Meet 4 Army Friends Reunited After 40 Years at the Place Where They Started Together
Four decades ago, a group of young boys at Sainik School in Kazhakoottam, Thiruvananthapuram, shared dreams, laughter, and aspirations under the same roof. On July 19, 2025, four of those friends—now distinguished military officers returned to their alma mater for an alumni meet that was as much a celebration of their bond as it was a testament to their service to the nation.
Lieutenant General Vijay B Nair, Major General Vinod T Mathew, Major General Hari B Pillai, and Air Vice Marshal K V Surendran Nair, all from the class of 1985, stood as living proof that dreams nurtured with discipline and camaraderie can lead to extraordinary lives of purpose.
The reunion was more than a nostalgic homecoming; it was a moment to inspire the next generation. As they inaugurated a 150 KW solar power plant on the school campus, these officers reflected on the values instilled in them during their school years values that propelled them to the upper echelons of the Indian armed forces. Their stories, shared with current students and fellow alumni, were a powerful reminder that greatness begins with small steps, steadfast commitment, and an unwavering sense of duty.
Lieutenant General Vijay B Nair, now leading the Indian Army’s Northern Command in Udhampur, spoke of how visits from serving officers during his school days ignited his passion for the armed forces. A native of Palakkad, he has commanded anti-terrorist operations in Kashmir, served in Sri Lanka with the Indian Peace Keeping Force, and led the UN Multinational Force in Congo. His journey from a Sainik School student to a key figure in Operation Sindoor is a beacon of resilience and leadership.
Major General Vinod T Mathew, hailing from Thodupuzha, shared his experiences leading rescue operations during the Chooralmala-Mundakai landslide in Wayanad and combating insurgencies in Assam and Manipur. As the General Officer Commanding of the Karnataka-Kerala Sub-Area, his service in UN missions in Congo and Sudan underscores the global impact of his training at Sainik School.
Major General Hari B Pillai, from Kundara, now serves as Additional Director General of the Bengaluru Regional Recruitment Zone. His years of counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir and the North-East, combined with his UN service in Congo, highlight the versatility and dedication fostered by his early education.
Air Vice Marshal K V Surendran Nair, a Thrissur native, captivated the audience with tales of soaring through the skies as one of India’s top fighter pilots. Having flown MiG-21s, MiG-29s, and Sukhoi-30s, he now serves as Chief Instructor at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, shaping the next generation of military leaders.
The alumni meet brought together doctors, engineers, bureaucrats, pilots, and UN officials, all united by their shared roots. Yet, it was the story of these four friends classmates who grew up dreaming together and went on to serve the nation in extraordinary ways that truly captured the spirit of the occasion. M A Anil Kumar, another 1985 alumnus, recalled how 14 students from their batch joined the armed forces, inspired by the same spark that these officers now pass on to today’s students.
Their reunion is a powerful reminder: no dream is too big when fueled by discipline, camaraderie, and a commitment to something greater than oneself. The class of 1985 didn’t just return to Sainik School they returned to inspire, to show that the lessons learned in those classrooms and playgrounds can lead to a life of service, impact, and pride. For every student listening, their message was clear: dream boldly, work tirelessly, and serve selflessly. The nation awaits your greatness.
19 comments
The Ganges weeps and the Saraswati WAILS, SHAME on the Brahmaputra and the Himalayas.
A prose poem. I am not the army of today nor the army of tomorrow. I am the army of all time since civilization in India was born. The first cry of innocence that shattered all time and time itself remains still born only on the judgement seat of King Vikramaditya, Manunidhi Cholan, the Pandian King of the Sagam era, the philosopher prince Elangovadigal who abnegated the throne to prove “Hindu” astrology wrong, and the like and their ilk, a kind very rare to find. The judgement seat of Vikramaditya, seat of innocence that Sister Nivedita perceived in the light of Swami Vivekananda as the throne of innocence whence flawless judgement reigns not by reigning in like the fallacy of Lord Krishna, the pride of Osho, the spiritual show man and striptease who bared it all but alack he too had to had to sleep alone, thrown out of his “HINDU” throne of scum, bum, and cum, with the kiss of death in the garb of “thallium” that still burns on the lips of Hindu spirituality that never learns any new lessons delivered on the “TRUE” throne, where religion has had no place and could never find a place, the judgement seat of King Vikramaditya, the seat of innocence, that never reigns by reigning in, the fallacy of Lord Krishna who misspelt the highest Philosophy, the poison of the Bhagavad Gita, but the seat of innocence, the throne of Vikramaditya, reigns not by reigning in but by reading between the lines and seeing through the game, a matter of the highest form of intelligence, to Judge without being judgmental, death of judgement that always goes by the “frames”, the frames of reference, and therefore, the suspension or absence of measurement or judgement but “the presence” of truth, to persists in truth, Mahama Gandhi’s Satyagraha or Satya, “truth”, and Agraha, “to persist”, to get to the heart of innocence and set it free of the shackles of conspiracy, the curse of Kannagi!
