Hello, back to reminiscing. My first standard (read grade if you are amercanized by now) experience was quiet a hoot.
After being enrolled in VSSS school, we had to pay the first term fees by a certain date. My parents started training us to be independent from an young age. So I was handed over the 36 Rs in cash and told to pay in the front office. So off I went, found the kind Mrs.Kunjamma Abraham and paid my own fees. So much to be said for my parents trust in a 5 year old. And so much to be said for such a responsible 5 year old. Oh wait - my arm hurts from patting myself in the back - let me get it back where it belongs :-)
Since it was the first few years of being in existence, our first year, I believe we still followed the KV style and my parents had to make a second language choice. And that started a cold war in the house. My dad, having been raised all over North India, wanted my second language to be Hindi. My mom, being a teacher in TamilNadu and having never stepped out of TamilNadu, wanted my second language to be Hindi. Of course, while they trusted me to pay the fees, they did not want me to arbitrate on this or have my own choice. Go figure!!!
Well, curious to know who won? Dad of course. So my first standard started with Hindi as my second language. But when I graduated from 12th standard, my second language was Tamil. So who really won Dad, uh? I had Dad at home to instill a life long love for the English language and Mom to inculcate good reading and writing habits. I still remember her saying" Hand writing is so important. Presentation is so important...". No wonder I remember a lot of their collective advice even now - perhaps that is what is superior parenting. Never forced, just told gently, firmly, consistently and god only knows, repeatedly :-)
I remember Mr.Venugopal(? I think that was his name, I remember his face so distinctly, but he left after first grade), my English teacher and the beautiful Ms.Stella, my social studies teacher. Everything else is a blur. By the time I was in first grade, I had graduated from being "brilliant, but talkative" to downright precocious. I remember this incident very well in English class. I was bored because I knew all the spellings etc they try to teach you then. I wanted to really go out and have a drink of water. So I stand up and ask Mr.Venugopal, "Sir, Can I please go drink some water?". He says I am teaching, I want you to sit down and focus on my class, you can go and drink water during the recess (break). But I was a 5 year old that had to have water. I was quiet mad at him.
End of the class, he asks the class for the spelling of "Vehicle". There were not any hands up, mine was, so I get called to say the spelling of "Vehicle", correctly, I might add. Then after a few questions he says "Do you have any questions". My hand goes up again. Intending to show him up to the rest of the class, I very innocently ask him "What is the spelling of Cat, Sir?". He did not know quiet what to do and roars up laughing because of course he knows I know my spellings and was being a smart aleck. He finally stops doubling up in laughter and says "Go drink your water now". Point,Game,Set,Match - Mr.Venugopal. Only I foolishly thought I had won then. It might not sound very funny now - but it was a matching of wits between a grown adult and a 5 year old.
My best friends in this grade were Venkatraghavan and Anil Kumar. The trio of us were hopping on benches, jumping from windows, generally being very boisterous. I remember these two used to, for some reason, love to tickle me then. That was the annoying part of our friendship. I am still in touch on FB with Venkat...don't know where Anil is.
We ended first grade on a high note and graduated to second grade in the summer of 1979. Little did we know that we had in store for us, a brand new teacher, who in future would shape us all into worthy individuals, who I kept in touch until my wedding and used to go visit, who is perhaps dearest to so many that graduated from VSSS - the indomitable one and only Mrs.Kesan, Mrs. K. Vadivambal miss. She started the year we entered second grade. I can still smell her distinct wondrous smell. She is so alive in my memory like she is standing right here, in front of me, as I type this. More to come !!!
Hi Vandana very good to hear your narration.
ReplyDeleteKarthikeyan
I take it that this is Vaishnavi Vandana of whom my mum (Mrs. Kesan) used to speak of, well after retirement. She was a great mum and an excellent grand mum to my kids as well. A few others that she would remember from those days were a person called Regis and Sabena (who lived next to our home in Madras). My mother passed away in 2008 and with both my folks having passed on; it makes a very empty home. I do not live in India since 1994, but do visit Madras (or Chennai, as it is called nowadays) once a year with my "tribe" and when ever pass by Avadi always manage to catch a glimpse of the school in whcih my mother taught. Please do send me a message on venkatsubramani@gmail.com; if you have the time. I must thank you though, for having remembered my mother in such a kind way.
ReplyDelete