The �Farewell� party

This was a practice that had the ninth standard students coming together to put on a show for the tenth standard students. No one has ever asked how that constituted a send-off party because the same clowns would be present at the beginning of the next year, if anything under a concrete roof, while we sweated it out under the thatch!

In any case, this was a big event while we were in the ninth standard with preparation running into weeks. The whole class got together to practice a song �That�s what friends are for.� To be frank, there wasn�t too much interaction between the two batches for us to be singing that song at all! Karthik and Sujatha performed dances that they were fairly good exponents at. Karthik, a break dance, Suja bharathanaatiyam. For some reason, Karthik seemed to having starting trouble (likely because the music player wasn�t doing its bit!) and the fury at the frustration was clear for all to see. He succeeded in getting all the motions together, though one distinctly remembers that he lost a shoe during the dance!
Suja came all dressed up for it � she would have spent hours donning that costume. Her performance went without a hitch. The event that came before the song was a speech by Abdul in spoonerized English that was translated for the commoners who didn�t speak that tongue, by Rakhal. It was Rakhal�s idea, and he did a good job of comprehending the mumbo-jumbo for the benefit of the others.
Mementos were handed out, and those who purchased it somehow saw it fit that the item should not be of a common theme, or even the same item. That led to a comic situations like guys getting brooches and girls something that they would have to hand over to their brothers for it to be of any use! And of course, there was there was a lot of junk food at the end of it. The cost per head was something like Rs.50. There was no payback. Cruelly, the practice was discontinued when we got to the tenth, which brings to mind a Murphy�s law gem:
When it gets to be your turn, they change the rules.

This is the song we snag at the fag end of the event.

That's What friends are for
---------------------------
And I never thought I'd feel this way,
And as far as I'm concerned
I'm glad I got the chance to say
that I do believe I love you.
And if I should ever go away,
Well then close eyes
And try to feel the way we do today


And then if you can remember,
Keep smiling, keep shining
Knowing you can always count on me for sure,
That's what friends are for.
For good times and bad times
I'll be on your side for ever more
That's what friends are for.


And I never thought I'd feel this way
Well, you came and opened me
And now there is so much more I see
And so by the way I thank you.
And then for the times when we're apart
Well then close your eyes
And know these words are coming from my heart


And then if you can remember,
Keep smiling, keep shining
Knowing you can always count on me for sure,
That's what friends are for.
For good times and bad times
I'll be on your side for ever more
That's what friends are for.


Keep smiling, keep shining
Knowing you can always count on me for sure,
That's what friends are for.
For good times and bad times
I'll be on your side for ever more
That's what friends are for.

Sports

This was an area that was keenly watched and followed by most people in the school There was certainly high visibility for sports events as the size of the school made it very much in-your-face! The cricket team got a lot of attention, thanks to the untiring efforts and enthusiasm of Paul Raj. The way he encouraged players even when they were under-performing says a lot for his humane approach.
Paul Raj went out of his way to get the school cricket team a coach. That alone drew a lot of interest, though the coach was a bit of a muff! His name was Iqbal, and we used to call him Egg-balls or something of the kind. Paul Raj instituted awards for good performers, rewarding them with goodies if they performed well on the field. These were generally given out during the morning assembly, and any wins for the school was also announced. He never showed displeasure in a bad way, and was in a way responsible for a lethargic bunch to get motivated.
During his time, the school teams were formed for volleyball, cricket, tennis, table tennis, basketball and football.
The football team, though, was a disaster bar none! The organizers of one particular tournament specified the dimension of players who could be sent for the tournament! And they did not enforce it. There were a lot of schools who knew of this. Paul Raj, played to the book. Players could not get selected to the team in any or all of following three ways � if they were over a certain age, if they were over a certain weight, and if they were over a certain height! There was a flurry of activity around measurement scales the evening prior to the first match! The team hadn�t yet been selected and they also had to practice! It was a heavily overcast evening and the light was fading fast. By the dint of their performance that late September evening, players were assigned places on the field. Davis got the coveted goal-tender spot. Everything went fine, and the guys even got a shot at practicing before the game. Come the game, and everyone took to the field. Davis went to the goalpost. The memorable comment �Hey, the goalpost is soooo big?� was uttered in complete bewilderment as the enormity of the task was sinking in! In fact one of his goalie kicks went straight over his head, and all that an opposing striker had to do was to tap the ball in. The game was lost 20-0 or something as horrific as that. And that was the last game the football team played that year, or any other year after that!
The volleyball team, on the other hand, had a lot more success than any other sports team. There was a level of commitment that seemed to stem from the manageability of size of the playing arena, and the motivation level among the players. Vijay and Satish M stood out in those teams. The team played in a whole host of tournaments, such as the APSC and the annual tournament in Asan Memorial school. In Asan, after progressing to the quarter-finals, we lost to a Deaf and Dumb school, whose players inexplicably played a better game depite being short, seeming weak, and without a vocal mode of communication. It was an amazing spectacle.
The Table tennis table at the far end of the thatched classrooms was one well used facility. Almost overnight, a lot of people wielding paddles landed up, and there was a lot of experimenting for a lot of students who were playing the game for the first time. The Chinese pen-grip was the weirdest thing that sprung up. To this day, a lot of them still play with that grip! The round-toss was also instituted during this time, involving some 20-odd players in a single toss running around the table to determine who would earn themselves a place in the last four, a chance to play in a game of doubles. Often, the duration of the round-toss would far exceed the time taken to play the ensuing game of doubles! But it was the only way a sense of fairness and participation was instilled among the hordes that gathered there.

