VISAKHAPATNAM : It was a memorable day for the alumni of St. Anthony’s School who gathered on their school premises here Sunday to celebrate the 91st birthday of their teacher and well-known creative writer Kalipatnam Rama Rao, who also completed 70 years of his teaching career.
Many touching scenes were witnessed on the occasion as students of 1954 to 1995 batches, who settled in Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi and other parts of the country now, went down the memory lane and shared their happy moments spent in the school with their dear friends.
They all felt young again, meeting their classmates after three decades in some cases, revisiting their classrooms and recalling the good old days and exchanging gossip. A student of 1979-batch and city-based additional deputy commissioner of police (Spl Branch) BV Ravi Kumar said that he had a whale of a time with his school buddies in the same old classrooms where they pursued education. “We remembered the cherishing moments we had in the school and learnt about our present life, our family, children and jobs. This was truly an unforgettable day in my life,” he shared.
V Gupta, a businessman from Vizag and an alumnus of the school, said that his mentor Rama Rao is a role model for them all, for he treated all of them like his own children, which is a rare case nowadays. “The affection he had shown towards us and the immense knowledge he shared with us has made us what we are now,” he added.
Some of the old students included Oracle senior director (Bangalore) Lanka Satya, CREDAI vice-president GVV Satyanarayana, KGH doctor V Srinivas, Visakhapatnam Cooperative Bank CEO PV Narasimha Murthy and District Football Association president Kosaraju Gopala Krishna.
The alumni members also pledged to bring back the past glory of the school, which is now facing many problems.
Kosaraju Gopal Krishna recalled that their school was once in such a position that a candidate had to bring a recommendation card from the district collector for admission. But now, all the glory is a thing of the past, he said and requested the alumni to lend a helping hand in resolving the prevailing issues like lack of funds and shortage of staff.
Earlier, teacher Kalipatnam Rama Rao was felicitated by the members of Kalipatnam Navateetaranam Aahvanam Association at the Visakha Public Library. Many literary members like K Shiva Reddy, Association president KVN Sarma, members G Raghu Rama Rao and AVN Chetti, and alumni were present.