Fifty years! Half a century! "Have that many years really gone by since all of us were cramming for our final exam in the Form IV class at Dr. Ribeiro Goan School in Nairobi in 1957?" That was the first thought that came to my mind when I got John D'Souza's e-mail about the 50-year Class Reunion that he and other enthusiasts were planning. And, like a row of carriages being pulled by an engine, it was followed by a realization of the long journey that each of us has traveled, not only in years but also around the world.

In my own case, I was born in India, but was very young when my parents moved to Nairobi. In order to ensure that we obtained a solid foundation in English, my parents arranged for me (and later, my sisters) to attend Dr. Ribeiro Goan School.

The school was academically excellent and broad-minded in its policies. For example, as I was a Hindu, when my classmates were being given their religious education for about 2 hours a week in the classroom, I was given the option of staying in the classroom or going to the school library. I usually chose to sit in the class and do my homework. As a result, I became quite familiar with most of the teachings of Catholicism and can still recite "Hail Mary" and "Our Father"!

We were lucky to have some of the best teachers, who loved their subjects and had great affection for their students. In turn, we had great respect for our teachers. I still remember our Science teacher, Mr. John Lobo telling us that it was important to understand the origins of everyday things. He once said, "Imagine that you turned on the light-switch in your room but the light-bulb refused to go on until you could explain to it how electricity is produced." In these days of energy crisis and climate change, his words sound almost prophetic.

Then there was Mr. Michael Britto who taught us History. I was a little awed by him because, unlike the other (male!) teachers, he had a moustache! But I found him to be a very friendly and sincere person. In fact, we still keep in touch and exchange e-mail articles and jokes on many different subjects.

As result of his teaching, I have become very interested in the history of many nations and of science, so much so that virtually any date seems like an old friend.

And who can forget Father Frank Comerford, the charming blue-eyed Irishman who broadened our human spirit as well as well as our brains? One afternoon, after lunch, he felt that we should learn to appreciate music. So he devoted the whole period to playing us a gramophone record of Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 (the Pastoral Symphony), and painted us an imaginary but vivid picture of a rural scene, showing us how to recognize each instrument and showing us what role it played in the whole ensemble. All of us felt a personal loss when he left his post as the Principal of the school in 1958.

I enjoyed all the subjects, but my particular favorites were Science and Mathematics. So I was already leaning towards becoming an engineer. Two important events happened during the last two years that reinforced that desire. In 1954, Britain and the USA sponsored a touring exhibition called "Atoms for Peace" to explain the peaceful uses of atomic energy. That exhibition came to our school in 1956, and I was thrilled to learn about atomic numbers, radio-isotopes and nuclear reactors.

Then, on October 4, 1967, just as we were in the last term of our Form IV class, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the world's first artificial satellite. It was about the size of a basketball, weighed about 183 pounds, and orbited the Earth in an elliptical path that took about 98 minutes. It was followed, on November 3, 1957, by Sputnik II, which carried a much heavier payload, including a dog named Laika. Here was science and technology at its most spectacular!

I was looking forward to doing well in the Cambridge School Certificate Exam (our final Form IV exam) and going on to become an engineer. But when the exam results came from the University of Cambridge, I found I had just scraped through as "Pass - Grade III". I was as disappointed as everyone else at this poor result. Father Comerford called me into his office and asked what happened during the exam. In particular, how did I get less than 10% in Science when it was one of my strongest subjects? I told him that I thought I had answered all the questions correctly, and that I should have scored at least 85%.

So Father Comerford telegrammed Cambridge, asking them to double-check their marks. The next day, we got a telegram from Cambridge saying that they had made a mistake in transcribing the marks to the final results sheet. Instead of getting less than 10%, I had actually scored over 90% in Science and they changed my result to "Grade I, with Distinction". I was relieved and happy, and so were Father Comerford, my parents and friends.

The next step was to attend the Duke of Gloucester School to finish Forms V and VI before going to Imperial College of Science and Technology in London to study Electrical Engineering. I graduated in Electronics and Telecommunications and then studied for a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering.

The growing anti-immigrant sentiment in Britain during the late 1960s and early 1970s led my wife Neeta and me to emigrate to Canada. I worked with Bell-Northern Research and then with a start-up company in Ottawa and then migrated to California. In the process, we raised two children. Our daughter Tanuja is now a neurologist, the director of a Multiple Sclerosis research center and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. Our son Anup is a dedicated E.R. physician at one of the leading trauma hospitals in New York.

As for me, I tried to retire about 3 years ago, but soon got bored. So I resumed working with a technology company. But as I telecommute four, or even five, days a week, it really feels like being semi-retired. I am also involved in U.S. politics, trying to help repair the damage done to our economy, Constitution and world image by George W. Bush and the Republicans.

I am also writing a book that critically examines religious, paranormal and supernatural belief systems. I am tolerant of those who want to practice their beliefs in private, non-political, non-exploitative ways. But the book tries to show why and how we should adopt the Scientific Method to scrutinize our beliefs and practices. It compares and contrasts major religions and philosophies with each other and with Science and Humanism. The ultimate objective is to try to devise a better way for us to conduct our affairs a way that is realistic and resilient in the face of incessant changes in politics and advances in our knowledge.

In summary, I can truly say that Dr. Ribeiro Goan School gave me an excellent start in life. And I am very grateful to it and to all my school-friends for the warm memories and support.

Thank you!