The Assembly

Om ! Asatho' Maa Sath Gamaya -
Thamaso' Maa Jyothirgamaya |
Mr.uthyo' Maa Amr.ruthamgamaya -
Om! Saanthih: Saanthih: Saanthih: ||

Lead me from the unreal to the Real -
- From darkness [ignorance] to the Light [knowledge];
- From death to Immortality.

Om! Sahanaavavatu Sahanau Bhunaktu Sahaveeryam Karavaavah: |
Thejasvinaa Vadheethamastu Maa Vidvishaa Vahaih: ||
Om! Shaanthih Shaanthih Shaanthih. Om!

May He, the Supreme Lord, protect us both, The teacher and the student.
May He nourish us both. May our study be thorough and fruitful.
May we not hate each other. Om ! Peace, Peace, Peace.

Om Poornam idha Poornam idham
Poornath Poornam udhachyate
Poornasya Poornam
adaya Poornam eyvava Sheshate

This is perfect, that is perfect,
from the perfect springs the perfect,
take the perfect from the
perfect and only the perfect remains.

These were the chants that greeted us on every weekday of the nearly forty weeks every year when we went to Chinmaya. Words meant to nourish the dead-beat brain from its deepest slumber, and move the spirit forth. The fact that quite a few among us needed that kind of prodding gives you an idea about how we felt about the futility of school, a rigmarole that everyone had to put up with! This was preceded by the forming a single file of girls and boys outside the classrooms at about 8:40 am or so. People stepping out of line, which forever seemed to rile up Cuckoo�s senses, often marred the dutiful single file! Her complaints were just, in hindsight alone! �Why cant you people stand upright and in a straight line as you do in the PT Class?� used to be something that we heard a little way too often! She didn�t understand that if we did not do so in the PT class meant that we were subject to a torturous discourse by the PT teacher that ate into the precious 40 minutes we had! A hymn choir assembled religiously behind the Principal with the School Pupil Leader (SPL) and Assistant School Pupil Leader (ASPL) on either flank. The school was brought to attention at the command of the SPL, which was a neat sign of the prayer ceremonies to get started. A minute�s silence followed the prayer, meant for clearing one�s thoughts after the prayer. This was used as an opportunity to look at how clean the shoes were so that the �leaders� policing the line at the exit wouldn�t take exception. The downward looking face could also check if one wore one�s badge that day!! The flimsy piece of metal seemed to generate more revenue than instill a sense of belonging to the students. Priced at an absurd Rs.1.50 at the time, one can vouch that an average of 100 badges were sold to a class of 30 over the course of the year. Sometime in the 8th standard there was a policy to fine the students 50 paise if they infringed on any, some or all of the following:

Not wearing a badge
Shoes not blancoed
Black shoes not polished
Not wearing the right shoes
Wearing extremely expensive sneakers!
Socks not of the right colour
Any other unsightly appearance characteristic!

There were complaints from some quarters that the 50 paise fine financed the teacher�s refreshment expenses. Nobody gave a receipt and its quite possible that the �leaders� themselves filched quite a bit of it! Unsubstantiated, of course, but you can never put anything beyond anybody there! Just as sudden as it had made an appearance, the practice was stopped. The most probable cause could be that it did not instill the discipline it was supposed to. It may have encouraged the student to have an additional 50 paise in his pocket, just in case!

And then there was latecomers. And there were certain rules that they were bound by. If they managed to sneak into the right line before the SPL announced, �school, attention!� they were in. It was a very complex process because, one had to calculate the time it would take to dump the books carcass that we used to carry under the neem true and stand in the right line before the hush fell over the place. If you had your bag on you during the prayer ceremonies, you were deemed to be late! And the most creative excuses came from the most chronic latecomers. But being among that bunch of latecomers gave the feeling of being a pariah, an outcast.

The prayer was normally followed up with the news headlines read by senior students, in turn. This was the true acid test of stage fright for those who hadn�t ventured onto a stage before. This gave rise to the blurt-the-news-and-run caste of people. They were barely audible (despite the mic), they paused at the wrong places, had several words lumped in their throats at the end of their breath, and usually got the pronunciations wrong! This was more the exception than the rule, though a less noticed occurrence. This was because nobody could care a hoot what the news was � one could either read that in the morning (which was never) or read them at home in the evenings. The students� minds were generally occupied by what test they were up against that day, or how to get through without completing the homework!