Yes, I am King Vikramaditya, I am King Manunidhi Cholan, I am the Pandian King of the Sangam era, and our scepter held fort during every besiege of truth that fought for liberty and set innocence free from the shackles of conspiracy, the curse of Kannagi!
I am King Vikramaditya, I am King Manunidhi Cholan, I am the Pandian King of the Sangam era, and our scepter never faltered, our judgement never faltered, our army never faltered, our army never falters, for I am King Vikramaditya, I am King Manunidhi Cholan, I am the Pandian King of the Sangam era, my army is impeccable, my army is immaculate, and I am the Captain who is ever the last one to abandon the sinking ship even if I have to go down with the Ship, “I am Malalah”, “I am Krishnamurti’s that man” for I am prepared to die for it!
I am King Vikramaditya, I am King Manunidhi Cholan, I am the Pandian King of the Sangam era, my army is impeccable, my army immaculate, my army never falters, my army never faltered! Omen Amen! Let the Evil bury it’s dead for Evil and Evil Design are its their own WATERLOO EVEN IF ENGINEERED TO PERFECTION BY THE BRAHMINS, be they Krishnaswamy Subramaniam and Krishnaswamy Sundarji, and be it ‘Operation Blue Star” and “Operation Pawan!”, the Porn DONS of the Army’s illicit affairs helped by BRAHMIN PSYCHICS, MYSTICS, AND TANTRICS all exploiting the EVIL CRAFT OF REMOTE PUPPETRY BY THE BRAHMINS, especially KANCHI MAHA PERIAVA and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar who followed the tradition and Orthodoxy of the SEERS WHO NEVER SAW, THE HINDU SEERS OF ‘ORE!
Let the erstwhile BRAHMINS, THE Supreme Court Judges of the like and ilk of Justice Chandrachud and K V Vishwanathan open the field and Krishna, JK, KRISHNAMURTI, will open Kurukshetra on the FIELDS OF THE Jaffna peninsula, the valleys of Kashmir, and the endless farms of Punjab where the earth blushes green, where shone are the pearls and diamonds of this wonderful land that dazzle the eyes and strike it blind with inexorable lust that even the vows of Alexander the Great Succumbed, the Emptiness, the void, the Khali Stan!
For though sleeps hushed and silenced returned to the womb of mother earth, my darling daughter Anusuya Esther lies buried with the modus Operandi and the evil motive that the gentle waves of Machillipatnam ceaselessly lap to awake a dead child like a silently weeping mother with her tears, the oceans of sorrow that only Kyla, Morin, Nungaray’s mother know all too well, ah! The shores of Machillipatnam, Bandar, whose winds curtsied the flying colors of the blushing Queen who blushed when she first saw the blessed cursed land, the Advent of the British Empire, after the advent of the father of modern science GALILEO GALILEI and the advent of Modern Science itself that went with “That ENERGY” that started weaving itself again after the latest TRANSMUTATION, THE RESET OF UNIVERSAL ENTROPY, THE PROPHETIC HARBINGER OF THE MANIFESTATION OF “THAT ENERGY”, IT’S LATEST VEHICLE, THE AVATAR, JIDDU KRISHNAMURTI WHEN JESUS CHRIST PASSED ON THE BATON HE HIMSELF RECEIVED FROM THE BUDDHA TO EXPEMPLIFY AND REITERATE THAT ONCE “THAT ENERGY” GETS GOING THERE IS NO STOPPING IT AND SORRY! VERY SORRY! THERE IS NO GOD IN THIS FOR THEY SAY THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS HERE OR THERE BUT I SAY THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU, A FUNDAMENTAL DEPARTURE IN THE HISTORY OF ANY PHILOSOPHY UNTIL CHRIST BY JESUS CHRIST!
