MUMBAI: Supreme Court Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan Gavai on Sunday visited Chikitsak Samuh High School, Girgaum where he studied from classes 3 to 7, between 1969 and 1973, in Marathi medium. The CJI praised his teachers for shaping him, crediting the debating skills he honed there and values of equality and social benevolence inculcated in students for his rise to the topmost post in the Indian judiciary.
Walking down memory lane, the CJI shared nostalgic moments. "Mother would give me 20 paise. I would walk towards Mantralaya to catch BEST bus 5 to Gaiwadi and walk some more to school The bus ticket cost 5 paise. In those days, a samosa patti would cost 5 paise with home-made jam, and misal pavcost 10 paise."
The school was then surrounded by chawls. "...The chawls are still visible from the school. The Marathi sanskriti is still intact here. This is part of the real ‘amchi Mumbai'," he said in Marathi to a gathering of his former batchmates, teachers, and current school students, some of whom, as part of NCC, practised hard to form a band within six months to welcome him. "Of all welcomes I received so far across India and even abroad as CJI, the little children's performance today as a band was the warmest," Justice Gavai gushed.
"I was interested in debates. My journey in public speaking began on this stage. Also, PT class by Joshi sir induced the necessary discipline in us as students. Studying in Marathi medium was not a handicap; it grounded me," he added. Chikitsak is now an English medium ICSE school as well.
The CJI, who is due to retire in November, met his classmates who finished 10th in 1976. He met old school staff and, most of all, remembered one teacher whose signature on his school leaving certificate was the memento he was presented with. He advised young students to work hard, be honest.
The three-storey school building in Sadashiv Cross Lane has no lifts. On Sunday, local MLA and minister, MP Lodha, who was also present, promised to help with paperwork to install one.
Swati Deshpande is Senior editor at The Times of India, Mumbai, w...
Read MoreSwati Deshpande is Senior editor at The Times of India, Mumbai, where she has been covering courts for over a decade. She is passionate about law and works towards enlightening people about their statutory, legal and fundamental rights. She makes it her job to decipher for the public the truth, be it in an intricate civil dispute or in a gruesome criminal case.
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