Idyllic Days

Computer Lab and Spoken English Lab periods in school were only 45 minutes, yet we would wait hours, sometimes days for them, eyes peeled in anticipation. The most awaited words from our teachers were, “Let’s go to the lab today and practice.” And of course, we weren’t excited about the practice. The moment we heard that line, it became a mad race for the last seats because that’s where all the crimes happened. Those seats had seen everything. Back then, we weren’t allowed to watch TV except for an hour after dinner and on Sundays. So the lab became our little escape. Sometimes it was YouTube, sometimes downloaded movies or songs. We didn’t care how many times we watched the same videos, it was the act of breaking the rule that made them special. Every movie, every song, every stolen minute felt new. And now, when I think of it, it wasn’t really about the screens or the songs.  It was about us, the laughter, the whispers,  the feeling of getting away w...

Let’s roll the dice, shall we? Well, I would have rolled it, but the dice is off somewhere else, running an errand. So, I’ll take it my way. Let’s dive into what happened after five golden years. The date was 20th August 2019. We were celebrating our fifth Raising Day (that means the day our school was established — in other words, our school’s birthday). The entire event was organized by us, the cadets, with only a little assistance from our teachers. This blog is about the series of incidents that unfolded just a day after the five golden years of our school — a day that could very well be labeled a black day in the history of Sainik School Kalikiri for us. A little about our Raising Day celebrations — Abhilash and I were in charge of poem composition and recitation, capturing our school’s five-year journey. We prepared the presentation at the very last minute and handed it in just before the event began that evening. We gave it our all and performed excellently. The event went smoot...

Rolling of dice. And you know what? We got what we hoped for last time — “Trip to INA (Part 2)”. Just wait a sec, that’s the result from another parallel world. According to the latest news, in this world, we got “Prep Time” for the roll of dice. By definition, Prep Time (short for preparation time) is considered the sacred time to do all kinds of activities — mainly mischievous ones — under the supervision of some teachers, or if we were lucky, none at all. We used to be in different states of excitement, working on various things. Initially, in our 6th and 7th classes, we were quite sincere compared to our higher classes. We just sat obediently, studied diligently, and seldom did we talk aimlessly. Moving on to our higher classes, 8th and 9th standards, I made it clear to myself to just chat with whoever was available, on numerous pointless issues. Prep Time felt like only a few minutes to me. In the later stages, Hari Prasad Sir (our English teacher) would come to any of our classes...

Today, let's cut to the chase — the dice has been fixed and voilà! Our topic of discussion is “TRIP TO INA (PART 1)” (and yes, to be clear, it’s going to be five parts). After the chicken pox episode, the cadets of Section A and the majority of Section B were allotted for the INA (Indian Naval Academy) trip, which was held from October 21, for a span of three days. The remaining Section C and the pending minority of Section B cadets were going for the NDA (National Defence Academy) trip. The first leg of our journey was to reach INA, located in Ezhimala, North Kerala. We travelled by bus to Katpadi, Tamil Nadu, where we boarded the train to Payyanur, the nearest railway station to INA. We were scattered around the train with other passengers. At every major station, we bought snacks. The problem we faced while buying them was the language. We didn’t know Tamil or Malayalam to communicate, but with us, we had the man — Amith S. Kumar (nickname: Amith Ass Kumar) — a Malayali in our c...

For a change, why don’t we not roll the dice this time, huh? What do you say, guys? Never mind—just sit back and relax. Today’s topic: “School in the Time of Chicken Pox.” We’ll be diving into an era where, I’d say, we got a firsthand preview of what the world later experienced during the Corona times—but with a whole lot more fun added to it. And I’ll say this right at the start: this one’s going to be divided into two parts. It was during my eighth class (academic year 2016–17), right at the beginning of it. I don’t remember exactly who the first person infected with chicken pox was—but I do remember that it wasn’t taken as seriously as it should have been. And so, it began its hunt for the less immune cadets, ensuring its survival. As time went by, the number of infected students increased, and the management took drastic measures to protect the rest. The solution? Isolation. The rooms with infected students were completely sealed off. I remember this precisely—ours was among the fi...