Mar 1994: It was my last day of class 4. Tore the unused pages of our notebooks, wrote “Happy Holidays” on those small pieces of paper and on the way back home, all school busmates threw “Happy Holidays” on the road. Reaching home, I was in joy, thinking of the 2 months summer holidays and that was short lived. My father informed me, I will just have one week of holidays and on the advice of my uncle who was a teacher, I’ll be joining a coaching centre, staying in a hostel for the first time in my life and preparing for the Sainik School entrance exam. After I finished the entrance test, my father used to check with our village postman often, if there was any letter for me, anticipating the results. I was able to clear the entrance test, and the subsequent interview and the medical test. Then came the final selection letter and the lost list of joining formalities. I was elated! With a government scholarship, joined class 6 at Sainik School, Amaravathinagar in Jul-1995 and left after completing class 12 in Mar-2002. It was certainly a journey to remember. 16-Jul-2022, my alma mater celebrates Diamond Jubilee and I am reminiscing my days at SSA.

Sainik School, Amaravathinagar is a residential military public school and one of 33 such schools present in different states of India. The concept of Sainik Schools originated with Mr. Krishna Menon, who was the Defence Minister in the early 1960s. Mr. Menon felt that a school with rudiments of a military way of life in each state of our country, could prepare cadets and help build up an infrastructure for intake into the National Defence Academy.

More interesting readings: https://rejinces.net/category/sainik-school

The Roll of Honour