60-year-old Vile Parle school poised to get a new look

He went on to become the air chief marshal of the Indian Air Force. However, during his stint as a young student with the Parle Tilak Vidyalaya, one of the oldest and most popular schools in Mumbai, Pradeep Naik used to get punishments like any other student.

“Basically it was for the pronunciation of the letter ‘J’. The teacher used to pronounce it incorrectly and I used to tell her the correct spelling,” Naik quipped.

It was an evening filled with mixed emotions for the 200 odd ex-students of the school who gathered on the ground of secondary and higher secondary schools in Vile Parle.

The occasion was to say “good bye” to the biggest school building, which will be demolished soon, thanks to a bigger building. “I feel sad that the old building, where I studied and passed out in 1959, is going to be demolished and will remain only in our memories. However, I also take this change positively. The first Parle Tilak Vidyalaya looked more like a big house in the rural parts of the country. Now the school will look much better and accommodate more number of students, which is a welcome move,” opined 68-year-old Chandrakant Mehendale, an ex-student.

Rupak Mehendale, his son, felt the same. “I was probably the last of the students who studied the oldest school building and the newest as well. I feel any change in a positive direction has to be welcomed,” said Rupak.