A Valentine’s Day of a different hue

After DMK chief MK Stalin took a trip down memory lane last month with his classmates and teachers at the reunion of the 1970 batch of Madras Christian College School students, it was the turn of actor-turned-politician and Makkal Needhi Maiam president Kamal Haasan to reunite with his erstwhile classmates.

Ulaganayagan went to M.C.T.M School (Purasaivakam, Chennai), where he had studied, for the reunion of the 1970 batch. More than 20 of Kamal’s classmates in Standard IX came together and shared memories, walking around the classrooms and playground.

The alumni also donated a projector to the school. Kamal Haasan presented souvenirs to all his batchmates and they took photographs together.

Later, Kamal shared a nostalgic note recalling his days at the school. Dubbing his reunion on 31 January, 2020 as Valentine’s Day, he said, “We were all lovers of our knowledge, friendship, various gods, girls and ha ha ha…yes, finally our academics.”

He appears to have forgotten the real names of most of the teachers, and refers to them by the nicknames the students had given them in the note. But his Tamil teacher is an exception in this regard. Kamal recalls how he would bow his head to Shanmugam Pillai Ayya who was persistent in teaching the Tamil language to English medium students. He also thanked him for telling him ‘there’s nothing special in being a golden flower’ and that he ‘must blossom as a flower with fragrance’. “I did not understand its meaning then, of course, but now I realize it,” Kamal said.

The Vishwaroopam actor concluded the note saying that there’s no limit to learning; everyone should keep learning.