Part I: Pettavaithalai Days..
Today (16 August 2007) Maya started her blogging....she saluted three of her teachers including me. I thought I should salute my teachers who shaped me and helped me to face life.
My first memories of a teacher go to Shri Swaminatha Pillai. It was the year 1959; I was in the third standard in the great Pattavaithalai Higher Elementary School, in Pettavaithalai, a small village in Tiruchi district. Cheena (my brother) was in Standard VI and was travelling to Kulithalai for his HIGHER (!!!) education. Appa wanted someone to tutor both of us and there entered Shri Swaminatha Pillai. A dark, middle sized, old (above 60, claiming to be less than 60) gentleman with Veshti (thattu veshti) and thundu to cover his chest, he always sported Vibhudi on his forehead and carried an umbrella. He used to be punctual at about 06.30 hrs every day (except Sunday); our lessons always started with "VAKKUNDAM" - a prayer to Lord Ganesha, followed by a few prayers to Goddess Saraswathi and Lord Muruga. Cheena had a nice time ...because Shri Pillai told Appa that he was good for tutoring students up to class 5; so his tuitions were confined to his sitting and studying (on his own !!) and in effect I was the sole student of Shri Pillai for three years. He used to make me study and go for a quick nap....catching up with what he lost during the previous night. Once he recommended to Appa to change my section because the teacher was a Parayan (an untouchable); the section he recommended was taught by a Pallan (another untouchable)...for him Pallan was better than a Parayan. For me it did not make any sense...both were good teachers...the society had labelled them...that did not take their competence into account. I was lucky; from my childhood I did not care about anyone's religion, caste or creed....probably I have my Appa's qualities imbibed.
I am a great admirer of my Appa - I will write about him in a separate blog.
I cannot forget the Head Master of Pettavaithalai school. He used to call me to his office often and ask me to recommend to Appa someone or the other for appointment in the Sugar factory..When the Head Master called me first, I was hardly 7 years old and was terribly afraid of this Head Master. I was equally afraid of Appa. A catch 22 situation...how do I convey the message of the Head Master to Appa ? Appa used to come home very late in the evening and leave for the factory very early....(and my waking time at home was mutually exclusive to that of Appa). For a few days I dodged the Head Master, bluffing to him that Appa would tell me when someone could meet him...but the smart Head Master caught me one day and gave me an ultimatum..."tomorrow.....the boy will come to your Banglow". I was nervous...I had not spoken to Appa anytime on this...I did not want this guy to turn up at my place ..anytime....My wonderful, creative brain worked... I wrote a letter, "on behalf of Amma" (Amma did not know anything about this) to the Head Master asking "the boy" to meet the Labour Officer (in those days, Personnel Managers were called Labour officers), Hussain. I handed over the "letter" to the Head Master telling him that I wrote the letter as my mother dictated it as she did not know how to write. A couple of days passed...on the third day as Appa entered the house, as usual I was sleeping(!!), he was asking Amma about me. The next day morning, Amma was asking me, with a mischievous smile, about the mysterious letter that she dictated to me.....I was shivering..nervous...almost dead by the very thought of facing Appa in the evening. So before Appa came back home, I was "as usual" in the bed, covering head to foot with the blanket...As Appa entered the house, he was telling Amma, "the boy got the job"...I was relieved...at last "I am out of the Catch 22 situation". Next morning, after getting up (a little early) I went and sat on Appa's lap, knowing fully well that he would not thrash me, as if nothing had happened. Appa told me softly, "don't write anymore letters; otherwise there will be 100s outside our Banglow"....With a lot of "Asadu" on my face, I got down from Appa's lap and ran away from him ...before he could say anything more. At the end of this episode I was proud that I could get a JOB for an un-employed youth. Later in life, I learnt "If you try you may; if you don't you won't"). For quite a few years, I was teased by Hussain with this story....for me it was OK as far as I did not get a thrashing.
