Saturday, September 5, 2009

Teachers' day

The posts by others make me also try my hand at remembering my teachers:
Sreemathi - std 1 - at Hindu Pen Paadasaalai - Vilvarayan Naththam - Cuddalore
Taught me the alphabets - made me switch from LHW to RHW and instrumental in sending me to std 2after the QE.
Jeya - std 2 - same school - Mychubbycheeks were disturbing her day in and day out - pachcharisi sotraith thinnu kozhuththup poyirukkaan paaru - was a daily remark I used to hear.
Janaki - std 2 [again? - yes, in a different school - Municipal elementary school-PuduppaaLaiyam] who believed in using the cane without any discretion but had plenty of stories to tell.
Thava Mari Ammal - std 3 - same school. Taught basic arithmetic and later on I found myself working with her son F.Kolandai Raj in Cordite Factory Aruvankadu.
Dayanidhi & Kripa nidhi - std 5[jump with change of school to "Aayira vaisiya manjappuththoor Adhaara Arambap paadassaalai at Paramakkudi - yes the same place where Kamal Hasan hails from]. My school was known by its headmaster as Nagalinga Vaththiyaar school also. Here is where I learnt yogasana.
Seetharaman std 5 [again no error - St Joseph's High School, Tiruppathiripuliyur insisted on my joining in the fifth to pick up English which I have not studied up to that time. Seetharaman was a very enthusiastic teacher who sung songs and used to share current news with his students every day. We saw a very proud man when he announced the conquest of the Everest in the class. Instrumental in getting me a scholarship which lasted upto SSLC.
Ramamurthy std 6 same school - Nothing much to be said that he used to punish students by twisting their ears.
Buvarahamurthy - std 7 Had "koththamallik kattu" for a nick name on account of his hair tied up in a neat bundle. I used to run up home and down to school with his tiffin and coffee almost every day. He sent a chit through me to Rev Fr Mariadas stating that I had submitted my homework on oneside paper - and you know what father Mariadas did! - he exempted me from submitting home work for the rest of my school days!!.
Rathnaswamy Pillai - same class - same year - had a way of teaching science in an interesting manner but was extremely short tempered and it is fortunate that my cheeks were protected due to my performance in class.
Devaraja Iyengar and Subramania Iyer - std 8 - not much to be said about these teachers except that in the next class 8D we had Srinivasa Iyengar who used to chant some Mantras to relieve students of pain and it is another story as to what Umar Younus did in his absence. Srinivasa Iyengar reminded me of Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar always.
Now to ninth standard and National High School Nagapattinam:

1 comment:

raman said...

One can see that each one has his favourite teachers. Everyone may not have a teacher whom he viewed as particularly antagonistic towards him/her.

I wish we had the system of alumni meet and we had the affordability to participate in it in those days.

It saddens me immensely to think that i failed to write a letter to my great teachers of class XI who made my life different. What prevented me from doing that? Simply the fact that it was not the practice in those days.

Life has many regrets, just as it has happy unforgoettable moments.