Gour Basu
Ashim Sen
Valmiki Mehta
Prabhat Raman
Brij Raj Verma, Class of 1979
Hans Raj Verma, IAS, Class of 1981
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Stand up on the bench
The favourite punishment of our teachers. I remember one day when every one of us stood on the bench because none knew the "Subject" for 'Thank you'.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
The Alma Mater-What gave it its soul!
Letter from Pijush Das,
What was in that precious Mater that strikes a resonant cord in every heart!What gave it soul and life and makes everyone of us travel back in time to revist those breathless moments!
For its not the years you live that count but the moments that your breath has been taken away.Those moments in that august Mater were some of our most breathless moments!
Across ages(1966 to 2000 and beyond) people are bonding together connected by that single thread!
Was it the teachers,the students or the parents!For in its fledgling years no one would have given it any chance in presence of the mighty Timpany,St.Aloysius or the two Girls convents!(they were iconic)
Yet it was the parents who gave breath and substance to this great mater.Starting from the Navy Chief(in Vizag) to the Mandarins in BHPV and Railways- they all voted for the Mater.They put in their impressionable but bright kids into the hands of raw but mature Principal- Mr Princeswar Rao(as Revati put it).He was not found wanting.(Princi confided to me the other day that KV Malkapuram holds a special place in his heart because it was the first school he was heading)
Everyone of teachers,Raju(he will forever be my favorite), ASPRO, Someswara Rao, Madhukar, Varadan,
What was in that precious Mater that strikes a resonant cord in every heart!What gave it soul and life and makes everyone of us travel back in time to revist those breathless moments!
For its not the years you live that count but the moments that your breath has been taken away.Those moments in that august Mater were some of our most breathless moments!
Across ages(1966 to 2000 and beyond) people are bonding together connected by that single thread!
Was it the teachers,the students or the parents!For in its fledgling years no one would have given it any chance in presence of the mighty Timpany,St.Aloysius or the two Girls convents!(they were iconic)
Yet it was the parents who gave breath and substance to this great mater.Starting from the Navy Chief(in Vizag) to the Mandarins in BHPV and Railways- they all voted for the Mater.They put in their impressionable but bright kids into the hands of raw but mature Principal- Mr Princeswar Rao(as Revati put it).He was not found wanting.(Princi confided to me the other day that KV Malkapuram holds a special place in his heart because it was the first school he was heading)
Everyone of teachers,Raju(he will forever be my favorite), ASPRO, Someswara Rao, Madhukar, Varadan,
There were kids from all walks of life-from all ranks,rich and poor,from all religions but no neither the teacher,nor the kids ever bothered about rank or lucre or religion!.What counted was your own merit-that is all that mattered-either on the sports arena or in the academics or in the cultural arena.Long before anyone heard of the seven intelligences(motor abilty,linguistics etc etc)the school under Princi had already imbibed those distilled knowledge. So my friends lets hear your own story of what gave this Mater its soul!Rgds Pijush |
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Memories of teachers - from students' reminisences in letters
Viswanath Sharma: Class of 1973. New Zealand: from a letter dated 29 August to the forum:
It is the people, they say, that makes the place, and I too wish to share some of my recollections of people who have influenced me, and have made my growing years memorable.
One of my favourite teachers was Sri Madhukar Konamthambige (Hindi), despite the fact that I was arguably the worst student in the class when it came to understanding the nuances of Hindi literature. As Pijush notes, he was much more than a teacher; he was a "marg -darshak", and taught me what he believed was important in life. A widely read but simple man, he believed that true happiness came by keeping life simple - a lesson that resonated with me as a child, but one I sometimes forget in adulthood. I met him once in Goa, after I had finished my university education, and we had a quiet chat about old times. I would love to contact him, if anyone can provide his contact details, I would be much obliged.
Sri Kompella Someswara Sarma (English) , taught me simplicity but of a different sort : that the beauty of the English language lies in the simplicity of its form. "Try writing an essay" he once instructed "without using a single adjective. A noun should be able to stand on its own, it does not need an adjective for a crutch!" Many of today's journalists and writers, who confuse long words for literature, and cliches for classiness, would have benefited from his advice. And of course I agree with what many have written about Sri Mandeswara Rao - a very dignified man who had the unusual ability of being able to teach Maths as well as Literary criticism with equal ease. And I am grateful for all my science and maths teachers, for teaching me to think logically and who fed my questioning mind.
It is the people, they say, that makes the place, and I too wish to share some of my recollections of people who have influenced me, and have made my growing years memorable.
One of my favourite teachers was Sri Madhukar Konamthambige (Hindi), despite the fact that I was arguably the worst student in the class when it came to understanding the nuances of Hindi literature. As Pijush notes, he was much more than a teacher; he was a "marg -darshak", and taught me what he believed was important in life. A widely read but simple man, he believed that true happiness came by keeping life simple - a lesson that resonated with me as a child, but one I sometimes forget in adulthood. I met him once in Goa, after I had finished my university education, and we had a quiet chat about old times. I would love to contact him, if anyone can provide his contact details, I would be much obliged.
Sri Kompella Someswara Sarma (English) , taught me simplicity but of a different sort : that the beauty of the English language lies in the simplicity of its form. "Try writing an essay" he once instructed "without using a single adjective. A noun should be able to stand on its own, it does not need an adjective for a crutch!" Many of today's journalists and writers, who confuse long words for literature, and cliches for classiness, would have benefited from his advice. And of course I agree with what many have written about Sri Mandeswara Rao - a very dignified man who had the unusual ability of being able to teach Maths as well as Literary criticism with equal ease. And I am grateful for all my science and maths teachers, for teaching me to think logically and who fed my questioning mind.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Who made whom?
Who Made whom!The teachers made the students or did the students make the teachers!
I would say a bit of both!The accepted view would be that"the teachers made the students"
But I strongly believe that the group of students that congregated in those magic years were some of the best-the very best.It was unique melting pot!Children are to some extent replicas of the parents and we had a multi-lingual,multi-religious and multi-ethnic group that could not have been be replicated ever!I learnt from my class mates as much as I learnt from my teacher.No one could give me a lesson on Himachal Pradesh,than Ramesh Chand Dayal who was from those parts.About Naval ships-could anyone have given me a better lesson than my class mates-not even my teachers.
So friends my verdict is both made each other.It was exciting and magic!
-------------------------
Pijush Das
I would say a bit of both!The accepted view would be that"the teachers made the students"
But I strongly believe that the group of students that congregated in those magic years were some of the best-the very best.It was unique melting pot!Children are to some extent replicas of the parents and we had a multi-lingual,multi-religious and multi-ethnic group that could not have been be replicated ever!I learnt from my class mates as much as I learnt from my teacher.No one could give me a lesson on Himachal Pradesh,than Ramesh Chand Dayal who was from those parts.About Naval ships-could anyone have given me a better lesson than my class mates-not even my teachers.
So friends my verdict is both made each other.It was exciting and magic!
-------------------------
Pijush Das
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
People I remember
Each of us can remember our classmates, seniors and juniors - some of them were outstanding - in the play grounds, some academically. Do you have anything to share about special people that you knew at school?
Our teachers MADE us
There is no doubt or disagreement about this. Comment on this topic and let us have a discussion!
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