The brave new world

I studied in Bishop Cotton Girls’ School from 1980 to 1986, and this picture was taken when I was in class nine. Previously, I had studied in a Kannada medium school in Hubballi before shifting to Bengaluru in 1978. I was all of 10 years when I gained admission to the school.

One of the most prestigious girls schools in Bengaluru at the time, it has transformed many gawky young girls into cultured, well-behaved and respectable ladies over the years.

 It was with much awe and trepidation that I had entered these hollowed portals — the stone buildings, huge class rooms with high roofs and big windows, the music room and library (which seemed to have loads of books), along with teachers who looked strict and spoke only in English and girls who spoke the language fluently and wrote with ease. It was totally a new world for me. I did not know whether I would fit in. But very soon, the teachers put me at ease and I was able to settle down.

I don’t remember much of the first few years, except that I had to put my nose to the grindstone to reach the expected standards in studies and keep pace with my classmates. Mrs Joseph, a former teacher and principal, was our English teacher in high school and what a teacher she was! I still remember how all of us had looked with dismay at the ‘Merchant of Venice’ by William Shakespeare, which was to be our text for eighth standard. We could not even read it properly, let alone understand or answer questions at the end of it. But Mrs Joseph made it very interesting. She made the characters come alive with her rendition and explanations.

We also had Mrs Tushar, our lively Kannada teacher, who always felt I was her prized pupil and Mrs D’Cruz, who tried to teach us the nuances of English and the art of essay writing. It is because of them that even today, though I was a science student, I find solace in reading English and Kannada literature. Mrs Clarke was our principal at that time and I remember how we all hoped we would do nothing that would get us called to her room for a ‘pep talk’. And we had Miss Asha, our Maths teacher, who was so thin that we thought a strong wind would blow her away, Mrs Thomas, our music teacher, who could unerringly pick up the girl singing the wrong note in the assembly and Mrs Suraez, our PT teacher, who had no patience with the likes of me who was not interested in sports. All the teachers (even those not named) have played a vital role in moulding my attitude, character and outlook to life.

As far as my classmates were concerned, their names were noted down thoughtfully on the back of the photo by my mother, who thought I may not remember their names later, and she was right. It is very sad that I have lost touch with all of them and don’t know where each of them is. But I had a great time with them — at times, all of us used to gather around
in the ground; the periphery of the ground was lined with emerald trees and we would all sit by the shade, enjoy a lunch and have a mini-picnic of our own. This is one memory I remember and cherish. Our class was a mixed bag of young girls. I remember Swapna and Mamatha were my closest friends. We were similar in nature and the silent ones in class. Leno Thomas was quite a role model and was someone we all aspired to be, be it in academics or music. She was also the school prefect. Another one of my class mates, Nandini, was studious by nature.

The sports captain, Tessie, was always active and Sumathi took great interest in sports and was cheerful and witty. While in the ninth standard, during a PT exercise, she dislocated her knee after which she couldn’t continue with sports anymore. She later became a very dull person. This was a shock for all of us to see her transformation. Kalpana, on the other hand, talked a lot. The naughty girls of the class, Chanda and Anitha, along with my other classmates made my days colourful and spirited.

Later, I went on to do my MBBS, MBA, cleared state Civil Service Exams and today, I am a senior KAS officer with the State Government. Last August, I was invited as the chief guest for the senior annual day function and I visited the school for the first time since 1986. Many things have changed, new blocks along with the swimming pool and a cafeteria, have come up. But the old charm remains along with the spirit of the school and enthusiasm of the students and teachers.

(The author can be reached at arundhathichandrasekhar
@gmail.com)