CHENNAI: With greying hair, enthusiasm and a love for their school, which has not dwindled, the 1964 batch of the Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School (MCCHSS) celebrated their reunion. Wearing tags indicating their nicknames, and fondly recognising old classmates and meeting their spouses, the alumni are celebrating their 50-year reunion in style for two days.
The MCCHSS with its 175-year history has a set of illustrious alumni spanning various fields, like Congress politician P Chidambaram, music director A R Rahman, director Gautham Vasudev Menon and tennis star Leander Paes. The batch of ‘64 too has seen people go far in life. Apart from people, who have succeeded in the fields of business and engineering, this batch also has people like CPM general secretary Prakash Karat. The alumni had gathered from various parts of the globe to recollect their six years in the school.
“I have great memories of this school, and to have assembled here after 50 years is a big deal. We have all had different journeys with ups and downs, but our alma mater is common,” Karat said, speaking to more than 100 batchmates, who gathered at the school on Sunday.
He added that he owed much of what he learnt, to the school. “I remember the first time I won an essay writing competition when I was in school, which took me to a competition in Tokyo. Six years in the school helped me unfold my capacities,” he added. Abirami Ramanathan, the owner of Abirami Theatres, an alumnus from the batch, will be treating them at his mall on Monday.
“It gives me great pleasure to see the reunion of the ‘64 batch, when 1964 was the year I was born,” said the present headmaster G J Manohar, who has worked towards upgrading and expanding the school and introduction of the primary section. The school also opened its door to become a co-educational institution, and might be looking at a CBSE section in the future.
Students both old and new, say that the best part of the school was the social and economic diversity of the students. “We aim at providing quality education at low cost, and this has worked well. On one of the occasions when I asked the students for donations for a charitable cause, the maximum amount came from one of the Tamil-medium sections that had many people from weaker economic backgrounds,” said Manohar.