MEMORIES OF SCHOOL DAYS

 

 MEMORIES OF MY DAYS AT ST. EDMUND’S SCHOOL

 

Nestled among the hills, ours was an Irish Christian Missionary School. It was founded by Edmund Ignatius Rice, a great missionary and educationist. The story goes that he belonged to a family of tenants who were into farming. When tragedy struck, and his wife died, he was left alone to care for his daughter with special needs. He sold his elegant house, moved into a stable, and opened his first school. Today, about 800 Christian Brothers in 28 countries run prestigious Edmund Rice educational institutions and follow in his footsteps.

 

St. Edmunds School had colossal buildings built by the Irish Brothers amidst picturesque settings. The school had three large play fields. It also had a very tranquil and very quaint chapel. Prayers were offered here in the serene atmosphere. The classrooms were spacious, roomy, and airy, with a giant blackboard in front. An intercom was fixed in the top corner of each class, through which our Principal Br. Simon Coelho communicated with us from his office.

 

 The classrooms had well-built desks with solid, stout chairs. The school library was well stocked with books, magazines, novels, storybooks, comics, and periodicals. We had our fill of the Louis L’Amours, Hardy Boys, Secret Seven, Famous Five, The A-Team, and many other storybooks and novels here. Our library teacher was a dainty Anglo-Indian woman who generally kept to herself in a corner and let the boys read in peace.

 

 The school also had a large auditorium with a huge seating capacity. All our school functions and plays were staged here. The computer room had desktops, and two students shared one computer. We had a very enthusiastic and passionate teacher, given that computer education was nascent. Our school had long, winding corridors. We had a canteen and a Tuck Shop in our school. A mother-son duo ran the canteen while a Marwari lady ran the Tuck shop. The canteen was right next to the St. Edmunds College. We ate tasty momos, aloo chops, and puris at the canteen. At the Tuck Shop, we would generally get packaged stuff and beverages.

 

Now, I would like to tell you about our school uniform. As all Edmundians know, it consists of grey trousers, a white shirt, a yellow and green tie, dark green blazers and sweaters, green socks, and black shoes. My love for the colour green has remained with me to this day.

 

Every morning was the time for our daily ritual- the morning assembly.  The Principal Brother Coelho conducted it through the intercom. The most dreaded part of the assembly was the surprise inspections, which he would announce each morning. And if it were our class's turn, we would all step outside the classroom and stand against the wall. We would be busy, frantically polishing our shoes and nails at the last minute. The boots were rubbed on the back of our trousers to give them a shine, but nothing much could be done about the nails or hair. Brother would then come and inspect each boy turn by turn. The rule was that the hair length should not touch the shirt collar. And many a boy was often sent home to get a haircut or for unkempt nails and unpolished shoes.

 

My classmates were a joyful, exuberant, and innocent band of boys. Though we were sometimes delinquent, we forged a close bond with each other. We were each other's confidants and poured our hearts into each other. No one ever ratted on another. It was a time of discovery and learning; we were all sailing in the same boat.

 

Now let me tell you about the main cast of characters in my final years in our school that have stood the test of time. Let me begin by Br. Simon Coelho was a stickler for discipline and rules. He was an authoritarian, probably because he was also the principal. He doubled up as our maths teacher. He was honest, straightforward, and a wizard at maths. His office had a vast canes collection, which he didn’t hesitate to use on errant boys. Those were the days when capital punishment was not banned. He would call the unruly boys down to his office and cane them either in the hands or the bum. Though he was strict, we all feared but loved, respected, and looked up to him.

 

 Then came Br. Eric D’Souza, who was artistry personified. He was a brilliant and gifted educator who was a precious guide to his students. He had talents, taught literature, maths, music, and dramatics and coached the football team. He even authored a computer textbook, which was a rage amongst the students at that time because of its exciting and straightforward explanations of the Basic computer language. 

 

Of course, our class teacher, Mrs Trevor, was a good-natured and approachable human being with a great love for language. She taught us English literature. She was always delightful, the epitome of calm and grace.

 

 How can we forget Silly Billy? One of the Christian brothers gave him this name. Silly Billy was a chubby but genuine and generous man with a big-toothed grin. He was always smiling from ear to ear and had a permanent smirk plastered on his face. His primary duty was ringing the school bell, though he helped in other activities.

 

 And then we had the forever jester, Mr. Lama, our PT teacher. He was always cracking jokes and had funny stories to tell us. He used to carry a whistle around his neck and kept a thin cane in his hands, which he cracked on our bums. He prepared us for the annual Sports Day amidst much joy and enjoyment.

 

 The honest and upright Mr. Middlecot taught us geography. He took extra classes to help students out. His wife, Mrs Middlecot, was also a teacher in our school and taught us at the primary level. The couple was well-loved in our school.

 

The elderly Br. Gomes was a constant feature in our school. He took classes occasionally, and his speciality was Chemistry. He also helped out in other matters in the school and acted as the elderly guide and counsel.

 

Our Hindi teacher, Mr. Jain, sincerely tried to teach us the subject, but we took his classes very lightly. Mr Jain never lost his cool with his students, though. He was always full of patience, love, and understanding.

 

Our school annually held Creation Week, during which boys participated in dramatics, dumb charades, storytelling, poetry, creative writing, plays, debates, arts and crafts, science projects, and music. It was the most fun week of the entire academic year.

 

 Then we had our annual Sports Day. All the boys were divided into four houses, each vying with the other for medals. We would participate in march-pasts, and a Gorkha band would perform on the day. There were also the PT and athletic events that we would join in. Class ten students from our town's two prestigious girls’ schools, Loreto Convent and Pine Mount, would be invited to our annual Sports Day and Concert Night, which generally fell on the last day of Creation Week.

 

Did I mention the unique grading system in our school? There were four classifications. We had four colour cards: white, blue, pink, and yellow. The exceptional students were given white cards and blue and pink cards. The failures were handed yellow cards. This system of grading was prevalent in my primary and middle classes.

 

And like all, we had our share of back-benchers and the nerds. Amazingly, all our quiet back-benchers have made a mark mostly in creative pursuits. Today, some are well-known authors, artists, teachers, you name it! And the nerds? Well, they used to have their noses buried in books while we frolicked. Today, they are rocking in gratifying professions overseas while we are grinding it out.

 

 The quotes from our school English play Julius Ceasar ring in my ears: till today,  ”Education is the teacher of all things” and “I came, I saw, I conquered”. The curtains have long touched my school life, but the memories are as fresh as ever. Thank you, St. Edmunds School; we are forever indebted to you for turning us from gawky young kids to where we are today. You showed us the true meaning of “Facta Non-Verba”.  The values you instilled in us are reflected in every Edmundian, wherever he may be. The lines from our school anthem still vibrate in my ears: “SEC for St. Edmunds, Leaders in every field, Cheer, cheer, cheer for St. Edmunds, Heroes who never yield, Proudly flies our flags boys, Gold maroon and Green, Cheer, cheer, cheer for St. Edmunds Boys, Cheer for SEC.” May the flag of our alma mater always fly high.