MALAYSIAN-INDIAN SCHOOL FRIENDS MEET AFTER 30 YEARS

By Shanty Devi Ayadurai

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 (Bernama) -- Friendships can build nations and it was
along this sentiment that 13 friends met at the KL International Airport (KLIA)
in Sepang recently after a gap of 28 to 30 years.

It was a joyous moment for them. Seven of them had flown in from Chennai,
India while others had come in from various parts of Malaysia including Teluk
Intan and Melaka and also Indonesia to come together after having parted in 1982
as students of St Patrick's Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School, Adyar,
Chennai.

The teasing and laughing at each other for having grown sideways and bald
(for some) over the years was inevitable at the KLIA just as much as the teary
eyes and warmth was, as these friends greeted and hugged each other after the
many years apart.

Friends are always meeting up each other, but what was the excitement all
about for this group?

“Well, first of all, we did not think we will see each other again, after
all these years. We had lost touch. When we were students, we ate in the same
dining hall, slept in the same dormitory.


"But contact was lost once we left the school and there had been no letter
or telephone communication from 1982 till last year,” said Bhaskaran Ramanathan,
who had helped to coordinate the reunion.

“Then, one of us, Capt Shibu Issaz got in touch with me. Through his
tireless efforts all these years, he managed to trace some of them. An Alumni
has been established now besides a Yahoo forum.

“Now all of us communicate through phones and emails. And planning this trip
to Malaysia has been made possible through the Internet. Some of them will be
seeing face to face after 28 years and a few, after 30 years,” Bhaskaran said.

For their host in Malaysia, Prakash Adiyodi, now a businessman in Teluk
Intan, it was a month-long wait filled with enthusiasm, anticipation and careful
planning to ensure a memorable visit for their friends from overseas.

A 12-seater van had been also rented as the group, besides touring the
northern states of Malaysia, also plan to meet and catch up with other Malaysian
classmates and their families along the way.


“We are planning to visit Bukit Kayu Hitam, Penang Island, Genting Highlands
and Kuala Lumpur,” Prakash said.

Capt Shibu, who runs a security based company in India, said the reunion was
testament that “friendship bridges nations".

Having studied together, the group is now looking at also building
Malaysian-Indian joint ventures in their current areas of work.

A reunion dinner will be held in Kuala Lumpur before the group parts for
Chennai.

-- BERNAMA




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