Sunday, March 16, 2008

Garden- The Mango Tree, Clara and the Dogs.

Having had a cup of coffee, which has elated my sleepy mood to a satisfactory level for thinking and jotting down thoughts, I decided to get busy on the blog. But the thoughts about what to write did not quite strike me even now. Well there were so many things that happened back at school. And I am trying my best to recollect them and put them here.

How about the school garden?
Yeah, thats a good topic to loiter on. I had always loved the school garden and had loved standing on the grilled corridors, watching the flora and fauna there. The entire "Big" building overlooked the gardens. The building was shaped like a letter C, with sharp corners though - Something like a square without a side. Where ever one stood, in any of the floors of the "Big" building, one would have a prime view of the garden. The garden was square-ish, with a lowly old mossed wall at one end which separated the school from the farm lands. The farms added to the richness of the garden, with an avenues of coconut trees amid a thick undergrowth of grass.
I had known two princi 's during the time I spent in school, which was about eight years. I had joined HA in my 5th class and was a totally alien person to convent education unlike the local veterans there, who had graduated from 'Little' school to the 'Big' school. The 'Little' school had classes LKG, UKG and Std I. It was a rented building located near the New-Fairlands junction. The Big school was deeply embeded inside the Mittapudur area, sandwiched between two other schools - Sharada and St.Johns'. Recently I heard, the 'Little' school had been moved into the main campus and along with a fully functional preschool and creche.

Well, coming back to the gardens and princi's, all the princi's loved prancing around the garden looking at each flower and leaf , instructing the school gardeners Clara akka and her husband Periyanna. Sr. Jacob, though she delighted herself walking around the garden in the evenings, did not introduce any big changes. It was Sr. Angella who spent so much time and money on the garden, that it was soon a real beauty to reckon with. Under her management, Clara akka and Periyanna laboured hard in the gardens making it look so colorful. Any time of the day one could see them in one of these tasks - repotting, planting, weeding, watering, pruning, repositioning, digging, fertilising and spraying insecticide, the list was endless.
The convent had a bigger garden. But we were not allowed to enter into it unless we had official permission to go into the convent. I had been into the convent twice. Once to meet Sr.Priya who was our art faculty, and once when I had an accident and broken some skin, I was taken in and fed with the choicest of doughnuts and treated with utmost care and attention. The convent was very beautiful, clean, neat and serene.
This main garden, that is the one between the square-ish 'Big' building, had two huge trees in each corner - a butter fruit tree and an old mango tree that threatened to uproot any adjacent buildings with its massiveness. This mango tree was so old with a bulky trunk with a slimy layer of green moss. It had thick steeping low branches. During summer it was loaded with mangoes and a sigh always elicited out of anyone who happened to look at its fat ripe fruits. I am sure every one of the students have had tried their best to steal a fruit or two from either of the trees atleast once or atleast had a thought of it deep down them. The success rate of getting a fruit was very very less though.
Once some of my immediate seniors were caught stealing mangoes from the convent gardens and they were made to kneel on the mud along with Periyanna. Periyanna was also punished because he had taken pity on these girls and let them go when they were caught picking mangoes. How all of them got caught was a big mystery. It was really silly and funny to see a big man with thick curly moustache kneeling along with the girls in the mud!
The garden had three entrances and a mud path around it. One of the entrances was directly in front of the princi's room. Then there was a straight path that connected the right wing of the building with the left wing. The Teachers room was in the right wing and usually they used to cross the path to come to the left wing. It was a privilige granted only to teachers and the sisters. As students we were strictly forbiden to enter the gardens through any of these entrances. It was scarilege of the highest order if we ever did cross! Thus the simple act of hoodwinking anyone and running across it gave us immense pleasure. If caught the punishments were severe ofcourse. It included kneeling on the mud right there on the path. Kneeling on a concrete floor is much easier than kneeling on the mud. The knees would go red instantly and the skirt would not be long enough to pull it under the knees for padding. Inspite of this the girls did run down the path every once in a while. A quick look at the princi's room would determine if she was around or not. The clue was the fan. If the fan wasn't on, then there would be dash across the garden path. This was the easiest path because the alternate way to go to the other wing was a huge round about of climbing staircases and walking around. But alas, Sister sometimes didnt have her fan switched on. And then she would spot a green shadow dashing by and would be up in a jiffy to catch hold of the imp!
Perianna and Clara akka were man and wife and they lived inside the school campus. Their daughter was in school with us and she would join her parents in the garden activities every evening much to the envy of all the other girls who were forbidden to enter the garden. She had full liberty and would even walk around touching the flowers and leaves!
The garden had the choicest collection of flowering plants. There were rose bushes, tulips lining all the way across the paths, hibiscus in every shade possible, blue bells and orange trumphet flowers creeping up the pillars, green wall creepers, bountiful array of colorful crotans, and many more exotic plants with hard to pronounce names. The burst of colors in the sun would give such a cheerful appearance, immediately touching anyones heart! The beauty of the gardens always made me wonder if there were any little fairies living among the flowers in the garden, waving around their magical touch on to the flowers and giving them a magical sparkle in the sun!

In the middle of the garden was a huge wooden cross with a replica of the Christ nailed on to it. The cross was placed inbetween the towering trees, with an awesome view from the pinci's room. A curved iron canopy around the cross with ferns creeping around it made it look very pristine and enchanting. Enclosing the area of the cross, was a small circular pond housing bright colorful fishes and turtles. I had sat there a couple of times by the pond and looked at the fishes swimming around in vibrant color. One day I was staying late in school for some reason I dont remember, when Sr. Angella spotted me. She was in the garden on her daily walk around it. She called me up and we both sat on the concrete support of the pond and talked idly. She was curious to know about how I was doing at school and at home. I remember answering her half mindedly with my attention fully focused on the gliding fishes!
During our get together in 10th class, the garden was opened to us. We had the full liberty to party there and take snaps. After I graduated, when I happened to visit the school, I did have an oppurtunity to step into the garden. Clara akka beaconed me into the garden where she was working and I sat there talking to her for sometime. Thats when I spoted those doberman pups. She told me that Sr.Angella had adopted them and they were now the apple of her eye. And she never allowed anyone pet them except Clara (ofcourse!) and they always pranced around her room sleeping on her chairs! Imagine the audacity of the dogs! When we shivered and scrambled around her room wishing for an invisible coat, these dogs slept on her cushions and chairs!!
Well, on the day of my visit Sr. was out of station. Having an natural instinct for dogs, I easily befriended both the pups: though others were a bit worried about them bitting some of my flesh off. I enjoyed myself that day playing with the pups, running down the school corridor, shrieking aloud as the pups chased trying to nip at my legs. We played peekaboo and chased each other, ran in and out of the princi's room, into the garden, until the dogs got tired. Wow I never imagined I could do all that running around in school. Clara was a bit worried about being seen and sacked mainly because of the undue attention the joyful yelps might have attracted. But she took the liberty and enjoyed that day. She has never forgotten me after that. Everytime I visited school, as an alumnus, we would recollect that incident with the dogs and laugh out loud.
Oh, how I wish I had some snaps of the school and garden to put them here. If out there some old HA student could send me some snaps of school and garden it would be awesome. You can mail me at effa.smith@gmail.com.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

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.