e s . H i s

demonstrations and illustrations bring the out

side world into class and makes it lively.

“Catalyst” is one thing which never ceases to put

a smile on my face every time I listen to it. Hara

Gopal sir had a unique way of making us

understand chemistry. I remember him saying

“Catalyst is like Narada” “ Instigates reaction ..

once reaction Propagates -- It comes out

unharmed” . Do you know anyone who can make

us understand this so well.

Million kudos also don't suffice for expressing

our feelings for your excellence in teaching Sir,

He is not just an inspiring teacher, he is a noble

person, a true loving human being. His

professional life is par excellence. His personal

commitment towards his family is beyond

expression. He is the only teacher I think who

remembers us by name and year of passing too.

Sigmund Freud might have said “To be best

teacher - build a rapport and also learn to break

the rapport“. Our Hara Gopal Sir's unique style is

build a rapport, continue to be there for your

student – as long as he thinks the student

needs you.

When I once casually told him that my daughter

is struggling with chemistry for her exams – he

didn't hesitate to come and be her guide and

mentor. He makes us feel like we are very much

an important part of his life. This make us feel

he's our teacher, guide , mentor and an

important member of our family.

Words fail to describe my feelings for this great

person. I just conclude by saying, my sincere

thanks to you sir, I owe my knowledge to your

knowledgeable guidance.

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

Sometimes I wish

Sometimes I feel I want to go back in time...

Not to change things, but to feel a couple of things twice..

1989 Batch

Ch. Venkateswara

Rao, D Section

Sometimes I wish I was a baby for a while...

Not to be walked in the pram but to see my mother’s smile

Some times I wish I could go back to school...

Not to become a child but to spend more time with those friends

I never met after school..

Sometimes I wish I could be back in college...

Not to be a rebel but to really understand what I studied

Sometimes I wish I was a fresher at my work...

Not to do less work but to recall the joy of the first pay cheque

Sometimes I wish I could marry again all over...

Not to change the partner but to ‘feel’ the ceremony better

Sometimes I wish my kids were younger....

Not because they grew fast but to play with them a bit more

Sometimes I feel I still had some more time to live...

Not to have a longer life but to know what I could give to others

Since the times that are gone can never come back, let’s enjoy the

moments as we

live them from now on, to the fullest..

Let’s celebrate our everyday life . . .

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

Fantasy of a

Funny Girl!!!

midst loud applause, in all my finery –

Awhite frilly frock, hair let down with a

white band crowning the silky head.

Pretty heels to compensate the height

challenge, I very much face even in my dreams –

I strutted up the steps to the dais to receive my

prize!!! Scratch it, a big shining gold shield!!! It's

official people! I am declared the best orator of

the school!! Ahh!! The adoration and

admiration……move over, it's my show, lemme

lap it up. “I-am-soon-to-be the great-speakerof-the-city”.

Ouch! What's that?? Yeeek… How can Amma be

called the best of God's creation? I wonder. She

always disturbs my dreams. Such wonderful,

exhilarating dreams where I always win

everything. Okay.. adult world answer me,

“Wow! Can a brilliant mind create a brilliant

world, if you don't let it dream?” No answer?

Yeah, we know this already. This is just a sample

question to make you realize your inadequacies

to our brilliance. Now, no need to lose heart.

What you couldn't do, just give us a chance, we

can do! “Get up Papa! It's getting late to school”. I

hear my Amma yell at me - “I just don't

understand this girl at all'. I hear her

complaining to my father. Me thinking- “Yeah! A

mere average brain can't understand the

workings of a master mind (like me)”. My Amma

is still grumbling -“when I want her running to

catch up with time, she is a sloth”. (Of course who

runs to go to school??); “When I want her sober

at home, she runs around like a crazy top.”

Hi..Hi..Hi..

