St Michael’s High School alumni members at the poolside party in Patna on Friday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Patna, June 24: All of us have given nicknames to our teachers in school but not many of us would have thought of calling an obese instructor ludhakta matar (rolling pea). This unique name was given to the Sanskrit teacher, Anthony, by the 1986-batch of St Michael’s High School.

“He was so fat and round that we used to call him ludhakta matar. I used to roll peas on the floor of the classroom. Once I was caught as I forgot to dispose of the peas kept in my trouser and was thrown out of the classroom,” recollected Sanjiv Jha, an alumni of the batch.

Jha and his friends relived the memories at the silver jubilee alumni meet that kick started at the school today. Many students, who are settled outside Patna and even the country, were here to attend the three-day-long event. They shook a leg and got wet at a poolside party in the school this afternoon. Later in the evening, they felicitated the teachers and former principals of the school at Hotel Chanakya.

Convener of the event Vivek Sinha said: “The alumni will visit Nalanda and Rajgir along with their families as part of the Heritage Walk over the next two days.”

For most of the former students, it was time to recall their schooldays, the pranks they played on their teachers and fellow students and the good times they had together.

Amitabh Shanker, an employee of Tech Mahindra Limited in Pune, said they were very careful in choosing the nicknames for their teachers. “The names given to the teachers reflected their peculiarities. One of the most popular nicknames was Kader Khan for Robin Francis. We named him after the Bollywood actor as his attire and hairstyle was different,” said Amitabh.

Retired physics teacher, Francis also attended the event today. He said he had taught not only these students but some of their teachers as well in the course of his long career from 1970 to 1997. “It is fun to be back and celebrate with my old students. Even in school days, I loved their company,” said Francis, who has taught senior officers like Afzal Amanullah and Abhayanand.

English teacher Amber Banerjee said he spent 20 years in the school — 10 as a student and 10 as a teacher. At present, the principal of DPS, Agra, Banerjee said: “The 1986-batch was historic in many ways, as it was the last ICSE batch. Coming back to the school today is like a homecoming for me.”

Many alumni came with their children and family members. Asif Khan, senior manager, Iffco Tokio General Insurance, Noida, said: “It was a great experience to bring all the people here and relive the memories together. I studied in this school from Class III to Class X. There are many friends who are meeting each other after 25 years. I showed my child the classroom and the desk where I used to sit. It was a wonderful experience.”

Shahid Abbas, who has an IT consulting business at Minneapolis, Minnesota, had also come for the event. He has been in the team to plan the event since October 2009. Abbas said: “Meeting old friends is really a beautiful experience.”

Father Peter Arockiasamy, the principal of the school, also attended the event.