Magazine

Dr. Vanamala Parthasarathy, 80, a very accomplished professional, a dancer and musician, recalls her days at the famous Rosary Matriculation School with a lot of wonderful memories. Safe Seniors thanks her for her contribution. A very interesting read, a must for many generations….

SHAMALA BUDDIES

You must all be wondering who the Shamalabuddies are!

The name sounds very modern and posh…. ha-ha!. Let me introduce the group to you. We are senior citizens well beyond eighty belonging to Rosary Matriculation School. You may call it the sixth formers (as it was known in those days; now in the modern context “Class of 1958”), The school has a creditable past and is very much in the news these days. The Mylapore Times seems to have covered the diamond Jubilee Celebrations of the school. Guess how I came to know! The group member Ganga sent two video clippings from YouTube and the latest one was the 29th episode. Our joy knew no bounds. Exchanges in our memories of our school life started emerging.

And so here I go as to how the group was created. It was created on 28 November 2020 in memory of our dear friend T.U. Shamala.She was a very, gentle, kind and helpful friend. I often remember going to her house to receive help in my studies. Now let us walk down the memory lane!

I replied to Ganga about how elated I was when I watched the video. Must have been a similar reaction with the group members. I left Madras (Chennai now) in 1962 for Maharashtra, a different environment, starting from language to lifestyle. In the process of adjustment, I lost touch with my school classmates who meant a lot to me. School memories started disappearing like the messages on WhatsApp groups. Until like the Phoenix they all emerged in one go! And how. One phone call to my landline number in Bangalore made all the difference. The phone bell rang, I picked up the phone and here I heard my dear friend Sharmila’s voice asking me whether I would like to speak with another of my classmates Vasanthi, followed by others whom I had not met or seen for ages. My joy knew no bounds and the exchanges were so delightful that I promised I would meet them all in Madras on my next trip.
There was the get-together at Sharmila’s place and I met quite a few of them. For me, it was my world anew!

The group “Shamala Buddies” started with nine members. Sharmila (the Doctor and the brave senior citizen) and Savindra (the one who sends video clips and purposeful messages) are the capable administrators. The others are Ganga (extremely sharp and helpful), Meera (who always stood first), Rama (the artist who specialised in Fine Arts); Sega (religiously oriented), and T.G. Vasanthi (the talkative one). Dilara was a member but she is no more, passed away recently. She was a very hospitable friend, and I recall having lunch at her place some months back. It was Meera’s birthday and we celebrated it with a cake.

What made me join this particular school? In those days not many schools had an English medium and this was the one located in Mylapore. Most families in that area who were keen on the English medium sent their wards to this school as it was known for its strict discipline. I was in a Tamil medium school, Children Garden School run by Ellen Sharma. When I was in fifth class I felt I should speak English and so expressed my longing to my family. I left the school and got prepared to join Miss. Charley’s classes as private tuition. I started from scratch with alphabets and progressed to texts like Tales the Letters Tell. After about six months I took the test for admission and joined the fifth class. So, my school journey began with happy moments and I occasionally felt left out. I remember the class teacher Miss. Jesudas who was kind and compassionate to the core, used to assign small jobs like the distribution of notebooks after she checked the work. This helped me to gain so much confidence that in the sixth form, I was catching up with the class. I remember the class teacher Miss. Kalpagam once again for her encouragement.

We had boys in the fifth class but they left when we were promoted to the sixth form.

We went on excursions where we displayed our talents of acting, singing, and dancing. We used to choose songs from movies to choreograph. Usually, there was one excursion that was planned outside the Madras limits. The second one was generally shorter. I remember distinctly going to Stella Mary’s College which was just behind our school. I even possess a photograph that was taken of me by striking a dance pose!

When we appeared for our Matriculation exams, the nuns took us to St. Thomas Mount to offer prayers. We had two houses Loretto and Fatima, the former identified by pink and the latter blue. Apart from those who wore pinafores, most of us wore a skirt and half saree representing the house colour respectively.

As soon as the bell rang, we all assembled and recited the prayers of Christian faith, band music was played in the Office room (the Headmistress’s room) and we would peel off one class after the other, go to our respective classrooms and settle down. This routine was followed to the ‘T’. On special occasions when the presentation of medals of those standing first in the class was happening, their names would be called out and the Headmistress would pin the proficiency medals.

To maintain discipline when the teacher was away, class leaders controlled the class. A unique thing I remember was a post-bank agent who collected money for various purposes and maintained the accounts. Guess what? I was made a bank agent, a person with no mathematical skills!