Whatever, its high time to prove to everyone

here that my brain works at a different level than

theirs. Got ready in my usual uniform, stolen

shirt from my brother, rolled up and tied pig tails

with nicely ironed red ribbons. Oiled face,

polished shoes and a jolly good spring in my

steps. A cloth bag with a long handle very

1989 Batch

P E M Prasanthi

cleverly folded to settle on my back with few

books. Nearing the school gate, wishing

everyone and.. BANG” – PT sir!! STOP. Time to

check -the Time, the Uniform, the Shoes...All

perfect – All clear. Seems like a very good omen.

Even if the world says its wishful thinking to wish

to sit in the back bench, I still wish with all my

heart to get a chance. Its utter injustice that very

few get the privilege of getting such a wonderful

opportunity. How can you disappoint a kid from

getting a chance because of “birth default” and I

am left being short. Heavy heart, I take my seat

in the first bench in front of the teacher's desk. In

fact, it's not drudgery! Often we are overlooked,

giving us clear field to do as we wish!!!

That beautiful day, I got this forever awaited

moment. An elocution competition to be

conducted in the university. Interested

candidates can give their names. Guess what?

The shorty with high set goals in the sky- that's

me- gave the name. The topic was something

about trees. The dreams intensified now.

Obviously, when “I– am – the soon – to – be –thegreatest–

speaker– of– the– State”. The days

rolled on. The date of the competition is nearing,

my limbs are shivering, my dreams are

quivering. I referred books, magazines, papers

and everything, that's usually the way a winner

prepares to WIN. In plain speaking I have no idea

what to search for. But hello..a genius like me

needn't depend on others' writings. We create

our own – whatever it is!!!!

Few more days to the big day, our guide teacher

distributed slips of papers. She told us to

prepare from that. She said it isn't easy. My

eagerness took off from there at a tangent. (If

only I had heard the rest of what she said !!).

There's a new light in my eyes, I know, I feel it. I,

then was amused to realize others have difficulty

in learning those few lines on the paper. While

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

me, the STARRR, had it on my fingertips in five

minutes flat. All the anxiety I felt till now

evaporated just like that, whew!!! 10 lines – not a

tenacious trauma to worry about. Tomorrow, the

day of the competition is going to dawn just as

usual but the fall of dusk sees the dawn of a STAR

Speaker. My musings made me fall

asleep dreamlessly

( s h o u l d

h a v e

k n o w n

something

' s n o t

r i g h t ) .

B e f o re

A m m a

woke me

up early.

W h e n

A m m a w a s

plaiting my hair I told her to leave it down, a

winner speaker can't look short in stature as well

as hair, right? But no! sadly my Amma is such an

ignorant soul who couldn't recognize her

daughter's worth. Okay, for how long? Just for

this day. Evening the story gonna be different.

So, thinking I got ready, same oily face, polished

shoes, rolled up pig tails with red ribbons, minus

books. Slip of paper making a winning hole in

my skirt pocket. I wanted to wear my nice red

frock. University people are spoilers, they

insisted on uniform – boring. Bus journey was

like a dream. I was floating on clouds –

deliriously happy seeing all the tensed faces of

my friends. Smiling to myself – “How come all

these years I didn't realize I am so good a

speaker?” I am already visualizing the effect of

my speech on my friends. Their awestruck,

admiring looks. Their heroine – worshipping,

yeah heroine – because I am a girl. English

language needs some serious prepping.

My name is called out, I went with full of energy

and unmatched confidence. Introduced myself

very clearly, so that no one has any doubt of

identifying me later (My BIG MISTAKE). Without

a stammer or hesitation with loud and clear

voice told all the precious 10 lines my teacher

had given me and said “Thank You” with high

expectations of loud roof resounding applause.

PIN DROP SILENCE.

I thought they were spell bound. Looked at the

judges, there was an encouraging smile on their

faces. I also looked at them

encouraging them to relax

and appreciate. When

from one corner I hear

teacher prompting me to

continue. I looked at her

n u m b l y a n d

questioned, “What?”

She was telling me to

continue my speech.

