RECOLLECTIONS – A STUDENT’S NOTEBOOK
(Rema Prasanna Pisharody)
(Former Student – Batch of 1975-1980)
Memories I cherish about
my school is such that I cannot write them all in a few words. It is a great feeling
to think even after three decades that I studied in Mt. Carmel Convent Girls
High School. It is at times, I wonder what make me think so special about my
school and I know I can get all the answers instantly from my own origin to the
core point of my present.
To begin with, I was
born into a conservative family of teachers. We were a literate lot of scholars
but after the fall of dynasties and the modern formal schooling system was a
concept yet to be accepted there existed a minor crisis in our group. People in
our group in general were skeptical on modern educational system as India was a
land of ancient gurukuls.My mother was a teacher and we three sisters studied
upto the fourth grade in Muttampalam Govt School where she taught. We could not
continue there as the school did not have any upper primary grades during those
days. My mother was particular that we three go to the best school of our town and
she did not have a second thought in selecting Mount Carmel Convent Girl’s High
School for our future.
I remember that during
those days, sisters of Mount Carmel visited our village to enlighten villagers
to educate their children. Many girls in my village joined the school for their
good. Our village had a lot of school dropouts and sisters of Mount Carmel
without fail visited our place each year with a strong message of good
education. I am sure that they would have gone to many villages with the same message.
From old memories, I can
recall that my school had the best facilities even in 1970s. Our school had the
best of best of everything; a good administrative block, good team of teachers,
well organized sports department, library with good books, beautiful prayer
hall, chapel, classy auditorium, a home for economically backward students,
boarding facility, lunch scheme again for the economically weak sections and a
lively campus with lush green trees. What more a student needs to dream for a
better
future.
Carmelite Sisters of
this school were kind and at the same time strict disciplinarians. They worked
as a unit for the betterment of the students and school in general. They
ignited the spark and provided opportunities for each student to come out of
her hidden talents. When I hold back the mementos I received from my school on
various co-curricular events, I know it is not me but my school was instrumental
in winning all those laurels. I remember that, in one of the school district
meets in
Changanassery, our
drawing teacher Lilli had accommodated all of us in her house and we won the district
championship in that year. Teacher Lilli had arranged a royal feast for all of
us in her house and later in school we were all honoured in the presence of
school’s Mother Superior. There was a passion in working for the school and a
lot of positive energy was instilled on students.
Strikes were common in
our God’s own Country during those days and the politically motivated strike groups
even used to attack our closed gates. Sister Raichel, our chief at that time
used to take us all to the school auditorium and when the strikers move away we
were asked to go back to the classes. Shenever wanted her students to miss any
classes as she thought her school should excel in academics.
Youth Festival in school
was one of the interesting events and all students enjoyed the three day
festival. There were four teams and to reach the championship point, students
like us joined in almost all the events we could manage
I remember collecting soft slushy clay from
the paddy filed to join for the clay modeling completion. There was a kind of
passion in doing things. There was a driving force on studentsto bring out the
best in all fields. Apart from that, teachers worked day and night for academic
excellence and students competed to excel, to lift up the image of the school.
When I was in high
school, management has introduced a school band and those in sports fraternity
were asked to join. Two officials from the police department were assigned to
train us on music band. We were taught ‘general salute’ and a few parade items.
I played bugle and we were all so happy being associated
with the school band.
I discontinued from the
band in my tenth grade and I remember our school had the
most vibrant band team
in that period. My school was looked upon when we interacted with the other
educational institutions and I know it is because of the hard work of the
Management and because of the sincere Teachers. Mount Carmel is an institution
where I learned to focus on the hidden potential.
There was a motivational force to guide, assist and to cheer all
around. And that was the year, there introduced poetry competition in school.
Theme – write about school.. A few of us joined, with a goal to add points for
our respective teams. Championship Trophy was our ultimate dream. Annikutty
Teacher had taught us in class about alankarams and poetic meters of poetry
writing. I counted my words, guru, laghu to reach out the poetic meter........
I wrote my first line..
I did not know how
it sounded. I was too amateur even to know what exactly poetry is at that
time...There was a surprise waiting for me.... first prize.....
Three decades were like
feathers. My passion for poetry ended not. The first prize I got for
versification from my school motivated me to read poems of great poets. Poetry
of Tagore touched and softened my heart. Later, I wrote like the great poem of
Nobel Laureate Pablo Neruda.. ‘I don’t know how poetry
arrived in search of
me..’.. I wrote.. wrote.... a million lines... poetry or not.... even I did not
know....I wrote.....
Draping the uniforms of
a former student, I spoke to Sister Shilpa of Mount Carmel School in May 2013. There
again I could feel the same kind of inspirational vibration which I experienced
in my school days.
Later in June 2013,
Unnikrishnan, a social worker from my village in Kottayam and me met Sir ONV,
the living legend of Malayalam Poetry and he blessed me and my poems, a great
moment of my life indeed.
