RECOLLECTIONS – A STUDENT’S NOTEBOOK

 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.