Why? What? How? The

questions were going

around in my brilliant brain. My

teacher gently took my hand and brought me

down. Shock rendered me speechless was their

deduction; Teachers are cheaters was my

conclusion. They didn't want me to take the

world for a scintillating spin with my speaking

skills so they gave me the slip of paper. I learnt

my lesson, I am a genius, people and adults are

scared. So, they are distracting me with slips,

homework and chores!!!!! Awful. Friends, this is

my experience with my foolish self in school. But

my dreams were genuine, they were 100% made

of interesting kids' stuff aimed to laugh at now,

but sole reason to live for in my younger days.

Everyone has something very ridiculous

happening in this life, mine is one among many –

this feeling helped me cope with myself all these

years and encouraged me to pen it down for the

outside world to have a peep into my glorious

dreamy past. Love you guys, for trimming me

along your side. However, I am feeling rightfully

shy to identify myself now (maturity brings

wisdom). For few who know my sunny, jovial self

I dare to reveal, this is me guys – your PEM,

thanking my guardian angels- my teachers, for

making me what I am today. I owe my honour

and respects to you my dear teachers. I owe my

whole self to you my school – my pride.

December 2019

Nostalgic Places in and

around our school

1989 Batch

Anupama Sukhlecha

Across:

1. The newest school building (5, 5)

2. Students enjoyed being here rather than in class (10)

3. The official place for us to sit and taught by our teachers (9)

4. We were carried there when ill or injured (8)

5. Notebooks and other stationary items were cheaper here (11, 6)

6. Our assembly was around this (4, 4)

7. Annual prize distribution ceremony was held here (10)

8. We were here during national festivals and tournaments (6, 6)

9. This place gave a euphoric feeling of venturing into space (6, 4)

10. Candies, gooseberries ... could be enjoyed at just 10 or 20 paisa here (5, 5) Telugu

11. Heritage building of our school (4, 5)

12. Loved riding them during recess after renting from here (5, 6)

13. Tottamali chased us when we stole fruit from here (5, 7)

14. The noisiest place in BHPV township (4, 6)

15. This building was named after a space scientist (6, 5)

16. Felt like a scientist while experimenting here (10)

Down:

# Place reserved for dining, indoor sports and entertainment (12, 4)

December 2019

December 2019

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

Glimpses of

Sweet Childhood

1993 Batch

Dirisam Deena Kumari

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

My dear teachers, always

in my heart!

“Teachers!” the word, makes a movie reel run in

the mind. Some comedy, some sheer dedication,

some proud and some of remorse but lessons

learnt for life…. As a tribute to many, many

dedicated, selfless individuals, I would like to

express my gratitude, for which l was searching

for a way to let them know their great influence,

for the person I became today.

If I start to pen down my thoughts, we have a lot

of teachers from 4th class (that I started in BHPV

School) to 10th class, each of them, special in

their own ways. With people's time and word

limit in mind, I bound myself, to express here,

only for a few of my teachers, my heart felt

gratitude and how wonderful I felt about them.

I walked into 4th grade class, no idea how I would

cope with, especially, my mother-tongue, Telugu,

in which, till then I did not get any formal training

/ learning. Just knowing the Telugu alphabets

(taught by my mother). My first Telugu class in

school… there walked in this very tall ( at least

then for me he looked very, very tall) Sir ... our

MSN Murthy Sir.If I can read Telugu today it is

because of the patience and extra work of our M

S N Murthy Sir. In 5 to 10 mins he used to fill up

the black-board for students to copy notes. By

the time he filled the blackboard, I would manage

to copy hardly a line or two. Sir would then

immediately ask me to bring my notes and used

to write it down for me.

1993 Batch

Sarita Velagapudi

the confidence in the first step in learning Telugu.

To have the understanding, enjoy or appreciation

for my mother-tongue “Telugu”, as a beautiful

language!

Another unique thing about Sir, his classic

comparison of us to Indian army sepoys. One

incident, I always remember and that, even today

brings a big smile .... due to the way Sir used to

articulate in a very funny way! Hope many of us

remember this ....

Upon his command to START- copying down the

notes, some one of us would be fixing the pen. He

would say, in a war, in the board cross fire, if you

start fixing your gun after the firing order is given,

you will be the first to be hit by the enemy's

bullets. Sir would enact something in those lines,

which used to be hilarious to me… They are

original and don't think any of current stand-up

comedy or movie has that level of wit , with a

message hitting the target. Did not see any wit

that matched up to his. Values come from family,

but experiences we have in childhood, are what

get imprinted in your mind/belief system and

contribute in shaping the individual's values.

