It is almost impossible to fathom the oneness that a Sainik School alumnus would feel with the short story collection ‘After You Sir’. Or so it would seem to the vast reading population who were never destined to be at Sainik School and are left feeling severely crippled for being alien to this world of unconditional friendship. When the author, Captain Ramesh Babu, says he is elated that the sales proceeds of Rs one lakh has been handed over to the Students’ Welfare Fund, it is the same spirit of ‘all for one, one for all’ cultivated in the wards of this institution that is reinforced yet again.
The returns had crossed Rs one lakh with the sales conducted on the sidelines of the Old Boys’ Day held at Sainik School, Kazhakkoottam on June 23. The registrar of the school handed over the amount to the treasurer of the Old Boys Association on June 29.
“Around Rs 13,000 was collected from the sales. It will be added to the nearly Rs one lakh collected over the past months and will be deposited in the Students’ Scholarship Fund maintained by Old Boys’ Association. Every year, financial aid is provided from the fund for needy students. We are expecting this year’s shortlist to reach us soon,” said the treasurer, G S Ram Mohan.
‘After You Sir’ was released in January this year at Sainik School Kazhakkoottam in connection with the school’s golden jubilee celebrations. With each chapter based on true life incidents, people and memories - all connected with Sainik School Kazhakkoottam - the book easily found resonance in a thousand hearts since its publication. It could ring a bell or knock open an all but forgotten chest of recollections for each reader.
“The book was possible because of the friendships accrued through the tough days at Sainik School,” says Ramesh Babu. “Everything was in short supply those days and we young boys had to make do with whatever little was on offer. The rigours of the training were so hard that there was only the bonding between the boys to fall back on,” he remembers.
Ramesh Babu, now retired from the Indian Navy and living in Mumbai with his family, had helped set up the Students’ Scholarship Fund in 2000 after a Sainik School student sought him out in his Mumbai office to request financial help. “Now that the sales proceeds have been handed over as it was planned during the release, I feel the same sense of fulfillment I felt when I gave my first salary to my mother,” says Ramesh Babu.