M A I N   N E W S

School that sparked acting in Anupam Kher
Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 10
It was a nostalgic walk down memory lane as the famous cine personality Anupam Kher entered the premises of the DAV school at Lakkar Bazar after 25 years.

While the Bollywood star was overwhelmed by memories of his schooldays, the excited students jostled to shake hands with him and greet their idol. Anupam Kher took a deep breath and said it was the same old fragrance in the air. He had spent seven years in the school and vividly remembered the teachers and the pranks he played with his friends.

It was here he had his first lessons in acting. It was a Hindi-medium school then, but he had the chance to act in an English play. It was another matter that he committed 27 mistakes while delivering eight lines, he revealed. It was an experience that really evoked his interest in acting and he started analysing the characters and mannerisms of his teachers, who became a rich source for self instruction.

Those were the days, he said when every teacher not only knew each student but also their parents. His Principal, Mr Satya Prakash, was a disciplinarian and closed the school gate sharp at 9.40 am. As walking to the school all the way from Nabha, where he lived, required quite an effort, he used to be late more often than not. Ultimately, he found a way out — instead of going to the gate, he used to slide down the hillside to enter the premises on the sly.

Anupam noticed that the school had now switched over to English medium, breaking the tradition of Dayanand institutions, and expressed hope that the change would not lead to loss of originality which should be preserved at all cost.

On his way back, he did not forget to visit the chat shop of Sita Ram, where he used to go for “chana bhatura” and “alu tikkis” during school days.