School is where, majority of our childhood is

spent. Like flight pilots have flight / airplane

simulators for training, where it is close to real

airplane and the danger too is simulated, but it is

not drastic.

My 4th class notes, 90% was written by Sir. Later

on, daily my grandfather used to read out and

help me with Telugu. I attribute my ability to read

and writing of Telugu to Sir and my late

grandfather!

Had it not been for Sir, I might have not gained

I feel school is a simulator system of life. We get

to experience success, failures and opportunity

to get in face-to-face with different situations, to

make choices and go through consequences,

hereby forming our values. A wrong choice will

teach us a lesson and shape us for better life.

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

There is this one incident that I

carry it in my remorse pocket.

However, I feel it is one of the

incidents that remained as a

lesson for me till day. To achieve

s o m e t h i n g , w e w o u l d b e

engrossed, carried away in the

flow and go any extend to win

/achieve the goal, but it may not

be worth if your approach is not

fair. For me, it was in the lemon and

spoon game that, in the last

quarter to get 3rd, I let the lemon

touch my cheek and raced on. I believe, Sir

noticed it but didn't insult me in front of all. But

from that moment on, I carried the weight of

guilt. It was my first attempt of an unfair play and

remain as the only one. Today it is clear to me,

nothing is worth achieving if it is not through real

hard work and honest.

I owe Subharaidu Sir, for this lesson I learnt, for

the way he managed in teaching values through

the school-sports-house events. Our crafts,

gardening and sports in school are the other

great stuff, still a part of me, that I enjoy. Music,

though our Music Sir tried is best, I couldn't get it.

Well, I attribute to our School (arranged for art

Sir), Teachers of craft/art/gardening and my

mother, whose passion got me into the hobbies I

enjoy today.

From Lakshmi teacher, I realized that women

should be physically strong, disciplined, goal

oriented, athletic at the same time graceful. As I

moved to higher classes, some qualities in our

teaches started to impress me. TMS Kumari

teacher, Amar Kumari teacher, Grace teacher,

Deepali teacher, Chudhamani teacher, Sharadha

tech, Savitri teacher, Lakshmi teacher and many

more ... only mentioned a few here as these

teachers took my class. . Dignified, independent,

confidence but with grace.

Among all, Indira Devi (our Geography) teacher is

one teacher, who stands out in my mind. I have

immense respect for her dedication to her job.

She remains as my role model for dedication and

commitment to a job one takes up.

Despite her heart/health issue, she used to go the

extra mile to collect all the general details for that

year for geography that were not in the text

books and vital to score in public exams. I see my

kids (in one of the top open applicative education

systems/ not much from static textbook content).

It was amazing that our Indira Devi teacher

provided with that level of information those

days. I got a very good score in geography in

10th which contributed to my overall score

In our recent BHPV school mega reunion

preparations, we got to see many of our teachers'

photos .... rejoiced, felt so good, I felt the warmth

on seeing them...... It is hard to stop with few

thoughts of mine ....many more teachers, our

school blocks, the huge play-ground, morning

assemblies, PE drills, NCC, RD-Camp, late comers'

line, summer raw mango feasts in the classrooms

.I believe these have pulled the string of your

thoughts, of your school day, Teachers, friends,

emotions. leaving you to slip in to those days, I

take leave with the contentment of getting a

chance, a means to pour out my gratitude and

locked up thoughts for all our awesome teachers.

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

Dream big...

aim high!

Adream doesn't become reality through

magic, it takes real hard work ,

determination, efforts, sweat etc., etc.,

yes, we know and hear these always but putting

in practice makes the real difference in life!!