The news was sometimes followed by important announcements by the principal, or rewarding those who excelled in extra-curricular events. High cricket scores in inter-school matches, a winning quiz team, an excellent representation in cultural exercises outside school were normally rewarded, or gained a mention.

And that was the beginning of the worst part of the day � the classes. Though that wasn�t true if you came late, or were caught by a �leader� for uniform infringement. Your day didn�t even have that good start!

What happens before the assembly

There were students who come long before the school got underway. Typically, these were the best time during the day to do whatever you wanted to do � study, complete your homework, play catch-the-ball, or hand-cricket, or simply just hang about. There was a sense of quiet and peace at that time, even if it was 10 minutes before the school started. The most frantic activity that happened was the homework-copying that went on with such intensity that it wasn�t uncommon to see three people copying from one central source. And that central source was always present. There would always be someone who played ball by completing the homework and coming to school early.

For those more athletically inclined, a tennis ball, or a small rubber ball would suffice to set-up an impromptu game of hand-cricket. Played out near the caf� at the back, in front of Krishnan�s house. The game was so popular that it became institutionalized, and top batsmen and bowlers were identified. In fact, the after-school games of hand-cricket sometimes go as long as the light would allow it. Every member on the school cricket team also had to prove his worth in this series!

For the intellectually inclined, the game of chess was played with much gusto. This was not only limited to the time before the classes started, the games were played amazingly between classes. The person who stands out in this activity was Srinivas. His incredible talent for the game won him the chess title for sports year in year out. In fact, he introduced the concept of blind chess (where players don�t have a board, but just have movement notations to play the game with) to the class. There weren�t too many takers, but those who did take it, were hardcore players of great class.

The Classes

The classes were fairly straightforward, starting off with the attendance by the class teacher after the assembly session got over. The class teacher scooted off after the attendance was taken, compiling leave letters and other sundry issues. If a class teacher imparted a particularly nasty subject, then the class would go through hell for that. Forty minutes of boredom and terror that included a possibility of a test that counted towards the final score, a strict enforcement of homework assignments, and a constant drone of stuff from the textbook. This was the scene almost without exception. The exception came in the English classes where we collectively played such games as hangman, were asked to make a presentation about any subject of our choosing, and were asked to read aloud. On the participation front (not that we cared), the science classes especially sucked. The backbenchers were typical, too. They did their share of fomenting trouble, creating the necessary ruckus to justify their title! There were two breaks during the day. One, a 10-minute break occurring after three periods, and then the lunch break after two more. Another three periods led to the end of the day, at a convenient 3:10 for most of the time we were there. For quite a while we went through the motions of an end of day assembly during which we pledged allegiance to the flag and sang the national anthem. For some folks, even that opportunity to have some fun was not to be missed. Between the lines when the choir and the school paused, there were mysterious squeaky sounds, which could be attributed to the trouble-mongers in the batch. That had some in splits that had to be contained within � a tough task.

The rowdy and brawn element

As always the school is not well rounded if it does not have its complement of the bullies and the rough players. Though much of the crowd anyways was squeaky and timid, we found ways to dispel any excess energy that were a fruit of frustration and other people�s lunches! There were the odd arm-wrestling contests that were lustily cheered (for how short-lived the contest proved to be), and the winners would walk around with sore elbows and seemingly punctured muscles. But what really stay etched in memory were the duster boomerangs and the chalk wars. The duster missiles were unimaginably scary, though one can figure out why it wasn�t deemed so at the time. The way that the dusters would thud into the blackboard, and punch holes in the thatch walls (an omnipresent sight) were indicators as to the level of anguish and pain it would cause if it hit it intended target. The incredible part was that none of them ever landed their bull�s eye, not even close. The more harmless version was the chalk-throwing bit. Usually when the class ran out of chalk, especially for those teachers who had to illustrate everything that they ever thought with doodles, someone was sent along to obtain a clutch of chalk from the admin office. Munivel was the chalk-keeper, and he wasn�t an efficient one! So instead of a clutch of chalk, the more mischievous ones got a pocketful, their arsenal for a chalk war on the unsuspecting. Normally they were fired from the back, and responded to when the teacher wasn�t looking. There was never any winner or conclusion to these missile wars; just a talking point when a person got hit bad. During a certain phase in the ninth standard, the practice of pulling away a chair before an unsuspecting person planted their hind side was widespread. Though this caused considerable pain depending on where one landed, the laughter it generated literally extinguished the emotion of pain. Everyone knew that this practice was going to happen unhindered until something spectacular and nasty happened. Which is where Kavitha came into the picture. She brooked no nonsense and was especially ruthless on anyone who dared encroached her personal space �a true firebrand. Madanmohan, with his teeth-and-gum laughter didn�t know this particular aspect of Kavitha, and he learnt it in a very unfortunate fashion. He pulled the chair from under her during the break between classes. The dormant volcano erupted and spewed its fiery magma in the shape of a punch on Madanmohan�s face! He may have gone away quietly if not for the ignominy of a lot of his peers watching him while the incident took place. He shed a large amount of tears and never again did anything of the sort.

