More of Roots

While my sojourn at my elementary school was like a cool breeze  the entry into the new girls' high school was process of  'blow hot and blow cold'!

For one thing the segregation by colour code  was visible in the day to day activities of this school. Everything being equal  the class pupil leader was invariably the fair and lovely one and the squads within the class holding the name of great Indian heroines  Chandbibi,  Padmini,  Damayanthi and Razia had few leaders as gratis with no so fair complexion!!

The new school was overflowing  with plenty of rich and fair females waiting in the anvil to partake in  any sort of entertainment programme and the competition even among  them to participate was immense! Hence, we the not so fair and financially unwilling pariah  group, took a disappointing back seat and sometimes like the substitutes in the cricket  game rehearsed for the shows 'just in case' someone fell sick. Till the last moment we were in a perennial dilemma of  whether we are 'to be or not to be'!

This was in stark contrast to my elementary school where participation in  performances was taken for granted! And the teachers cared a hoot regarding refined costume code very precious to the nuns of the new school!

 However this sort of situation  had  its own advantages and took me in the other direction. In the early fifties the United Nations Organisation was in the nascent stage and the nuns wanted the students to know about this global peace movement. With this aim in mind  they wanted a large map for the school depicting all the 50 odd participating nations. While creating a map of desired size  is a child's play with today's  digital technology it was a Herculean task then.

The quality conscious nuns left no stone unturned once they decided to create one! With lot of engineering skill a world map was drawn on a white cloth as long as the hall and the member countries of UN were also sketched to perfection. The nuns involved an enthusiastic  group including me as their helpers.

 Since the member nations of the UN had to be distinguished, the big task of choosing colour threads of various combinations and varied stitches were discussed in detail . We the unskilled workers threaded the required colours  while the nuns ardently involved themselves into the labourious process of  hand embroidery!!  The names of the stitches they pronounced  bewildered me! Till that day I knew just the single stitch mother made for darning our torn clothes! Like the litany they recited every day by heart   cross stitch,  back stitch, herring bone stitch, feather stitch, arrow stitch, cable stitch, fern stitch, French knot, Danish knot and  knotted button hole  flew out of those nuns' nimble hands decorating and honouring each nation! Our  enthusiasm  knew no bound. If any VIP from the great UNO witnessed this mammoth work they would have definitely conferred the nuns with a special award!

With great fanfare the map was unfurled and fixed at a large wooden board. The competitions were many starting with identifying nations in the shortest possible time  by using a small stick and never ever touching the beautiful map! We also drew the flags of the member nations with colour pencils and enacted small skits on each nation creating their national attire with our limited resources! Our music teacher even composed a Tamil song elucidating  this ideologistic body and with great gusto and we sang it to our hearts' content. (I have produced part of the song in the Tamil blog) I immersed myself in these activities and winning one or two prizes multiplied my joy!

Being a catholic was a very difficult task in the assemblage of nuns  bent upon making a great saints of us! Every Friday evening it was mandatory for the catholic girls to go for confession to the nearby cathedral under the supervision  of a nun who put  the fear of hell rather than the love of God into our system. With a  longing to go back home once I told her that I don't have any sin for the week. She was taken aback by this statement. She gathered the whole herd and made me stand in the front and declared aloud "Here is a girl who says that she hasn't committed any sin in the week. What reward do you suggest can be given to her?"  No one opened their mouth lest this double edged sword holding lady would also take them to task !.

She looked around "So none of you have any suggestions for an award?'

The lady folded her hands and bowed her head turning toward me in mock reverence!

" Yes sister.."  It was indeed an unanimous chorus!!

" In that case I have a great idea. Let us go in to the altar of St. Joseph, the patron saint of our school, and remove his statue and in his place we will install our local saint."

The sarcastic comment with a lot of clapping from her and the subservient crowd made me hang my head down and from then on I decided to go into a mathematical table mode and replicated the same variety of sins to the priest in the weekly confession!!

 The high school system then had eleven standards called SSLC  when I appeared for the government exam. Unlike today where promotion from one class to the other is mandatory , the schools had the right to retain the  non performing students in the same class even for years together. And the nuns being nuns followed this rule to the word and might have  had a sadistic  pleasure  in the process!

The half yearly exam was the deciding factor for the SSLC students and the schools had the privilege to bar the students from appearing for the government exam . Since the nuns  wanted a great academic name for the school there was no hesitation to hold back the students  even if they had failed by a single mark in any one subject!!

After the Christmas and New Year festivity the somber event of meeting the headmistress on a one to one basis for the selection process began  as the school reopened. The alphabetical call started in right earnest and the girls who reentered the class had either with a scholarly smile or a sad cry. I was stressed.  Maths was my Achilles heel as was my dad's. The man would be happy if  he witnessed  pass mark in that subject in my report cards!  Now my worry was what if I had failed in the subject  the headmistress would not hesitate to hold me back. Appearing for October exam would be a shame.

Eventually it was my turn for the inevitable. Shivering inside out I stood before her  and evinced undue enthusiasm in wishing her Good morning.

"How have you done your math exam?" was her stern reply to my morning wish!

" Magie you are gone..' trumpeted my heart

"Sister I have done well sister......" Feeble was a word too feeble to say!

She looked into my eye and unsmilingly said" What are you planning ?"

"Sister I am going to do my teacher's training." And as an add on continued "I would love to serve my alma mater."

I thought it was a smart  enough  statement! The love for my alma mater would have soothed her enough to give me the required selection!!

"Go call your sister at once." commanded the lady in blue.

Now we go into another story. My elder sister after finishing her teacher's training  was teaching in my school.  But for my grandfather who hated girls education my sister with her great love for

 math would have easily gone to college. You see, genes differ within the family!!

She was engrossed in her math class when I signaled her to come out.

"Sister wants to see you."

She knew the selection process was on.

"Why is she calling me? Have you failed in math?"

I was on the verge of crying. I was shivering. I couldn't reply. I was gripping her hand tight.

"Good morning sister."

"Good morning  Josephine...... "

"Sister if she has failed in math  I would make sure that she doesn't fail in the public exam. I will definitely coach her well ..." A good defender indeed!

"She is ok with her maths......"

That solitary statement made life flow back unto me!!

"But your sister doesn't seem to have any ambition. She says she wants to do her secondary grade training! Make sure that she goes to college. Will you"?

"Yes sister...... I will talk to my parents in this regard.."

But I was disappointed. My sister who had done her teacher's training at Trichy had eulogised about the place and it's great Rock Fort so much that I wanted to go there. Added to that she seemed to have  enjoyed her week end stays at my maternal uncle house with the cousins, a lovable lot. And one more attraction was the long train journey from Kumbakonam to Trichy!

 If I were to go to college Kumbakonam possessed the famous 'Cambridge of South India' and I would not be able to step out of this ....... place.

To cut the long story short I was sent to college and am proud to say  I was the pioneer female graduate for my village and the community and with sacrifices of my parents and siblings became the first post graduate too!!

Often I thankfully think of the  stern lady in blue, Sr. Emerence, and my dear sister Josephine  for putting sense into my childish brain at the right moment!