Truly said – achieving something that has made

you jealous or think of all the time through hard

work is the real happiness. Every person has an

experience of their achievements to share, so do

Every morning, we students head to school

aimless of something great to hear. We drown in

the books of deep blue sea studying, luckily we

have cultural events and sports that most of us

are good or excellent in it. I too was good at few

and excellent in a couple. But, parents at home

as all of us might have heard saying – they are

sending us to school only to study not to waste

time in all the activities, thinking we may get

distracted from studies, but for me this came as

a warning and as usual I say yes and go to school.

And as days pass by at school, I would end up

taking part in almost all cultural and sport

activities which obviously made my parents

angry, but how can I crush my dream of holding

that high leadership badge on my shoulders?

You know every time I look at my seniors with

that badge on their shoulder and commanding,

being a leader everywhere, my hidden dreams

come out knocking on my heart and mind,

saying “you belong there, Anitha!!”. That day

bud of my dream blossomed into a beautiful

flower what I really want in life to set an aim and

goal as a student, but as usual every year it goes

by studying hard, playing sports & contributing

to the cultural activities.

It was one more of those hot summer days but

with lots of excitement in air as they announced

1993 Batch

Anitha Manoj

that the selection process for the school year will

be started for each house and I was in

Aryabhatta House (Yellow). It was not easy

process to pass and relax. Those house

leadership posts have got high standards set by

our seniors and when our turn came, everything

I did till now is taken into account, right from

behavior, discipline, initiative, team work,

bonding with students, teachers and above all

sports. As expected the competition is tough

but my expectations are sky high, one of the

other nominees for our house was excellent in

sports. Me too though not as excellent, but was

very good and confident for sure. As the

selection process underwent, the curiosity,

anxiousness, tension grew, as we finally were

nearing the end of the day selection process, so

do the most critical time of announcing the

results – I know, I did all I can do all these years

and now is to obey the final judgement, so while

I was just standing with my head down, hands

sweating, heart pumping fast and my mind

praying for the best – yes of course to get

selected!! The clock ticking down for the

moment of the truth!!

Unfortunately, I wasn't that lucky person to get

selected. Which made me as if I lost something

most precious in my life, was in despair and

walked back to class. My sadness was beyond

words to put in. Just then while walking back to

classroom, could hear some discussions behind

and I can see a lot of animated discussions going

on among the selection committee, I was

clueless on what and why? But for me, my dream

was shattered and I knew my fate now, how does

anything matter for me!!

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

My sad mood tailed back home, wept and

shared my sad incident with my parents and

brother as always my mom pacified me saying

am the best daughter and my brother too said,

ignore and keep trying, you will definitely get

selected next time. They always knew, how much

I was working hard for that badge and for me

getting selected would be like one of the

proudest moment. But seems like all the stars

and lady luck are busy somewhere else.

The next day of school started as usual, in the

midst of the class, we nominees were called

again to the ground, having heard the sad news

already the day before, I was least interested but

forcefully dragged myself to the school ground,

stood in front of the selection committee. That is

when I realized that all the busy stars and lady

luck have other plans for me, I heard the best

news of my life, my dream, my childhood

passion and my only thing which I wanted to

become for many years

for which I tried hard and

put all my efforts, yes,

that dream came true!! it

w a s m e w h o w a s

declared the Deputy

H o u s e L e a d e r o f

Aryabhatta – as they say

miracles happens when

you least expect it to

happen. You just need to

give your best, have

patience and leave the

rest for time to decide. I

felt out of the world, so

happy and on the cloud

nine, it's all because of

the sheer hard work not

only in studies or sports

but every bit of me as a

student at school. I can't

forget how the next few

d a y s u n f o l d e d , t h e

envious looks and talks of those who did not

expect me to achieve it. And the love and

affection of my dear ones who were always there

behind me in good and bad. But for me the

leadership badge is the power which comes with

great responsibility.

In life when you strive hard, put great efforts and

focus on your dreams and goals, nothing is

impossible, we just need to keep focus and stay

determined irrespective of short term failures,

when time comes all your hard work pays off and

that too in style!!

And for me being the student of BHPV school

which taught me that everything is possible

when you have encouraging & supportive

teachers, inspiring parents and last but not the

least lovely friends.

Thanking each one for what am today and what I

was then!