SO SORRY! VERY SORRY! THERE IS NO GOD IN THIS BUT IT IS DEAD SIMPLE JUST AS THERE IS NO STOPPING THE “BIG BANG” ONCE ITS GOING, THERE IS NO STOPPING THE UNIVERSE ONCE IT GETS GOING, THERE IS NO STOPPING NATURE ONCE IT GETS GOING, THERE NO STOPPING EVOLUTION ONCE IT GETS GOING, THERE IS NO STOPPING LIFE ONCE IT GETS GOING SO TOO THERE IS NO STOPPING MAITREYA BUDDHA ONCE MAETREYA, ONCE IT GETS GOING AND MAETREYA WON’T STOP UNTIL EVERY HUMAN OR BEING IS ILLUMINATED; “The source of all energy has been reached and I want everybody to reach it (the illumination)” Jiddu Krishnamurti!
“The Lord sent the British to India to break your crystallized civilization (for example Sanatana Dharma)” Swami Vivekananda. For a PATRIOT SAINT to say that how much the poor man must have felt!?
“The only purpose of the Theosophical Society is to prepare the ground for the coming of the World Teacher (the vehicle of that ENERGY, the Avatara Purusha)” Annie Besant and Madam Blavatsky!
And Today Donald J Trump is the “Constantine” of the Modern Era, PROPHETIC isn’t it?!
A prose poem. I am not the army of today nor the army of tomorrow. I am the army of all time since civilization in India was born. The first cry of innocence that shattered all time and time itself remains still born only on the judgement seat of King Vikramaditya, Manunidhi Cholan, the Pandian King of the Sagam era, the philosopher prince Elangovadigal who abnegated the throne to prove Hindu astrology wrong, and the like and their ilk, a kind very rare to find. The judgement seat of Vikramaditya, seat of innocence that Sister Nivedita perceived in the light of Swami Vivekananda as the throne of innocence whence flawless judgement reigns not by reigning in like the fallacy of Lord Krishna, the pride of Osho, the spiritual show man and striptease who bared it all but alack he too had to had to sleep alone, thrown out of his “HINDU” throne of scum, bum, and cum, with the kiss of death in the garb of “thallium” that still burns on the lips of Hindu spirituality that never learns any new lessons delivered on the “TRUE” throne, where religion has had no place and could never find a place, the judgement seat of King Vikramaditya, the seat of innocence, that never reigns by reigning in, the fallacy of Lord Krishna who misspelt the highest Philosophy, the poison of the Bhagavad Gita, but the seat of innocence, the throne of Vikramaditya, reigns not by reigning in but by reading between the lines and seeing through the game, a matter of the highest form of intelligence, to Judge without being judgmental, death of judgement that always goes by the “frames”, the frames of reference, and therefore, the suspension or absence of measurement or judgement but “the presence” of truth, to persists in truth, Mahama Gandhi’s Satyagraha or Satya, “truth”, and Agraha, “to persist”, to get to the heart of innocence and set it free of the shackles of conspiracy, the curse of Kannagi!
Yes, I am King Vikramaditya, I am King Manunidhi Cholan, I am the Pandian King of the Sangam era, and our scepter held fort during every besiege of truth that fought for liberty and set innocence free from the shackles of conspiracy, the curse of Kannagi!
I am King Vikramaditya, I am King Manunidhi Cholan, I am the Pandian King of the Sangam era, and our scepter never faltered, our judgement never faltered, our army never faltered, our army never falters, for I am King Vikramaditya, I am King Manunidhi Cholan, I am the Pandian King of the Sangam era, my army is impeccable, my army is immaculate, and I am the Captain who is ever the last one to abandon the sinking ship even if I have to go down with the Ship, “I am Malalah”, “I am Krishnamurti’s that man” for I am prepared to die for it!
