Growing up in Delhi, 63-year-old LakshmiNarayanan recalls the 30-minute walk with his four friends from his former residence in President Estate to Delhi Tamil Educational Association (DTEA) School at Mandir Marg in Central Delhi. They would talk about current affairs, along with animated conversations about Carnatic music. They appreciated each other’s talents and helped each other out. They were from the 1968 batch.
Every year, the people change, topics change and the conversations change but what remain, is the essence and memories that stay the same, contributing to the significance of Tamil as a language, culture and community.
“We know our tradition and are versatile in Sanskrit, enjoy music, epics and look at things rationally and scientifically,” says S Kailash, a former student of Lodhi Estate branch in1967.
In 1923, the first Madrasi Education Association School was established in Simla, with a single teacher and a student, by P H S Iyer during the South Indian festival, ‘Vijayadasami’. When the first school was set up in Delhi in the same year, the South Indians of Delhi - the Madrasis, known for intellect and community life, raised the funds from public donation.
In January 1924, a primary school was opened in New Delhi. It was recognised by the Education Authority in 1925, which now has seven distinct branches in Mandir Marg, Lodhi Estate, Lakshmibai Nagar, Moti Bagh, Karol Bagh, R K Puram and Janakpuri (and the eighth one at Mayur Vihar, Phase 3 is in the pipeline). The schools employ a total of 700 staff to provide education to more than 7,000 children.
DTEA has produced eminent personalities including film actress Hema Malini, classical music vocalist O S Arun, personal secretary to Mahatma Gandhi, Santhanam, and science correspondent with Frontline magazine, P Ramachandran.
Twenty-one year old, Deepika Subramani, alumnus of the 2011 branch of Lodhi Road tells Metrolife, “I miss school for the teachers as they were very friendly and helpful. I remember, I could not attend school due to severe illness for two months in my ninth standard and they helped me with all my notes and coping.”
Varadarajan, 1967 batch echoes the same, “I cherish the values and simplicity of our mentors, which, though were the underlined ethos of our school, also embodied its identity as a good learning centre. It’s unique ‘homeliness’ differentiated it to put the students at ease unlike a ‘school’.
“The students from these schools can be found in any sphere of activity in India,” says Karthik Vishwanathan from the 1993 batch. Over 12 lakh Tamilians in Delhi see the DTEA as a symbol of their identity and cultural tradition. Suresh from the 1968 batch says, “It has given me a sense of belonging to Delhi, has made me a good human being and given me an opportunity to learn different languages like Tamil, Sanskrit, Hindi and English. It has also given me a lot of confidence to face the world at large, on my own merit.”
The school organises several dance, drama and cultural performances enriched with North and South Indian traditions annually. The tradition of greeting with Wannakam or Namaste instead of ‘Good Morning’, conducting pujas invoking Indian Goddess Saraswati before conducting examinations are some of the rituals at DTEA.
In recent years, many think that legacy of DTEA has somewhat diluted. Vijayalakshmi Vishwanathan, who retired after 28 years of service with DTEA Laxmibai Nagar, in 2009 says, “From behaviour to academic performance, our schools have always shone bright, but these days, due to increasing distractions owing to a widespread influence of the changing times, our performance has somewhat dwindled.”
DTEA has a close-knit network that connects the students beyond regional differences. Having studied in four different schools, Vinod Nair, an alumnus of DTEA Laxmibai Nagar of the 1993 batch says, “The understanding nature of the teachers and students is reflected in the ambience of DTEA that have attracted even non-Tamilians.”
“The fact that we still talk about our school and not college says it all,” says S Radha, a former student of the Mandir Marg and Lodhi Estate branch of 1961 batch.
“Even after 40-45 years of leaving the school, I come across a lot of people who have studied in one of the seven schools during my time or later. Whenever we meet, there is bonhomie and we become friends at once because of the school connection,” she says. The 1967 batch of the institution will be organising an alumni meet for all batches in Hyderabad on 24 October called ‘Sangamam 2015’ .
Dr R Ramachandran of 1967 batch shares with Metrolife, “Alumni meet is an effort to bring back the lost glory and sheen of DTEA, not only infrastructural but also academic.”