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

Gratitude

debt of gratitude

y journey began in 1983 at the

Mfootsteps of BHPV Primary School

where I had my first lessons.

Everything that I am today, I owe it to the

teachers and teachings at BHPV School. Even

after 37 years I can still remember the first day I

sat in Mrs Praphulla Kumari teacher's class,

friends I made that day onwards are my best

friends to this day. What I have learnt through

high school, is what shaped me and led me

through to this day. I am not an exceptional nor

a talented student by any means, it's just that life

offered me different opportunities and I have

applied the same lessons we learnt, to reach a

different destination. Without the experiences

offered at the school, I would have remained at

the same country side where I was born. Instead,

I carved a path for myself far away from home

and along the way doing the something good

for the society in general.

Lessons such as "In celebration of being alive" by

Dr Christian Bernard helped me immensely, to

appreciate life's every moment and encouraged

to recant my blessings more often. I may not

remember the title of every lesson that was

taught but most definitely do remember the

morals they conveyed. School life was not

always about the text books and teachings but

the examples our teachers have set for us

through their actions. Through extracurricular

activities and sports, they helped us develop

1993 Batch

R. Ravi Kumar

into complete individuals. This list could go on,

putting together ten years of lessons learned

and followed by all the experiences in applying

those lessons, could very well turn this into a

book by itself. Intent here is to convey my

gratitude to all my teachers and friends who

helped me become what I am today.

Better late than never, most of us came together

to support one another in need and to support

the under privileged and unprivileged along the

way. Hope our collective will , will lead us

through times under our school banner, doing

the most good.

December 2019

Nostalgic Places in and

Around our School

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

Answers:

Across:

1. Raman block

2. Playground

3. Classroom

4. Hospital

5. Cooperative stores

6. Flag post

7. Auditorium

8. Parade ground

9. Rocket park

10. Baddikottu

11. Bose block

12. Cycle stores

13. Mango orchard

14. Fish market

15. Vikram block

16. Laboratory

Down:

# Multipurpose hall

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

BHPV School

reunion buzz

Nurtured Wise

Steered towards success

Spread wide

Stamped with pride

Fruition thrives

Fervently seeking roots

To the alma mater

Idea sprouted, to gather

Tributes, to pay

Homage, pending to repay

Not just any union

Make it Mega, all in unison.

Thought being the best,

Universe conspired, stalling everything that's against.

Plan, set in motion

Pupil with zeal, dealt it with precision

What unfurled

Is humongous success indeed.

Going into details;

The alumnus, that's us, call ourself the most

fortunate and grateful to the fate, for bringing Ms. Ratna

Kumari and Mr. Koka Prasad together. We owe the

success of the magnificent show to the stunning

ideology presented by our own Yesudas fame Mr. Shiva

and Raffle popular queen Ms. Radhika. The taking off

moment, when the tiny seed, took a turn to make a

hugely successful memorable event possible. Reaching

out to friends near and far, seniors and juniors. The

institution which is the solid proof of our success story;

took the most part of our exciting dream time, longing

to reach back.

WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter

Which ever way, it probably, didn't matter

Maximum participation seeking

Efforts put out worth admiring.

Thus, started the....

December 2019

Buzz, that is us, with Mega Reunion fizz

Global gyration towards the City of destination

All modes of transportation, sought for reservation

Every event, to elevate the anticipation

All groups, active day and night, with ardent participation


Programmes planned and delegated

Committees created, invites distributed

Teasers adorned groups, senses teased

Past memories captured, on social platforms, showcased.


The excitement was like fever in the blood

Friends flew in, from all over the world

Hospitality and love showered by the childhood friend

Simmering energies over flowing like flood


Thrill experienced, entering township gates

Every bush, tree, road, releasing the memory brakes

School campus like a magnet, we gravitate

Towards it, inner child woke up, to keenly gyrate


Decades disappearing, scores of years scored off

Years of being apart forgotten with a laugh

Friends fretting, feverishly waiting

Hello there, wow here, hugs hailing!