Excursions

Not surprisingly, the one event that everybody looked forward to was the annual excursion, irrespective of the destination. It was usually of a day�s duration, but we have had weekend off-town sorties as well. The way it worked for daytime excursions was that 60-odd kids and a few teachers would be packed into the metal-shell contraption on wheels they called the school bus. Typically these would be to parks and picnic spots at the edge of town, but during our times we were fortunate enough to be taken to places that required at least a few hours� travel. The places we went to in our last few years were Sathanur dam in seventh, Thirukazhikundram in eighth, Bangalore and a crocodile park in ninth, Kodaikanal in the tenth, Silver Sands in eleventh and Ganga Sagar in twelfth. Typically, there would be a circular that was distributed asking parents if they consented to their wards going for the trip, and agree to pay a small fee to cover the costs. Fifteen to fifty rupees was the standard cost at the time. Most of these out of town trips required several hours traveling and brought us to spectacular places, the most memorable being the scenic beauty around the Sathanur dam, and the climb up a very steep mountain on which was perched a famous temple, in Thirukazhikundram. These trips were prior to the carpet and cane-manufacturing factory trips southwest of Madras, when the apple-pie pelting incidents took place. Such trips were replaced by a combined eighth, ninth and tenth visit to Bangalore. The subscription rate was low, but being a three-class trip, the critical mass was easily reached. It was the first time when so many students from across the junior-senior spectrum had come together for something and for so long. The Nana scrunching sound incident took place during this trip, one characterized by stops at all and sundry places and a lot of vibes between gals and guy across classes. Even more so was the accommodation � a marriage hall with a lot of makeshift open rooms to accommodate the nearly 60-odd students. And the January weather made it quite chilly, and a lot of us being used to the Madras weather, were caught out. On the train journey to Bangalore, a funny incident involving Rajesh took place. A day journey starting quite early in the morning, there were a lot of people with very droopy eyes. Some called it headache and the others, simply sleeplessness. One of the girls from the junior batch suspected headache, popped a pill, and was offered the geography teacher, Chamundeshwari�s lap to sleep on. Seeing this, Rajesh claimed headache too, and looked askance at another teacher in the same cabin for the same treatment. Whether he did it out of sheer jest, or really meant it, nobody knows. But one wouldn�t put it beyond Rajesh to have meant it! The Kodaikanal was at the time, an absurdly expensive trip, though it easily made up the numbers. Nothing extraordinary stands out of the trip, though if photographs were retrieved, one could be able to recount some incidents. Something that characterized all these overnight train trips was the havoc wreaked on the sleeping passengers. Some poor passengers were unfortunate enough to be in the same compartment as we were, and with some inebriated souls, pranks were bound to be played out, irrespective of if the person was known to them or not. The prank of applying toothpaste on a sleeping person�s hair was the commonest, and the results were comic enough to be worth a laugh. A senior complement of teachers accompanied us on the trip, needless to say at our collective expense! There was a lot of talk about how the high cost of the trip could have been the result of the teachers pricing in their expenses! Conspiracies abounded, got out of hand, and finally the vice-principal was forced to take an unprecendented and embarrassing step of reimbursing the students fifty bucks! Nobody complained about how that resulted, and if the teachers were guilty of wrong-doing in the first place. Most were happy to be handed a fistful of pocket-money! To their credit, the teachers vowed never to take us out on such trips ever again � well, they stood by their promise, atleast for the time we were there! A word of appreciation is due, however. The logistical nightmare of managing a crowd like that is unimaginable, and they managed it time and time again with reasonable panache.

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