Holy Angels

As I browsed aimlessly through various blogs, I came across many individual records of old school musings. Reading some of those blogs made me relive my school days. Hence motivated, I started writing on everything I could remember about my school. Soon nostalgia reigned.

The only proper school memories, I could recollect were those from the high school I was in, as my junior years were spent jumping from one school to another, thanks to my father’s transferrable job.

Holy Angels - a simple convent school located in a niche, among a group of schools in the New-Fairland’s area, in Salem, is the place where most of these stories happened. Way back then the school was very beautiful - with lots of green hedges bordering its fences and flowery creepers climbing those fences. The school was literally hidden among those thickets of greenery. But as years progressed, the school has changed into a more prim and proper concrete jungle sporting neat aisles, lots of new buildings and new lavatories! (Finally!!)

I remember vividly my first day at school when I had gone to appear for the entrance exam for class five. That was my first encounter with Sr.Angella. That very day I was mesmerized by her charm and felt a deep connection towards her. Though I have criticized some of her actions in this blog, I do strongly have a faith that holds her on a pedestal in my heart! She is the woman who transformed this school to an extent that it stands today in all its glory achieving both academically and in sports. Sixteen years she has reigned as the dictator of the school, molding it fiercely as no one has ever done it before.

Having studied in a Montessori school prior to Holy Angels, the regular matriculation mode was very difficult to cope up with. But thanks to the wonderful attention of Sr. Angella, Mrs. Padma Shankar and Mrs Jecintha (Small school), that I was able to move on without many hitches.
(I am indebted to Mrs. Padma Shankar as she was the first teacher who identified the little artist in me and helped me nurture and develop it. )

The love for the school set deeper roots as I moved on among the best of teachers and students and an organised convent lifestyle. My freedom was never curtailed (except when it came to exams!) and the school opened horizons for thinking big. Thanks to teachers like Mrs. Sundari Jason, Miss. Sachu, Mrs. Lalitha David and Miss. Mini Pillai.

But alas I did have a few sore experiences too. There were a few moronic teachers, who showed immense partiality to the rich and the white skinned (yeah racism does exist everywhere!), that it paved way for deep hatred and desire to drop out of school. If not for those weeds, I wouldn’t have the ugly sore among the rich green memories now!

Thus here I etch all the love and hatred I had for everything that was school.