FINAL DAYS AT SCHOOL
From Sampath’s Desk:
(THE KELLETT, TRIPLICANE, CHENNAI.5)
Mutual understanding along with endearment is a sine qua non for an enduring friendship between two persons. The depth and strength of friendship between two schoolmates/classmates are unique in that they are attracted towards each other like magnet and iron for no explicable reasons. That is the reality of friendship in childhood days. School offers a common roof for many years of togetherness underneath which children in their formative stages of life get a strong foundation for their academic career. School provides a rendezvous for children to interact almost daily with each other. Even relocations never deterred some from continuing their friendship.
SSLC (Standard XI) was the final lap of my school-life (THE KELLETT, Triplicane, Chennai) in 1969-1970 followed by Pre-University Course (P.U.C.) and under-graduation to be studied in college thereafter in those days. Compared to school, college life-span
is shorter. Whereas a schoolboy would be in the tender stages of his life during schooling,
a college student would be an adolescent, a somewhat informed and
enlightened guy.
Memories of those days are deeply etched in my mind and
do linger on even now especially the SSLC days. Even behind the exuberant
exultations as a student studying in the highest class of the school (about which all the SSLC students were boastful of) what
lurked my mind was that I was in the evening of my school-life and
soon I might have to bid adieu to the Alma Mater and friends. We owed a lot to
our revered teachers and school personnel for whom we had the highest respect
and regards, as we had the privilege of their advice, guidance, blessings, etc.
for years together. School, the bedrock of education coupled with your
conduct and character there actually gives a mould to your initial personality and
identity that is supposed to play a crucial role throughout your life.
The final days in school were exciting. In my final year, the undercurrents
in me turned so strong that month after month, week after week, and day after
day, I started feeling a little uncomfortable even as I excelled in my studies. For, I had to leave school forever, shortly. So, interactions between students multiplied. There was a
spurt in joint studies, group discussions, analytical assessments on all
subjects, helping one another in clearing doubts, etc. with never-before
increased frequencies. And when we entered the final month, it was a blend of both
eerie and euphoric sensibilities. The sense of imminent, inevitable, and
permanent separation from our school was palpable.
As the final month was shrinking day after day, I felt like losing something in
drips and drops as curtains were being drawn with each passing day.
During the final weeks, I started taking autographs (now they call it 'scrapbook') from our school
teachers as did the others. I broke down before my Mathematics master when I
went to him for the purpose. For, I had the highest respect and special regards
for him, as he was my Math master in two higher standards viz. IX and XI. True
to the saying, “A mediocre teacher just teaches, good teacher motivates, and excellent
teacher inspires. And a teacher’s real role is to mentor children”, he was one
of the most inspiring teachers in our school. Said he consoling me,
“No, young boy, you shouldn’t weep. We, the teachers, have launched you on a
perfect pitch from which you have to consolidate your further academic career and the real-life thereafter. All the best to you”! These words are even now reverberating in
my mind. His blessings augured well later in my life!
On the final day, the last two periods happened to be without teachers
as they were on leave with no substitutes posted, an occasion and opportunity on which we were ‘cock-a-hoop’, celebrating for having finished years of our schooling. We, the boys, converted the 'no-teacher-classes' into ‘free-for-everyone’ for shouting and yelling as we liked, taking advantage of our classroom’s
secluded location. We started showcasing our skills/talents like singing,
mimicry, mono-acting (like famous cine actors, VIPs, and our school
teachers) with laughter and rapture hitting a crescendo of excitement that
transported us into a wonderland of our own. We became so ecstatic and
boisterous that the din was audible even at a distance much to the discomfort
of those in other classrooms. On the instructions of the Headmaster, a
school staff member rushed to our classroom, chided us mouthful, and made us call it quits. What a fun way to end the schooling!
With a heavy heart, we quietly parted ways and dispersed on that memorable final day, never to re-assemble. I bade adieu to my school but not to the sweet and effervescent memories of school-life which I even now cherish. Yes, it was an edifying and empowering journey of years from the ‘unknown to the known’, a more joyous long innings at the burgeoning stages of my life.
R.SAMPATH
4/12/2018
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