Yesterday was one of those rare evenings that stay with you long after they’re over — the kind you replay in your head like a favourite childhood memory. I walked into the book launch of Charlie’s Boys expecting a regular literary event… but what I found instead was a riot of colours, nostalgia, and pure, infectious energy. Honestly? It felt less like a book launch and more like a school fair of memories.
The Biggest Book Launch of the Season — And It Showed
Sunday evening at the India Habitat Centre was buzzing. You could feel the excitement in the air, the kind that comes only when a community celebrates one of its own. Ajay Jain — traveller, storyteller, photographer, founder of Kunzum, and now the author of Charlie’s Boys — had created an atmosphere that was delightfully informal and full of warmth.
It was the kind of event where laughter echoed louder than speeches, where old friends clapped each other on the back, and where every face looked like it had just revisited a little piece of its own childhood.
A Book Launch Turned Nostalgia Carnival
The highlight? Nostalgia. Everywhere.
From displays of vintage Columban magazine pages to photographs of teachers many had almost forgotten… the space felt like a mini time machine. I even spotted old-school chalk-white moustached teachers and retro handwriting styles that instantly teleported everyone back to the 70s and 80s.
The organisers didn’t stop at memories. They made sure we tasted our childhood too —
Phantom sweet cigarettes,
Popins,
orange-stripe lollipops,
little candy treasures we didn’t realise we missed until we held them again.
Oh, and the best part?
We were all given a special whistle in St. Columba’s colours. The moment people started blowing them, I swear, the hall sounded like a school assembly gone wild.
Music, Mischief & The Math Teacher Who Sang
The atmosphere was already buzzing when the evening took an unexpected and magical turn — Mr. Pokhriyal, Ajay’s Maths teacher (yes, the same teacher who once taught Shah Rukh Khan), walked up and sang a beautiful, soulful song. You could see grown men grin like 14-year-olds again.
The evening was filled with retro music, funny school-day stories, and little confessions of mischief that only friends from childhood dare to reveal.
About the Book — ‘Charlie’s Boys’
Ajay Jain’s memoir traces his 13 years at St. Columba’s, and the core of the book is nostalgia — the messy, magical, mischievous kind.
- Publisher: HarperCollins
- Genre: Memoir
- Themes: growing up, friendship, leadership, values, mischief, loyalty
- Essence:
“After all, we are and will always be Charlie’s Boys.”
And who is Charlie?
Only Columbans know. And they wink mischievously when you ask.
Charlie’s Boys promises laughter, warmth, silly escapades, strict teachers, cinema sneaking, rivalry with other schools, and glimpses into an era when friendships were deep, pranks were epic, and life was much simpler.
A Little About Ajay Jain
If there’s a man who has lived many lives in one lifetime, it’s him.
Traveller. Photographer. Blogger. Journalist. Founder of Kunzum. A man who has driven over 100,000 km across the Indian subcontinent, capturing stories and landscapes with equal passion. His creative hubs — Kunzum cafes — are safe spaces for storytellers, artists, dreamers, and readers. And yesterday, he added another bright feather to his cap.
What I Took Back Home
I walked out smiling — with a bag full of memories, a whistle I promise to treasure, the taste of Phantom cigarettes still on my tongue, and a feeling that I had just revisited my own school corridors.
The event wasn’t just a book launch.
It was a celebration of childhood, of friendships that survive time, of teachers who shape us, and of schools that become the foundation of who we become.
Sometimes, a book doesn’t just tell a story.
It brings back yours.
And last night, Charlie’s Boys did exactly that.
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