Siliguri, Nov. 12: Thirty years older
since they last saw her, but the Queen of the Hills did not
fail to impress. Nor did their alma mater.
Nine Thai nationals and former students
of Mount Hermon School, one of the better-known institutions
in the hills, rode the pothole-ridden road leading to Darjeeling
to walk down memory lane.
`The school has grown a little bigger and
is somewhat more crowded, but is pretty much the same,` said
Pornchai, who graduated in 1971 and is now an executive in
an oil company. The group, made up of six men and three women,
however, was a trifle disappointed by the bad roads and urban
sprawl. `Though the hills are as beautiful as we remember
them, the bad roads and the urban sprawl have taken away most
of the town’s charm,` Pornchai said. That apart, visiting
the school they had studied in was an `experience to remember`.
Navin Wongsejullart of the 1973 batch, who
can easily pass off as an Indian both because of looks and
first name (his mother is an Indian), expressed similar emotions.
`It feels good to return to your roots after so many years.`
`This school made us what we are today.
Though we, the Thai alumni, meet regularly, we generally do
not get to meet our Indian counterparts because we cannot
make it to the annual reunion. This is why we decided to make
a trip to the school and also meet our local friends here.`
Among the teachers, there was just one old
face the Thais could identify. `Mr West used to teach the
junior section, not us. But he used to play soccer with us,`
said Pornchai.
The group arrived in Siliguri on November
4 and after visiting their school headed to Sikkim. `We will
visit other parts of this country before heading back home,`
Pornchai said. |
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