MY SCHOOL LIFE - A SUMMARY

Senior Years (Class IX- XII) 1991 - 1994

It was the Silver Jubilee Year for the School and a very happening year for Class IX of TNA that year. We organised an exhibition on Rajput culture in the library, went for a Trek to West Sikkim (Khacheopelri lake) and above all, a few IX 'ers ended up beating up the then school captain over a small issue. That was the first year we'd seen when TNA functioned without a Prefects' Body. Towards the better side of things, we staged the Sound of Music, a major production directed by Mrs Roslyn Namgyal. Yishey and Prashant were the lead actors. I was Franz, the butler.

The Class X picnic was something which really brought all of us very close. I still remember Reza having nearly met with a bike accident and how the whole class had etched out money to pay for damages. Worked for more than two months on a replica of the Eiffel Tower made using more than 3,000 match-sticks. Rajeev Chettri broke the school ICSE record with around 89%. I was greatly inspired and pledged to do break the record again, and that too with above 90% aggregate.

June 3, 1993: ICSE results out -- one of the greatest days in my life. My first major wish had come true. I had topped the school with 91.8% aggregate and had broken all previous records. In a matter of days, I got to see my photos in the local newspapers. Mr VN Langer, TNA 's first principal, instituted an award for the best result in ISCE, named after his late wife, Mrs Rani Langer. I was its first recipient. The school also awarded me a scholarship of 12, 000 rupees.

Joined Class XI in the Pure Science stream, though Mrs Tenzing would equally have liked me to take Humanities. Worked on a major oil painting, along with other Fine Arts enthusiasts inspired by Mr. Sanjay Purohit.

Class XII: My final year, and the year in which I got to contribute the most for the school. On April 8, I was named the School Captain of TNA, it was an impossible dream come true. I was the first Day Scholar ever to get the position. With full vigour, we set about doing our best. The Prefects' Body had:

School Captain
Naresh Kumar Agarwal

Karponang House
Tenzing Bhutia (Captain), Sonam Diki Wangdi, Rebina Rai, Tashi Hoeser

Phensong House
Karma Dorjee Shangdorpa (Captain), Kunga Samdup, Chewangmit Saring, Yishey Choden Ngokhang

Zongri House
Karma Lendup (Captain), Karma Dolkar, Sulakshna Sarda, Reza Abdullah Khan

Yuksom House
Tempo Tsewang (Captain), Hondala Gyaltsen, Goma Sharma, Tashi Pintso Kazi

Apart from organising the regular activities like Inter-hall Basketball and Volleyball matches, Inter-house Football matches (Junior/Middle/Senior level), Inter-house Badminton and Table Tennis, we did manage to do well in other areas. The attendance for the matches was excellent due to the checks on all exits-out-of-school before school ended. We managed to negotiate a new, better canteen for the students, after a long meeting with the Principal and the staff. The IPSC Badminton tournament was organised in TNA We had the annual mini-olympics. I had a tough time shouting my lungs off while giving the commands.

I started announcing and wishing the birthdays of students in the assembly, which caught on pretty well. Chairing and organising English/ Hindi/ Nepali/ Tibetan Elocutions and Debates was a lot of fun too. Apart from this, the year saw the Teachers' Day celebrations, the Day Scholars' Day and the Hostel Nite. The Day Scholars' Day saw many unexpected people coming forth, including the audience having to bear me singing. Karma Dorjee sang on Hostel Nite.

During the Puja vacations, we went for a weeklong trek to Dzongri, West Sikkim (4,200 ft.). We also organised an Art Exhibition. I had painted an oil portrait of my late sister and had worked for about a month on it.