I am King Vikramaditya, I am King Manunidhi Cholan, I am the Pandian King of the Sangam era, my army is impeccable, my army immaculate, my army never falters, my army never faltered! Omen Amen! Let the Evil bury it’s dead for Evil and Evil Design are its their own WATERLOO EVEN IF ENGINEERED TO PERFECTION BY THE BRAHMINS, be they Krishnaswamy Subramaniam and Krishnaswamy Sundarji, and be it ‘Operation Blue Star” and “Operation Pawan!”, the Porn DONS of the Army’s illicit affairs helped by BRAHMIN PSYCHICS, MYSTICS, AND TANTRICS all exploiting the EVIL CRAFT OF REMOTE PUPPETRY BY THE BRAHMINS, especially KANCHI MAHA PERIAVA and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar who followed the tradition and Orthodoxy of the SEERS WHO NEVER SAW, THE HINDU SEERS OF ‘ORE!
Let the erstwhile BRAHMINS, THE Supreme Court Judges of the like and ilk of Justice Chandrachud and K V Vishwanathan open the field and Krishna, JK, KRISHNAMURTI, will open Kurukshetra on the FIELDS OF THE Jaffna peninsula, the valleys of Kashmir, and the endless farms of Punjab where the earth blushes green, where shone are the pearls and diamonds of this wonderful land that dazzle the eyes and strike it blind with inexorable lust that even the vows of Alexander the Great Succumbed, the Emptiness, the void, the Khali Stan!
For though sleeps hushed and silenced returned to the womb of mother earth, my darling daughter Anusuya Esther lies buried with the modus Operandi and the evil motive that the gentle waves of Machillipatnam ceaselessly lap to awake a dead child like a silently weeping mother with her tears, the oceans of sorrow that only Kyla, Morin, Nungaray’s mother know all too well, ah! The shores of Machillipatnam, Bandar, whose winds curtsied the flying colors of the blushing Queen who blushed when she first saw the blessed cursed land, the Advent of the British Empire, after the advent of the father of modern science GALILEO GALILEI and the advent of Modern Science itself that went with “That ENERGY” that started weaving itself again after the latest TRANSMUTATION, THE RESET OF UNIVERSAL ENTROPY, THE PROPHETIC HARBINGER OF THE MANIFESTATION OF “THAT ENERGY”, IT’S LATEST VEHICLE, THE AVATAR, JIDDU KRISHNAMURTI WHEN JESUS CHRIST PASSED ON THE BATON HE HIMSELF RECEIVED FROM THE BUDDHA TO EXPEMPLIFY AND REITERATE THAT ONCE “THAT ENERGY” GETS GOING THERE IS NO STOPPING IT AND SORRY! VERY SORRY! THERE IS NO GOD IN THIS FOR THEY SAY THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS HERE OR THERE BUT I SAY THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU, A FUNDAMENTAL DEPARTURE IN THE HISTORY OF ANY PHILOSOPHY UNTIL CHRIST BY JESUS CHRIST!
SO SORRY! VERY SORRY! THERE IS NO GOD IN THIS BUT IT IS DEAD SIMPLE JUST AS THERE IS NO STOPPING THE “BIG BANG” ONCE ITS GOING, THERE IS NO STOPPING THE UNIVERSE ONCE IT GETS GOING, THERE IS NO STOPPING NATURE ONCE IT GETS GOING, THERE NO STOPPING EVOLUTION ONCE IT GETS GOING, THERE IS NO STOPPING LIFE ONCE IT GETS GOING SO TOO THERE IS NO STOPPING MAITREYA BUDDHA ONCE MAETREYA, ONCE IT GETS GOING AND MAETREYA WON’T STOP UNTIL EVERY HUMAN OR BEING IS ILLUMINATED; “The source of all energy has been reached and I want everybody to reach it (the illumination)” Jiddu Krishnamurti!
“The Lord sent the British to India to break your crystallized civilization (for example Sanatana Dharma)” Swami Vivekananda. For a PATRIOT SAINT to say that how much the poor man must have felt!?
“The only purpose of the Theosophical Society is to prepare the ground for the coming of the World Teacher (the vehicle of that ENERGY, the Avatara Purusha)” Annie Besant and Madam Blavatsky!
And Today Donald J Trump is the “Constantine” of the Modern Era, PROPHETIC isn’t it?!
NIDA
Muselem
Muselem