The Roots That Gave Us Wings to Fly

It was March 1977 when we passed 11th standard exams and very happily said good bye to a controlled school life at Hans Raj Model School and were eagerly looking forward to join the great expectations and excitement of the college life. After struggle to get admission in course and college of choice, we settled into college life between 7.15am Delhi University Special DTC Bus till 4.00pm return U Special.
It was on one of such day in August,1978 sitting on the steps of the U Special, we three friends Deepak Dharmarha, Sanjeev Chopra and Dinesh Chopra saw a communication about Delhi Public School Reunion of ex‑students and came up with the idea of creating such an organisation for alumni of Hans Raj Model School, Punjabi Bagh, New Delhi.

As U Special used to reach North Campus of Delhi University at 8.00am and we were studying in different colleges‑ Deepak Dharmarha in Delhi College of Engineering (now Delhi Technical University), Sanjeev Chopra in Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), and Dinesh Chopra in Hans Raj College, we used to sit for some time in SRCC Canteen for tea and discuss the plan to develop such an association. Rajiv Khurana our 1977 batchmate in SRCC also joined and we four started collecting documents like Article of Association of other school alumni associations in Delhi such as Modern School, Delhi Public School etc. Once we had some idea, we developed the draft constitution of our Hans Raj Model School Alumni Association and decided to meet our Principal Mr T. R. Gupta to discuss this proposal. Mr. T. R. Gupta was very supportive and agreed to all kind of help to develop the Hans Raj Model School Alumni Association and in activities. This JOURNEY to create this platform for interaction and communication between School Management, Teachers, Students and ex‑students started with an objective to help the school in its activities and the people connected with the school in any way needed, as a non‑proﬁt organization. After drafting the constitution, several meetings were held between the School Management and the HRMS Alumni Association members and it was ﬁnally approved on 15th September,1979 in a meeting called by Mr. T. R. Gupta in school.

The Aims and Objectives of the Hans Raj Model School Alumni Association (HRMSAA) were decided as꞉

To foster the spirit of cooperation and coordination between the School and the ex‑ students through social and cultural programs.
Take up any constructive, social and cultural activity or project to promote the image of our alma mater.
To create spirit of brotherhood and belonging among the members
To serve the institution in the achievement of its various objectives and ideas

As the structure was made and we started working as a team to plan activities of HRMSAA and it started with getting information of ex‑ students and make them members of the association. The list on those days was made with hand in a register. The meetings were held in Principal ofﬁce and were attended by the executive team members and Teacher in charge Mr. R.K. Sethi, Mr. M.D. Gupta and Mr. S.C. Anand. We planned for HRMSAA Picnics, get together and started supporting Hans Raj Model School in their projects where alumni can participate.

0 K

Students Enrolled

0 K

Enrollment forms

0

Online Instructors

0

Countries

Our ﬁrst outdoor event was on 13th August,1980. We organized a day picnic to Suraj Kund, a very popular picnic site in those days – taking a contribution of Rs 10/‑ per head. The transport was provided in school matador and the communication letters were sent by post to all the members to join the event. It was very enjoyable day and all Hansarians who joined the day event.

However, the struggle to induct more members was ever ongoiong. In fact, it still is…..

Since we wanted to grow in numbers, another reminder letter was sent to the ex‑students.

That was the only way to communicate is those days.

Since we wanted to grow in numbers, another reminder letter was sent to the ex‑students.
That was the only way to communicate is those days.

As we started getting bigger and structured, need for having a bank account was felt. We went in for Punjab National Bank, since it had a convenient extension counter in the school premises. The then executive committee decided to open a saving account of the association in PNB and to have all transactions through that in a meeting held on 10th January,1981. All the money which was deposited at the school fee counter on behalf of the association was deposited on regular basis in this account and all the expenditures were done from the same account.

As a proof of the permission to use the premises, we wrote a letter to the principal and took approval.

We planned another Picnic to Tyler Lake, Rohtak on 9th August 1981. Mr. T.R. Gupta once again agreed to support with the transportation. The adventurous and memorable picnic happened with a contribution of Rs. 20 per head from the participants.

As a proof of the permission to use the premises, we wrote a letter to the principal and took approval.

As another step towards building bonds, we decided to start gathering in the school in the mornings for p l aying. Gupta s i r was very magnanimous to grant us permission for the same. Instructions were very clear; to leave the school premises well before start of the regular movement. As a proof of the permission to use the premises, we wrote a letter to the principal and took approval. We planned another Picnic to Tyler Lake, Rohtak on 9th August 1981. Mr. T.R. Gupta once again agreed to support with the transportation. The adventurous and memorable picnic happened with a contribution of Rs. 20 per head from the participants

Few members climbed on a tree and as it used to happen in that age / times other started shouting and pushing climbers to go higher. One of the alumni slipped on the tree trunk and got hurt by thorns on the bushes which penetrated all over his body. We had to take him to Rohtak Medical College Hospital and it was a sight how the Doctors worked to get a large number of thorns from his body, which was covered with red spots of the antibiotic lotion put at the place from where each thorn was taken out. Now that person if one of a distinguished paratrooper.
Another friend took the dare to swim across a marshy pond and return. …. dares which we would now call as stupidity. Since we were still a small group, the school had to be approached for every support. The meagre resources at hand did not permit us to even buy inland letters for communication to our small group members for the forthcoming activities. We had to write a letter to Gupta sir asking him for a favour of granting us money for purchase of inland letters. The association as we all see today has started growing from that stage onwards. Principal T. R. Gupta could envision our zeal to remain connected and deﬁnitely knew the importance of a good Alumni association. He was ever helpful in supporting us in all our endeavours. Gupta sir’s unrelented appreciation, encouragement and a mentor’s guidance was always a motivational force for us. Despite poor responses to our calls, we continued to work persistently towards building a strong alumni association. It is the due of our continued approach that we are now well connected with over eight thousand ex students of Hans Raj Model School.

Despite all challenges and hurdles, we never let our spirit to run the association die. We very successfully organised Pankaj Udhas night at Talkatora Stadium on Nov. 10, 1985. Our Alumni Association supported the school management in successfully organising the event. A humble (at least what it appears today) contribution of Rs. 50 was kept, that too for collecting funds for students from weaker section of the society. That maiden attempt to have an event in such a prestigious venue turned out to be a grand success; which later proved to be bench mark for our quality of arrangements for subsequent events by the association.

Next year, 1986, saw us succeeding in our maiden attempt to have a meet of ex‑students. The tiring efforts were equally rewarding.We decided to, and succeeded in, organizing many more annual meets of HRMSAA subsquently .

The Association started a precedence of honouring meritorious students way back in 1989.

The activity is being continued on a regular basis even today, since 35 years now!!

It was perhaps due to our bona ﬁde intentions only; God was always kind to us. Sometimes we used to pleasantly wonder as to how the events could be managed and funds could be arranged. It was however more often than not, that the core committee members had to contribute from their pockets to bridge the ﬁnancial gaps. We always take pride in sharing our long journey from inception of the association till date.

This Association has always be lievedin “ Open Slate ” philosophy. All accounts and records have been kept transparent and available to all for review on demand. Correspondence with the School management, ex students and students
has been kept well documented.
The alumni executives always knew the importance of transparent record keeping. A special mention of our ever‑ meticulous Nalini Talwar here, who would just refuse to declare any meeting closed till the record notes were penned down.
Our ‘trade mark’ alumni register was a witness to our discussions and minutes of activities over many years. Below snap shots are a testimony to the history of our proceedings.