It was in 1962, approximately 62 years ago, that a group of boys, aged between 7 and 9 years, met at Jaffna Hindu College in Year 4, Division A, which would later become the 4A email club in 2001. For some of us, our parents fed us, dressed us, packed our school bags, and walked us to School. I was one of them. For many, their parents did not accompany them; instead, suitable arrangements were made to ensure they could reach and return from School safely.
Jaffna Hindu College, Jaffna. Sri Lanka
We did not have a classroom, but a class verandah. We had comfortable wooden benches to sit on, but no desks were available. Some of us kept our books on our laps, while others had small suitcases that they kept on their laps and used as their desks. Our class teacher was Mr. N. Somasundaram, who taught us English. He seated us in alphabetical order, from A-Z, from the first seat to the last. Each day, the student seated last will move to the top seat, and the rest move one seat backward. That was his way of ensuring all students had equal access to teaching. I sat next to Sivarajapilai, and to this date, we are in touch with each other.
During the same Year, another Teacher, Mr. Sivanesarajah, who was in charge of Cub Scouts, encouraged us to join the Cub Scouts. Some of us joined and learned to work as a Team, as well as to lead Teams.
At the end of each Year, students who have performed well in all divisions will be grouped into the A division, and those who have not will be moved to other divisions. Hence, the A division always had students who performed academically. Some who were in 4A remained in the A divisions from Year 4 to Year 8.
When we finished Year 8, we split along the lines of the higher education we sought. Students who wanted to learn physical sciences, biological sciences, commerce, and humanities were grouped accordingly. When we reached Year 10, our performances at the GCE O/L exam brought about another split, as some students could not meet the requirements to join Advanced Level Education. Once we sat for the GCE A/L exams, we left JHC altogether. Consequently, from 1962 to 1973, we moved Divisions, met with new friends, lost contact with many, but retained associations with those who joined the Cub Scout squad, met, socialized, and co-learned until we left JHC.
We followed different paths and lost our way until the year 2000, when Muhunthan, a 4A-JHC 1962 friend, started putting together the 4A email club. By then, we were married, had families, and children at different ages. However, the email club made us all feel and behave like school boys at JHC in 1962, although all were in our late forties.
With Murugs, Muhunthan, Aras, Amarnath, Perananthan, Kunchu and Selva in Sydney, 2022
With Hari in Colombo, April 2023 (Top), With Sivarajapillai and Rabin, Toronto, Aug 2024 (Bottom)
With Amarnath, Sathiyananthamoorthy, Kandan in London Jul 2023
The Club discussed global politics, technology, economics, religion, and the existence of God. The discussions reflected lessons we learned during the intervening period. We wrote about our thoughts on the issues, without imposing our views on others. We realized that the differences in opinions at School remained to some extent, and our perspectives on macro issues reflected our paths from 1973 to 2000. None of us followed the same path from 1973 to 2000. So, plenty of different perspectives on every issue.
With the advent of WhatsApp, the email club morphed into a Chat group. Our exchanges continued, but instead of expressing our views, we mainly shared reels. In hindsight, we should have continued with the email club. Nevertheless, I must admit, I regret the decision to quit the email club. Now, I have quit the Chat Group, a decision I may regret later.
During the past week, I had been reflecting on my decision to quit. It feels like I have done the right thing, as I wasn't learning anything. I could predict the response of every member on every issue. Maybe because we had been exchanging emails and chats for nearly 25 years,
I am glad that Muhunthan brought us together, and over the past 25 years, I have met with most of the members; most live in Australia, Canada, Sri Lanka, the UK, and the USA. Every time, they received me with affection, and arranged for me to meet with many other JHC friends, who are not part of the Chat group.
We reminisced about our days, our teachers, and there were very few issues and incidents where we had a difference of opinion. We only wanted to remember the good things. Yes, remembering them is delightful than reflecting on the differences. Our differences are minuscule in comparison to what we have/had together.
When we meet in the future, we will reflect on the good times we had through the email club and the chat group. My time with the email club and chat group has come to an end, but I will look back on our conversations fondly.
All good things must come to an end, leaving us with fond memories to cherish forever.
