St. Mary’s High School alumni say ‘Hakuna Matata’ at maiden reunion

Euphoria and nostalgia were in the air as the students, who had not seen each other for a long time, hugged each other warmly while some shed tears of joy on seeing their old friends.

Kothagudem: It was truly a ‘day of no worries’ for over a thousand former students who attended St. Mary’s High School Alumni Meet-2024 aptly suggested by its title “Hakuna Matata”, a Swahili phrase translated as “no worries” in the Walt Disney movie ‘The Lion King’.

Euphoria and nostalgia were in the air as the students, who had not seen each other for a long time, hugged each other warmly while some shed tears of joy on seeing their old friends. The atmosphere bustled with laughter and excitement as they turned children again and posed for selfies and group photos.

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The alumni, comprising middle aged and young former students from 1950, the year in which the school was founded to the year 2000, recollected their good old student days at their happy reunion.

It was the first ever alumni meet of the school organised coinciding with 75th Republic Day celebrations on Friday for the first time in its 74 years of history. A core team consisting of former students was formed to organise the event, which was entirely sponsored by alumni, school headmistress Sister Ruby Jacob told Telangana Today.

She said 25 retired teachers of the school were invited to the meet and felicitated as a mark of respect. The alumni meet was a forerunner for the school’s platinum jubilee to be celebrated in 2025.

“It was a really wonderful opportunity to meet my old friends and my teacher after a gap of 33 years. It was a lively moment for all us” said Sister Lydia of the ‘90-91 SSC batch and the same was the feeling of her friends Bhagyalaxmi and Shoba.

An octogenarian alumni, Sundari Sarojini, who also served as a teacher in the school for 36 years said she was very happy to see the old students and it was an unforgettable moment. Another teacher Parijatham said the school had made great contributions to the society by training thousands of students over the past 74 years.

Sister Jacintha of ‘94-95 SSC batch said all of her five sisters were alumni of the school and planned to adopt two students from 1st to 10th to educate them. The school correspondent Sister Mary John, Sisters Benny, Vijaya Thumma, Theresa Thambala, Sandra, Bhargavi and Usha were present.