School Kazhakkoottam will have a special visitor on Wednesday who is visiting the school for an all the more special reason. Rear Admiral Ravikiran, who heads the Naval Ship Repair Yard at the Kochi Naval Base, is on an inspired visit to the school, which he read about in the short story collection , ‘After You Sir’.
The book, penned by retired naval captain and alumni of the school Ramesh Babu, was published earlier this year and had won much acclaim from a wide spectrum of readers.
“It takes you right back to your childhood and school days, even if you are not an old student of Sainik School,” says Ravikiran who happened to read the book in a friend’s house. “It covers an entire canvass of life and relationships fostered by the cadets here. I am sure they still say ‘after you sir’ at the queues formed in the school.”
Ravikiran will also felicitate the students whose review of the books were selected for prizes sponsored by the author.
‘After You Sir’ was released in January this year at Sainik School in connection with the school’s Golden Jubilee celebrations. It is based on true life incidents, people and memories connected with the school, which the author gathered through many months of interviews and correspondences.
Writes Kiran Gopi of class 12, whose review won the first prize in the competition - The book ‘After You Sir’ gives a feeling that a part of the author itself has melted deep into the crisp stories. He goes on to credit the author with a successful portrayal of a child’s feelings - the fears of separation, the comforting affection of matrons and teachers, the hard fought victories and most importantly, the bond forged among the students. Sreeram Anil of class 10 and Vikas Nair M of class 12 won the second and third prizes respectively.
The sales proceeds from the book, which crossed Rs 1,00,000 was handed over to the Students Welfare Fund in June.
The Rear Admiral will address the school in a function to be held at the school auditorium today at 10 am.