There was this teacher who was a Periyar follower...always making fun of Brahmins, teaching us Science and Maths. He formed many small teams of students, called ministries, headed by leaders called Ministers. We used to call this teacher Anna..I forgot his name. I was made the "Co-operative Minister". My task was to collect quarter of an Ana (presently equal to about 2 paise) from all the students of the class and invest the amount collected in buying notebooks, pencils, slates, balabams (I don't know the English equivalent of this), Kadalai mittai (Chikki), orange mittai etc. I, as the Minister, used to go to places that Anna asked me to go for buying these items at whole-sale prices. These items were "sold" to students at concessional prices (less than the prices at the Petty shop outside the school), while making some "profit". If I remember right, we made a profit of about a rupee or two by the end of the year; we bought sweets and distributed to all the students of the class with the profit...Now I don't remember as to what happened to the "Principal"...of course all the money was given to Anna (was he the Prime Minister ??).
How can I forget the Craft teacher ? He was a gem of a person and he had a soft corner for me. He taught us as to how to make small toys with clay; the source of clay was the small canal behind our school. Each one of us used to collect the clay from the canal (looking back will I do now...never, after seeing someone easing and cleaning himself a few feet away...those were the days when we were not corrupted by education...our relationships, with people and nature, were purely based on raw love and affection for one and all around), make small pots, rods, balls etc., dry and play (especially with small balls of clay for use in catapult, which we used to "bring down" tamarind fruits). He taught us as to how to get the fibre from "Kathazhai" (a cactus with meaty leaves), how to make ropes out of this fibre and how to make "mats" using this fibre thread and split Nanal (a tall grass). He taught us as to how to use Cigarette boxes to make toys, carry bags etc. He taught us fundamentals of drawing. He taught us how to make metal discs out of "Kali crush" lids (it was fun leaving these lids on the Railway line and wait till the train passed by to collect the discs); he also taught us to get some "grease" from the Railway engine driver for stopping the leaks from our ink pens. One of his contributions to my acquiring leadership (!!!) qualities was his teaching us the way of making "pee pee" (whistle) from coconut leaves. Aha!!! I became such an expert in making pee pees (even up to one foot) that there was always a crowd of young kids around me. This earned me the title "Pied Piper of Pettavaithalai" in some circles of my relatives - they were amused by the kid crowd around me admiring my skill for making the pee pee. My Craft Teacher was good to me and I was an admirer of him...till one day. I cannot forget that day...this teacher who was taking rest at the back of my class, suddently started shouting and running...there was froth in his mouth..people tried to hold him..he overpowered all of them and was running all over shouting something which I could not understand..this went on for about half an hour ...some one suggested to give him a key to hold...nothing worked. On his own he fell down...for me a young kid, it was a horror...I thought he was dead. He resumed duty after a couple of days...but I did not have guts to go near him or to see him eye-to-eye...I used to run away from him even at the slightest hint of his coming somewhere near. For a kid it was a confusing experience...someone said that he was possessed by a Pei (bad spirit). Who would go near a Pei???? The very thought of him would make me shiver..Later in life, when I came to know more about this condition, I was ashamed; probably I had hurt a good soul. I am sure he would forgive me...for he was always good.
My teachers at Pettavaithalai taught me to be a theist, to be God fearing, to be sensitive to social imbalances, to handle money (??), to work in teams, to handle pressure, to dirty one's hands to learn, to enjoy nature and to accept life as it flowers...as a kid, with the then curiosity and creative mind, I imbibed some of the good qualities of these teachers...may be these qualities are deep rooted even now. I take this opportunity to thank all the teachers at Pettavaithalai for sowing the seeds of my future personality. In these days of artificial relationships, those were the gems who gave their lives for their students, in spite of their own poverty and problems. My Salute to all of them.
I have been waiting for this day for five years..I bought the plant more than five years ago as a small leaf sticking out of soil from a street vendor...at that time I did not know what I was buying... except that I was buying a flowering plant. A visitor to our home told us that it was Brahma Kamal and it would flower only during the Ganesh Chaturthi. Last year I saw one flower ...but by the time I noticed it, it closed its petals...It flowered during the night and we missed an opportunity. This year I
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