Eyes searching, whole being quivering

All senses enjoying, heart's love overpowering

Special moments recapturing, in happiness crying

Memories reminiscing, childhood dramas unveiling


All, in and over forties, energized like in teens

Bags, T-shirts, badges and lovely tokens

Actively in perfect sync, distributed at the reception

Friends chattering, photographers busily shooting the scene

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches


Backbenchers, first rankers, all levelled even

Eager to welcome gurus, on carpet, petals strewn

Gurus' acknowledgement, equalling world record win

Entrepreneur, achiever, teacher and all, at their feet to fawn


Introvert, extrovert, all a grand convert

Seeing friends after decades forget self and shout

Air filled with laughter, spring in everyone's gait

Anticipation, expectation, admiration, is high and all about


Shy ones revealing their once upon crushes

Grown ups expressing their feelings with blushes

Caning and teenage humiliation

Advocated in openly laughed jubilation


Who said we grew up? Seen us on the ground?

Who could control our excitement? Teachers only, don't be astound

Loving the prayer today, memories rushed abound

Ground vibrating with crackling, invigorating sound


Teens to date, defined with personality

Paying respects due, to the designer of this quality

Every teacher recognised for their great ability

Felicitated with heart and soul, in humility


Past frictions, chaffing grudges laughed at, wiped out

Present life, family, follies, nothing seems fraught

Photoshoot, funny anecdotes duly, a want

Raffles sold thrumming frisson, wishing to win and flaunt


Oh!!! Our old classrooms' raiding, bench claiming

Laughter resounding, memories crowding

“Back to school hoarding”, maximum appealing

Going to shops adjoining, part of our happy schooling.

December 2019


Mango jelly, pickled mango slices and gooseberry

Every school child's fascinating memory

Displayed at the lunch counter duly

Invoked, revoked, evoked, childhood in all its glory.


In between catching up, appetising banquet smells lure

Drawing us towards a spread, mouth watering, sure

Catering caringly for 178 countries' hailed friends

Loving home reminding dishes, awakening taste buds


Artists, dancers, singers musicians, every brilliant school product

Compering, inviting, we awash with our school's éclat

Stage reverberating with excellence in talent

Audience glued in friends' loving company infact.


Emotions spilled around rendered us speechless

Dumbfound, we all were breathless

This emotional rapture isn't a weakness

Thanks to all, joy in our heart is now fathomless.


Songs on the scintillating stage

Dancers offstage, in up roaring rage

None, whatever in umbrage

Outrageous and sweet to engage.


Bright brilliance glowing on everyone's face

School which shaped us, merrily gave us another chance

To recapture and recreate moments in this phase

A fabulous day to cherish till we meet, to enhance.

Shining sun, tired and withdrew

To sink down the hills in splendid view

But, hearts soaring, yet heavy, tiredly untiring

Bonded friendship patently patient unwilling for parting

Hopes and dreams fulfilled

Yearnings and plans set astride

To meet and catch up when time permits

Bid adieu to darlings, in loving abyss

Dear BHPV School, forever for us, élan

Fond memories with us, we are always together, as one.

