Anxiety, excitement and contentment were writ large on all the faces at the meeting. There were among the audience friends who had last met 20 years ago, those who were meeting after 15 years and some seeing each other after a couple of years. Business cards were exchanged, new ties were forged and the old memories relived.
While some of the old Carmelites had gone on to achieve high positions and status, some others were happy settling down with their families. What most people had to say was that it was a pleasure to return to the Carmel family and feel like old times once again.
The evening began with an interesting presentation on rainwater harvesting by A R Shivakumar, a scientist with IISc. He had experimented most of his techniques on rainwater harvesting in his house. This was followed by a dance performance by the students of the Indian Dance Association of the college. They wove their choreography around the relevance of biodiversity in the present times. Titled, Prakruthi Dharma, the dance was based on the imbalance in the ecosystem largely contributed by destruction by man. Lavanya Girijan, secretary of the dance association, who portrayed the role of a deer says, “The balance in the ecosystem has been upset thanks to the mindless destruction by man. There’s both the fierce and the helpless in nature. How the two live in harmony is what the dance strove to project.”
M Samyukta and her college mate Jayavanthi Shyam studied together in college (between 1982 and 1987) and had represented the college in basketball matches and had played at the State level as well. Both are basketball coaches.
Recollecting the good old days they say, “We spent endless time on the driveway and spent more time on the basketball court than in class. Our teachers were extremely supportive,” recalls Jayavanthi. Samyukta pitches in saying, “I still remember we used to rag our juniors so ruthlessly. It was such fun.”
Vidya N, a lawyer who was part of the 1978 batch says she was hell bent on getting into Mount Carmel, “I told my father that I would apply to only in one college after school and that was Mount Carmel and if didn’t get it there then I would sit at home and re-apply the following year,” says Vidya, who was also active in sports.