The volleyball court, in addition to serving as the throw ball arena, also converted itself into the badminton court. The badminton for the annual sports was held here, and took place irrespective of the strength of the wind blowing by. Again, in this we had a fairly successful record, though it was under Raja, a very un-PT master-like PT master! During one particular inter-school tournament, Rajesh, Abdul and Karthik, worked hard to exorcise the specter of a towering Madras No.4 player called Prajoth. They were granted access and equipment to a rich junior�s private badminton facility! The success at the tournament (though little) was derived from the angst at breaking five high quality badminton rackets belonging to the benefactor. They never showed up there again!

The school conducted its annual sports meet at either Rajaratnam Stadium or the University Union grounds. It was a very big event as far as the participative element was concerned. Even if one didn�t take part in the sundry sports events, one�s leg had to do the mulework of marching for what seemed like donkey�s years � it was a rigmarole without end. The drill would start more than a month before sports day, and would even cut into the sanctimonious class hours that the teachers otherwise vowed to protect tooth and nail!

The events well conducted from a logistical perspective with the longer the time-consuming events such as cricket, volleyball, throwball, table tennis, etc., being conducted a lot earlier. The athletic heats were held a day before the finals which was held on the sports day itself. The �glitterati�, which included the assortment of friends of the principal, the vice-principal and a few influential teachers, were treated to the various final events such as the 100m sprints, relay race, etc. This was of course, after the last march (unto the grave) was performed by the whole school to the tune of "saarey Jahan se Accha." The vast majority of the junta, tired from the days (and months) of marching, sitting on the dark and dirty soil around the grounds, kept up the tempo of clapping and cheering fuelled in part by the ice-cream from mobile vendors nearby and an earnest hope to see their housemates crowned in glory. Alakananda dominated the sports events for the last four years of our tenure in Chinmaya, thanks largely to a random allotment of pupils to various houses. You were allotted a house when you joined the school and you largely carried that flag to your grave, or crematorium as the case maybe!

Parent-Teacher Meetings

Every year as the gulmohar tree sagged with the weight of its scarlet blossoms, as the tamarind tree heaved with the burden of its as yet unmolested fruit, so did the minds of the students. Once (or was it twice?) a year the devil may care attitude was severely tested � under the strain of the upcoming Parents Teachers Meeting. Of course no excuses could be concocted to skip this tradition. Student: "My father is out of town" Teacher "Bring your mother" Student "they're both out of town" Teacher "Bring your aunt" and so on. The day would be set, for the public executions of scores of students. Where parents would trudge in from as far away as Ambattur to as close as East Coast Apts. Only to be told what a waste of time and money their precious children were. The embarrassment was public � most of the teachers not being blessed with a soft voice. The rest had sarcasm that cut like new chalk on a blackboard . Privacy was just a farce of a concept. The report cards came out, and so did the conduct reports. Even the best of students were not spared. Their association with the lowly elements of the class was seen as severely damaging to their future prospects. Y�s parents were told X was to blame and vice versa. The parents left, their heads hung in shame and a look of "wait till you get home" to their kids. The students compared notes on who got the worst review from whom though most were amazingly similar.

The School Project

We supposedly learnt how to embroider, paint and make a table lamp out of ice cream sticks in something called Socially Useful and Productive Work. And actually could be held back in the same class for flunking the exam. What Social Usefulness or Productivity came out of bribing the nimble-fingered in your class to finish your work is still a mystery.

