Arijit Chaudhary

Class XI – XII, Batch 1998-2000

When I studied in Calcutta, used to think this al the time – kab ye padhai khatam hogi’ when will mom stop scolding me to study. Then in 7th grade I went to boarding school in Dalhousie, in a bizarre sequence of events. We went to Himachal for summer vacation, after Chamba Dalhousie was our next destination. One day we were going to Khajjiar and saw Dalhousie Public School that came on the way. It was love at first sight. On the drive back we stopped the taxi and took permission to go inside, saw the school, met with teachers, few students, met with Dr. Capt. Dhillion Principal who said, if I had to study in DPS they’ll take my admission test the very next day, if I passed then I’ll have to start right away.

Could not wait to complete our holiday or return to Calcutta and then come back, as it was the middle of the session already and 2 months of classes were already over. As luck would have it, I passed. So my Mom, little Sister, Grand Mom, uncle bid adieu and admitted me into DPS and continued on with rest of their holiday. There started my new holiday, the holiday of best school life for next 6 years.

From that moment everything changed in my life. 4 years in DPS followed by 2 more years at NPS became the best days, and still remain the best experience even today. I miss them even now. Suddenly school became fun. It wasn’t just about studies anymore, school became a place to be, to have fun, to compete in sports, to grow up, to make lifelong friends, teachers became part of our lives, we literally eat slept and grew together under the same roof. Every single day of those 6 years boarding school was epic and gave memories of an eternity.

I am so thankful and grateful, had my mum not had that very tough call to leave her son unexpectedly, in the middle of a summer vacation, and to all my teachers, I would not be even half a man I am today.

NPS and Chandigarh and RD Sir’s House was specifically special because by then we’d become young adults. The shararats changed to lot more and so did the excitement of living in the city Chandigarh from the hills of Himachal. I remember how we used to sneak out hoping nobody will find out but Sir did. He even put a wake up calling bell in our room for morning alarm but we would still be late. I can keep on and on, there are just soooo many fantabulous memories of school days.