P E M Prasanthi

1989 batch

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

Acknowledgments

Teachers Shawls, Momentos &

Gift Vouchers Sponsored by

1. NSV Shree Kiran 1989

2. Lavanya Sambamoorthy 1993

3. R. Ravi Kumar 1993

4. Sumadhuri 1993

5. Sudheera 1995

House Badges Sponsored by

1. Bheemesh P.L 1989

With Best Compliments from

1. Dr.Satish Raju 1984

2. Koka Ravindranath 1985

3. Pradeep Devavarapu 1988

4. KM.Chistie 1988

5. VijayaShree Suryadevara 1988

6. Ram Prasad Inampudi 1990

7. M.Ravi 1991

8. B.Shiva 1991

9. V.Kalyan 1991

10. Navin Madhav 1991

11. Ramesh Naidu 1991

12. S.Srihari Bandi 1993

13. Hima Bindhu 1993

14. Bharan 1993

Social Media Promotions Team

1. Koka Prasad 1980 - Facebook

2. Ramesh Tadi 1989 - Youtube

3. Anuragh Addala 2013 - Website

4. Shiva Prasad 1984 - Background score

5. Ratna ARK 1987 - Promo videos

compiling

6. Shair Khan 1993 - Videos compiling

7. Majji Venu 1993 - Drone Videography

Teachers Invitation Team

1. Daisy S. Benjamin 1987

2. Manorama 1987

3. N.Chandra Sekhar 1987

4. Radhika B 1989

5. Bheemesh PL 1989

6. Leela Kumari 1991

7. Chandra Sekhar 1992

8. Majji Venu 1993

9. G.Vishnu Vardhan Rao 1993

10. Cdr. Hardeep Singh 1995

Logistics and Ground

Management Team

1. Bipul Karmakar 1986

2. Bhupal Inampudi 1988

3. V. V. Ramana Raju 1989

4. Srinivas Ande 1991

5. L.V.V. Kumar 1991

6. Vishnu Vardhan Rao 1993

7. Sudhakar Venkata 1993

Reception and

Check-in Team

1. Koka Prasad 1980

2. MP Sudhir 1981

3. Ramesh Ponnada 1987

4. NSV Shree Kiran 1989

5. Anupama Suklecha 1989

6. Bheemesh PL 1989

7. Md.Akheel Mohuddin 1989

8. Kalyan Chakravathy Gudla 1991

9. Shair Khan 1993

10. Hari Naag 1993

Spot Registrations

and Raffle draw

1. M.Uma Shankar 1987

2. Yatish Shetty 1987

3. C.Radhika 1987

Food & Catering Team

1. TV Rama Krishna 1984

2. G.Sridhar 1984

3. K.Sambasiva Rao 1986

4. Raveendranath 1990

5. Ravi Varma 1991

Banking and Finance

1. Sudarshan Velappan 1982

2. Gopinath Padipurakkal 1988

Mega Reunion Logo Designer

1. Kalyan Chakravarthy Guddla 1991

December 2019

BHPV SCHOOL

MEGA REUNION

1978-1993 Batches

Mega Reunion 2019 Souvenir Designers

1. Koka Prasad 1980

2. Ratna ARK 1987

3. Bhupal I 1988

4. Ramesh Tadi 1989

5. G.Vishnu Vardhan Rao 1993

6. Anuragh Addala 2013

Proof Reading, Formatting & Editing

1. Yatish Shetty 1987

2. Shair Khan 1993

Singers

1. Shiva Prasad 1984

2. Manorama 1987

3. Reddy K 1988

4. Lakshmi M 1989

5. Sudha Rani 1993

6. Prasad Babu Mulaka 1994

Stage Management (Sound, Lights

& Mixing )

1. S. Srinivas (Vasu) 1991

Cultural Activities Anchors

1. Daisy S Benjamin 1987

(teachers felicitations)

2. Singa Raju 1984

3. Vijayashree S 1988

Dancers

1. Padmavathi 1988

2. Sreedevi Pyla 1988

3. Radhika 1989

4. Latha 1989

5. Tilagavathi 1992

Speakers

1. Koka Prasad 1980

2. Singa Raju 1984

3. Bheemesh PL (Oath of Thanks)

1989 batch

Fashion Show

1. SingaRaju 1984

2. C.Radhika 1987

3. Vasant Kumar Varma 1987

4. Dr.Sunitha 1987

5. Uma G. 1987

6. Ratna ARK 1987

7. Bheemesh PL 1989

8. SriVidhya 1989

9. Indeever Nellore 1991

10. S. Srinivas (Vasu) 1991

Please Note: We made every effort to compile and complete this

publica on on conclusion of the Mega reunion, however the

unprecedented lockdown due to COVID-19 crippled us and all

businesses establishments hampering our efforts to bring this

souvenir to you much earlier. We thank you for your kind support and

pa ence.

www.bhpvschoolevents.org

https://m.facebook.com/schoolmegareunion/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/

UC-9Btd6no9EwyKURqUympiw/videos

December 2019

December 2019

School Souviner Date-24-12-2020

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