If these two periods a week tested the sanity of most students, the real trial by fire was during the Annual Project. An attempt at engaging the whole class structure in something beyond academics, it usually just resulted in less play time after school. The project was to be proudly displayed and explained to visitors at the Primary School. Certain teachers were responsible for certain topics. While the artsy ones like Eswaran and Nandini could make real life waterfalls, trees and grass from mustard seeds, the rest of us usually ended up creating something, which would, speaking very liberally, pass as "abstract." The curiosity for Science, History and Biology these Project Exhibitions were supposed to instill was just two days of sheer goofing off. A much deserved time off from the pressures of daily life. And convenienlty enough, the primary school had numerous areas -- the roof top, behind the building etc. where you could remain hidden from view. The mango and ice cream vendors also added a certain flavor.

The Peripherals and The Ponderables

The school didn�t function in a vacuum. As though the madness inside weren�t enough, there were several forces around it that influenced life inside. For a long time during our tenure in the senior school, we had to make do with a kutcha road that gave our white shoes an aesthetically beautiful tinge of rust. If you were to stretch your imagination just a bit, you could pass off a white trouser soiled in that mud to be the school uniform colour. That would be too much of a stretch one must guess! The place was low-lying, and when the retreating monsoons dumped their bounty in the last quarter of the year, one can only ponder whether the mud inside the school got browner!

The school was located in a schools neighborhood, though nobody gave that a thought save those commuting by public bus. It seemed quite improbable that no matter which direction your home was, the greater half of those present in the opposing bus stands would be at your side. And glory be to Murphy, they seem to want to board the same bus as you! And the frequency of the bus would be inversely proportional to the number of people wanting to board it. A zillion of us switched to bicycles to dodge around that problem. Unfair advantage if you consider that the mass of these people studied in what was considered lower-class schools.

Whether you rode a bicycle, walked or had someone pick you up, you had to go past the ubiquitous raw-mango and ezhanthapazham vendor! The economics and the concept of having these commodities in these locations was nothing short of brilliant and astute. These people (a father and son) preyed on a raging hungry stomach of students who had outrun their lunches on the field or had been out-eaten of their lunches by classmates (case in point - Bondey, and every time!). All it took was a few annas and some of the hunger would have been taken care of by the salivation caused by the anticipation of a morsel. While these two items were the mainstay, their entrepreneurial astuteness made sure that we also had seasonal favorites, like the watermelon and blackberries. But no matter what he served, it had to be consumed with the chilli powder and salt (kept mixed in a steel container that was seldom closed to ward off the elements.)If you shuddered at the thought of the contamination in the chilli powder, the knife they used to cut the mangoes should leave you petrified. And so should the swarm of flies around! The first cut with that black solvent imparting blade was considered part of the whole concept, and the more 'careful' ones among us would refuse to accept those black-stained pieces! While the prices of a normal serving was one-fifth that asked by the nearby ice-cream vendor for the cheapest of his products, one can be sure that they outsold the ice-creams by several multiples. Until the ice-cream guy got smart and lowered the quality of his offering - he switched to what was referred to as 'pepsi,' a colored and flavored water icicle that could be sucked out of a sheer plastic. While that was already sold inside the school during the breaks, it was seldom seen outside. Bear in mind that all these purchases of raw mango or 'pepsi' would not meet with the approval of any parent, and thus the playing around with a disposable pocket money of a few annas! These were sly purchases that surfaced only when you fell desperately ill!

Being in a school neighborhood, one also heard a lot of unsubstantiated stories of legendary characters in other schools. Or even the way of life there that made them look so alluring. The most commonly heard was that the girls in Sherwood Hall practiced volleyball in their under-garments! While it seemed ridiculous now, the hype built around the progressive-mindedness of that school lent itself to the credibility of this rumour! While the vast majority of them reacted with open mouths while the scene was described by the likes of Sanjay, there were the skeptical minority that chose to believe what they saw! The fact that this is always the other way around in real life shows you how topsy-turvy school life really was! The only way that we comforted ourselves in comparison to our progressive neighbors was that we figured we could cream them in any other sport! The only match we had, we lost! But by that time, people were more serious, thinking about boring things like "what now," or "where from here?" and the like. Sherwood Hall boasted of several good-looking and 'sophisticated' girls, and the fortunes of one Simone was followed with keen interest! Much was attributed to her foreign upbringing though nobody can vouch for the veracity of that information, or any other! She discarded boyfriends faster than a normal person changed their clothes, and one wouldn�t be surprised if there were a lot among us who would fantasize if Simone were to cast her eyes our way! Madras Christian College, our other neighbour, albeit humungous one in terms of size and student strength had fewer auras around it, though stories streamed about how strong their cricket team was. There certainly were no characters of the likes of Simone that one could recollect.