MY SCHOOL

THE MAIN ENTRANCE OF MY SCHOOL AS IT STANDS NOW (2012)

What one means by mentioning MY SCHOOL?

Does it mean Primary School? or the Secondary School?. Everyone can have differing views and comments on this, however whenever i refer to MY SCHOOL, i always meant the GOVERNMENT BOYS SECONDARY SCHOOL NO.1  NAZIMABAD, KARACHI.

I studied in this school for 3 years, from class eighth to tenth (matriculation). I passed my matriculation and left the school in 1969. Those 3 years were perhaps the golden years of my academic life. Uncountable memories swift past my mind, hundreds and thousands of  unrelated scenes  but attached like the frames of a long film, do pass through my eyes. This is what happens when i mention the world MY SCHOOL. The span of 3 years is a very very short period of my 57 years long life, but this small period was perhaps the jumping board for my whole todate life. Absolutely correct.

Let i give a very brief survey of my academic life.
My parents sent me to a not exceptionally good, but it was an english medium school, where the Radiant Reading and other books from the British Curriculum were taught to us. It was my Primary School. It's name was Crescent Grammer School, and was situated in a lower middle class area of Nazimabad number 3, Karachi. I studied there till class 4. I was good in school, and was granted double promotion once.

My parents changed their residence, and we shifted to Nazimabad Np. 1. Here i was got admitted in a far better english medium school. It's name was WINDSOR SCHOOL. It was run by one Mr. Khan and his British wife. The education standard was good. However, i could study only for one year there, because it was just a primary school. After 5th class  i had had to get admission in some secondary school.

NEW METHOD SCHOOL was my next school. I studied there for two years. It was also an english medium school. However, i started showing signs of weaknesses in my studies during these years. My father worked hard with me and contacted my teachers too, but of no avail. But it was a nice school with good extra curricular activities too.

My father decided to change my school. Not just the school only but he had decided to send me to a Government Urdu Medium School. It was the turning point of my life. My elder brother with a brilliant academic carrier, was left to continue his studies in the english medium school. But i was taken out.

When i look back, and try to gauge the possible reasons behind such a decision of my father, i become confused. I become confused because in those days , studying in a Government school had not been considered as a setback as it is now. But on the other hand, i am sure that he wanted his children to go to the english medium school. The Government schools, in those days were by no mean behind the prestigious english schools. Rather generally the students of the Government schools used to take the top positions in the matriculation examinations. So going to a government school was by no mean amounted to be an insult at that time.
I can simply presume that my father had realised that it would be difficult for me to continue my studies in an english medium school.

I repeatedly watched my elder brother going to school with tie and navy blue sweater, and with different dress on every extra curricular activity. I was wearing the khaki pent and white shirt of the government school. This situation might have led to an inferiority complex in me at that raw age, but indeed the credit goes to my parents who never let me feel anything like that.

Now when i look back to those years, i feel that it was a very correct and appropriate decision of my father.
In that Government School, i became far more realistic and simple. I became a all time happy sort of boy, who could enjoy under odd conditions. This peculiar mentality and approach became the most important part of my character and i believe it always help me getting out of all difficult periods of my life.

Before reverting back to my educational career, i would like to mention that in those days it was not easy to get admission in a Government School. My father had asked one of his friends Syed Sahiquddin, who was working in the Auditor General of Pakistan Revenue, to help me getting admitted in this school.

Now i return back to my educational career.
As i have mentioned earlier i was not a brilliant student when i was got admitted in class eighth of the GBSS No. 1 school. But indeed was the jumping board for my future academic life. The list of my standings in annual results is as under. I express my honest gratitude to my parents and to all of my teachers, without whose help. hard labour. dedications and help, the undermentioned achievements could have never been achieved by me.

1967 Class Eight.......GBSS NO.1 Secondary School......class VII-C.......first position in section.
1968 Class Ninth.......GBSS NO.1 Secondary School......first position in Commerce section of the school
1969 Class Tenth......GBSS NO.1 Secondary School......first position in Commerce section of the school

1971 INTERMEDIATE COMMERCE....PREMIER COLLEGE......12th position in Karachi Board
1972 B.Com. Part 1.........PREMIER COLLEGE...............................4th position in Karachi University
1973. B.Com Final...........PREMIER COLLEGE...............................3rd position in Karachi University

1979......Qualified as Chartered Accountant from the ICAP

A couple of weeks ago i went for a short visit to Karachi. I managed to visit my school. It was a desire that i had always been keeping inside me, but generally my Pakistan visit had always been too hectic. However, this time i managed to visit it.

Looking from outside the building i noticed that nothing major had got changed since i left the school in 1969 (43 years ago). I started re-smelling my own youth days, when i passed through the pavement with greenery on both sides, as i entered from the outer gate of the school into the inner gate of the main building.
As i entered this gate, i found a gatekeeper sitting there. I asked him that i wanted to see the Headmaster. He raised his face with a question mark. Before he could asked i told him that i was an old student of the school. He told me that if i am an old student, i must be knowing the location of the Headmaster room. He was correct. I could have reached the Headmaster office with closed eyes. It was not too far.

But as i stopped at the open door of the room, to knock the door, my heart sank. I found myself reliving my past. A very different feeling started overwhelming my emotions. I consoled myself that at the age of 57 now i must not be afraid of the Headmaster. But honestly, the grown up boy inside me told me that i was never afraid of the Headmaster, even when i was a student. It was always the mammoth pressure of grandeur of the Headmaster, the unscalable respect that was always part of that post, always made my legs tremble. On that particular day (10th December 2012), when i was about to knock at the open door of the school headmaster, my legs were again trembling.

But i had already stepped inside the room. In front of me was a young. polite and well mannered academision. I introduced myself. As obvious he too was somewhat thrilled like me. However. it was a nice meeting. He explained his personal feelings , proposed plans and projects of the school. He appeared to be a hard working. I did come to know a lot about the glorious past of my school, which i never knew. He showed me a list of some very exceptional students of the same school, who had made their mark in the fields of politics, sports, films and Tv, etc etc etc.
I felt much proud of my school.

                                MIRZA ARSHAD BAIG (The present Headmaster of the School ).

     As i was talking with the Headmaster, the school bell rang. I could not stop myself from joining the young students coming out of the  gate of the school. I took the above photograph, trying to re-live my old old days, when i too used to rush through the same gate.

             A scene of the computer lab of the school. (In my times we had not even heard the name of computer)

 The Headmaster and the Librarian of the school. They were kind enough to brief me about the library.

 The framed map and the wall clock, belonged to my period. These have been kept as antique.

                                  The middle garden of the school. It is still the same. I loved that

              My school still makes its name in different fields. Some trophies won by the school students.



Hereunder are some latest photographs of my ex classfellows of GBSS No.1 Nazimbaad.


MR. AKBAR ALI (BADRI). Nowadays he is in USA. We were classfellows in class ninth and tenth, and later on in college also.

                                             SYED MUBASHIR HUSSAIN ZAIDI
                                          a very close friend of mine in class ninth and tenth. He is sick now a days

                                                 SYED DIDAR ABBAS RIZVI
                                         my closest friend in class eighth.
                                          On 11th December 2012 we met perhaps after 40 years.