Sharmila recalls: Talking about Miss. Bhavani our Hindi teacher, “She also choreographed dances etc for various functions. I remember this because we made our group dance for sixth formers school leaving (Inbanalithe Idhayam paduthe” song). We were in Form V. Miss. Bhavani was quite put off, to say the least. Vanamala was the lead. Kalpagam, Shamala were in the dance. I choreographed the dance with much input from the others and it was a great success. Also, Vana was a dancer herself I remember her great cooperation and no airs”. Thanks, Sharmila for your compliment! Meera adds “Yes, I too remember vividly the look on Miss Bhavani’s face”. I must add, even in those days we managed to have a mind of our own!

A few of us from this group joined Rosary Matriculation school either in the fifth class or later. Savindra was one of them who joined after leaving the boarding school Sacred Heart Convent at Yercaud. She remembers fondly her stay there to the extent that she calls it the happiest and most carefree days in her life. Due to better medical facilities and with her parents residing in Sivakasi a small town she was brought to Madras and admitted to Rosary Matriculation school and was a boarder along with her younger sister. She says students from English Medium school (Rosary Matriculation School), Tamil and Telugu medium stayed together. Her experience in the boarding, to begin with, was not great. I am told she had to adapt herself to the “dreary place boxed inside four walls” and the food was “spicy hot and not as nutritious as at Sacred Heart”. Nevertheless, some of her relatives said that it was the best possible boarding school for girls where there was safety and security. Her parents used to send regular money for extra milk, eggs and buttermilk. Every week the family would make sure fruits, chocolates and sweets were delivered. The dormitory was spartan, with no cupboards. But “ life was very regulated with strict times for play, dining. study and sleep”. Only once a month do the boarders were permitted to visit the relatives.

She remembers a dedicated Irish nun Sister Liam who supervised them and that she dwells in her heart as a person who loved and cared for the boarders. Savindra being a kind-hearted person helped the younger ones in their studies and sat at the head of the table during meals, perhaps to make sure they ate well! Savindra endeared herself to the nuns and they trusted her to carry out the responsibilities,

According to her the school had no emphasis on a well-rounded liberal arts education and believed in rote learning.

The school she says “imbued us with the virtues of service, discipline and self-reliance” And it is true! Community service was encouraged, we visited slums and distributed medicines, soaps etc. And she mentions how the nuns labelled the medications for common illnesses. Sometimes even I recall going to the beach and playing games with the slum kids. She recalls the story The Maneaters of Kumaon by Jim Corbett and how it is etched in her mind. She beautifully concludes “I remember my Rosary Matric school days, where Sousa’s music trumpeted the possibilities and promises of each new school day” Thanks Savi, for sending your informative message about our school!

Here was Ganga who joined Matric in the sixth standard. She came from Ewarts as they changed their residence. I believe she jumped the fifth and joined from fourth to sixth. She took Hindi as a second language without even knowing the alphabet! She says Miss. Bhavani was a good teacher and she picked up. She feels the teachers were good and she started liking the school. She fondly recalls the lunch break and how we used to sit together and eat under a tree. I recall we used to make a big circle and enjoy lunch. I remember Dilara bringing boiled eggs coated with some masala, Mine was always Thayer Saadam with vadu maanga (curd rice and baby mangoes in brine)

I must mention I still remember some of the interesting subjects that were included in the curriculum syllabus. They were Moral Science/Catechism that was taught to the followers of the Christian faith); Compulsory Hindi (that was difficult for me in those days); and lastly Domestic science. I am not able to recall the title of the text that we had for Domestic Science. Ganga adds about the practical class. She says: “We had a subject called Domestic Science and cooking class used to be there, with guidance we would cook and enjoy what we had cooked” So may I say the school saw to it that those who passed out had a rounded personality capable of handling situations be it life problems or anything else., Good value systems were constantly dinned into our ears. And even at this stage of life, those keep echoing and guiding me!

The Rosary Matriculation School that was started to provide an English medium of instruction was run by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary according to Savindra. Last but not least, when we completed fifty years of passing out some of us collected funds and personally visited the school, our sixth-form classroom and handed over the amount to the school. The only way we could pay back our gratitude to the school is to retain and treasure the ever-green memories of our schooling and the devoted staff. Not to forget the two male teachers the Sanskrit pundit and Tamil pundit who were very good! The school, which was started about 75 years ago, has grown and blossomed, educating so many children. We as a group wish the school all the very best, acquiring fame and maintaining the standard in the future!

Compiled by Vanamala Parthasarathy