The Reunion Poem by Angelina Pandian

Twenty-five long years – Yes,
It does seem like so long ago
But Time dimmed not our memories
And this 25th year is a year of celebration
Our 1st Reunion after a long and lonely journey
A Jubilee, a Silver Jubilee worth commemoration!
Twenty-five long years have passed in between
We have all grown up and become families
But, the memories of those days
When there were no cares, no fears
No reason for tears or peer pressure
When raindrops were diamonds
Glistening at leaf ends
When Mary and Pillayar were one!
Throwing chalks and dusters
Memorising formulaes and equations
Clomping down silent corridors
Always ready to play a trick or two
Those days of joy and happiness
Have been held closely, tightly
Secreted within our hearts.
The long and wonderful days
We spent together in the classrooms
The joys that we shared
The tears that we shed
The daily chitchat, the fun
The excursions, the camps
The sports day, the china teas
The Masters and the Madams
Their foibles and their follies
The nicknames we had and gave
The sheltering trees under which
We sat, we played and we ate
The canteen, the ice cream man, the Mali!
The thoughts and time spent together,
The friendship, which we shared
With no expectations, no returns
No catch, no fear nor threat
Friendship freely given and received
Have all been preserved never to be forgotten
Like a four-leafed Clover, A blood red Rose
A Peacock’s feather within the pages of our hearts.
Life moved on and circumstances changed
Our outlook, our attitude, our feelings
Yes, we changed with Time – Our work,
The daily mundane routine took over our life,
Our time and we did not stop to remember and think.
But, we have not forgotten, not one single bit
Our memories they always were there
Looking out silently from the shadows
Peeping stealthily into our dreams
Some face, some resemblance, a name
A word – all these were reminding us always
Of the good old days and our friendship
Which had become a part of our life
Moulding us into who we are today!
Now, today when we met again
After Twenty five long years
We picked up as if we had said
Our last goodbye only yesterday,
Remembrance is something
Which does not die –
Because of distance created
By space of time or place,
It is memory etched on Evergreen tree
To deepen forever with passing age
Memories of days spent at school
Have been kept safely, secretly
Like, pearls gathered at risk of life
And strung together as a necklace
To adorn our hearts forever
With warmest thoughts of all our friends.
The fights, the quarrels, the jealousies
The difference of opinions, the pains if any
That we might have had were all forgotten,
It was only the feeling of togetherness
The goodness of our friendship
Which enveloped us all bringing back
Happy memories of those days
Which have been given once again to us
With grace and blessing after 25 years
To be treasured by us all forever more.

[A 1st Reunion, of Bishop Corrie Students, of 1981 School leaving batch, organised after 25 long years on 26.01.2006]