In K-1, our movement was closely
watched as we were new to the school. It was also to keep us away from older
boys. In K-2, there was more independence compared to K-1. We could come to the
classes and go back to the boarding house without any supervision. However, there
was still a limitation. We were not allowed to leave the Junior School premises
in any circumstances.
Again, the days were full of
activities. I enjoyed my classes. Some boys had already developed friendships
from K-1 and some were still making friends. Most boys were mischievous in
nature. Some were pretty calm and cool.
The evenings were filled with
even more activities including evening games. As mentioned earlier, I enjoyed
my stay in Aitchison due to availability of spacious grounds and people to play
with. Some days, it was Cricket, some with Hockey and some we just hung out and
did nothing. It was that care-free time.
There is a big swimming pool
behind Gwyn House for Junior School. We had swimming time allocated during summer.
Aitchison College is famous for its horses and riding club. But the riding does
not start till class K-4. There is also Junior School canteen next to the
swimming pool. It has a fruits’ section and bakery section. There is also a
tailor shop adjacent to the canteen for the boys. Our clothes were normally
tailored in that shop. There is a full ground for swings and slides for the
kids in the Junior School.
I think we had three full months
of summer vacations in those days. The winter break was for a month in
December. In those days, we were only off on Fridays. Tuesdays were the visiting
days. The last weekend of the month was a long weekend and the parents were
allowed to take their kids on Thursday evening to spend ore quality time with
them. Then we had our spring break for a week in March right after the Founder’s
Day. Plus there were some days off for Eids and other religious occasions.
I had my boarding roommates from
all over Pakistan. Some even came from abroad to study in Aitchison College.
There were so many kids from Sindh, Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and
Kashmir. There was nobody from my hometown. But there were plenty of kids from
Multan and D.G.Khan area. The day boys were from Lahore. They belonged to all
kinds of family background. There were kids of businessmen, politicians, army men,
bureaucrats, landlords etc. All kinds of families were represented too like
Qureshi, Gardezi, Jamali, Khosa, Bhayo, Khakwani, Sukhera, Durrani, Wattoo,
Chaudry, Malik, Shirani, Sindhu, etc.
I think many of these kids were
born with silver spoon and were very privileged kids. Their parents wanted the
best for them in this world. No wonder they were sent to Aitchison College in their
early days for studies. However, I do believe the environment in Aitchison
neither promote nor discriminate on the basis of family background. A kid has to
prove his talent and must work hard for it. The high ethical standards have
been set decades ago. So we were all judged based on the earlier standards.
Over my years at Aitchison, I
have seen all kinds of examples like kids were being expelled for cheating,
unsportsman like conduct, plagiarism, bad behavior etc. So we were all aware of
these things and tried our best to be on the right side of the history. Nobody
wanted to leave Aitchison for bad reasons. That’s why I think Aitchison sets
itself apart from other institutions for its high moral and ethical standards.
To be continued....
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