My Teachers: Part III

Days at the Hindu High School.....(see: http://www.hinduhighschool.com/)

Appa was to retire by 1965; Cheena had completed his VI Form at the High School for Boys and it was time for him to move to a College. Appa decided to move to Madras (as Mani and Chandra were already living there) after retirement; so he looked for shifting us to Madras for further studies. Cheena got admission at Vivekananda College for his PUC (pre-university Course) and I struggled...I could not get admission for quite sometime in Madras for the IX Standard...I should thank Papa Athan here...he knew someone in the Secretariat and through him he could get me a seat at the Hindu High School, Triplicane, a School with a lot of tradition. It was decided by Appa that I would stay in the Hind High School hostel till Appa moved to Madras.

Hindu High School was like a pigeon hole compared to the High School for Boys, Srirangam. The red colour and the arches reminded me of a Jail (similar to ones shown in some movies). There was no real playground, except for a small strip of land inside the school building complex which was always crowded and noisy. There was no choice...I had to continue. There was also a sort of a cultural shock...for a person coming from a village, small town to a big city...I felt that the other guys were looking down upon me...as if looking at a species from the stone age. Some of the students joining the school from other schools in Madras had a sort of "air" around them.

The hostel, an old rented house, was some distance away from the school; both the hostel and the school were located on BIG STREET; to go to the hostel one had to cross the PYCROFTS ROAD...it was a nightmare initially..but slowly I got used to the traffic of Madras. This hostel was a contrast to the Lakshmi Hostel, Srirangam. Here all of us were to sleep in a big hall and no one had privacy. Food, of course, was excellent. For the first time I ate "Seppankizhangu" curry here; it was delicious (at home, Seppangizhangu was used only for Avial). The avasara "urulai" curry (i.e. for those who come late after the main curry got exhausted) was fantastic.

Coming to my teachers, I remember only a few....not their names...but their faces. We had quite a few "vaals" in our class; there was this guy who used to eat shaving blades every day...without a drop of blood in his mouth...he used to eat glass too...this was strange to me...this guy became a friend of mine..while others shunned him because of his image, I did not feel the necessity to keep him away. I remember one incident, when he wanted to teach the maths teacher a lesson...this maths teacher used to give us sums to work and used to go to sleep, sitting on the chair and leaning on the black board. On that day, the teacher went to sleep, as usual, after giving us some sums...my friend went behind him and drew a big circle on the board with the chalk (big enough to encircle the tuft of the teacher)..the teacher as usual started leaning on the board. When he woke up and moved around the class, there was smile on each ones face....there was a big white circle around his tuft, transferred from the black board (image transfer technology at work!!!). On some other occasion, the same friend wanted to teach the "sleeping teacher" a lesson...he smoothly went out of the class, took the teacher's "Cheruppus" and threw them on two different directions....at the end of the class we all had smiles again to see the teacher moving here and there in search of his "cheruppus".

One of the first friends I had at the Hindu High School was Kannappan...his father, TK Bhagavathi, was a great actor and they were running the famous drama troupe, TKS Brothers. Kannappan also joined the Hindu High School in 1964 and we were together for a month or so till our sections were announced. At that time Kannappan was acting in dramas like "Appavin Asai". Kamala Hasan was also acting in this drama ( I suppose)..through Kannappan I happened to "see" Kamala Hasan once or twice in the school - Kamal was in the sixth or seventh standard at the time. I am sure Kannappan is doing well...even at that age Kannapan had shown that he could be a good leader..well poised and good mannered.

Hindi was a compulsory subject for us...one had to attend the examination...but need not pass. I had "Seruppadi" Mahadevan as my teacher for Hindi. A good Hindi teacher...he had some affection for me because he was "sharing" my "native place" was Kallidaikurichi....but I did not have any inclination for studying Hindi...probably I did not deserve his attention. There was a student in my class..who had already passed "Praveen" which was (that is what he told us) equivalent to MA in Hindi...this fellow used to put almost all the Hindi teachers on the mat....

"Pillayar" was my tamil teacher in XI standard....he too had a liking for me. Both of used to travel from T.Nagar to Triplicane and back by Bus No. 11 every day (after we moved to West Mambalam in 1965) ; I always used to give my seat to him if he did not get one...a pot bellied, tufted, short, black, heavy old man...and he used to appreciate that...(this was before he became my Tamil teacher). In the XI standard he was "thrilled" with my knowledge of tamil, so much so that he had asked me to correct all the Tamil answer papers for the half yearly and pre-final papers...for the entire school !!! I used to go to his house at West Mambalam and spend time correcting the papers...I enjoyed the recognition given ....without realizing that I was wasting my time....I also had to write my Board exams that year!!!!

In X and XI, Balaswaminthan, Eugene and I used to sit in the same bench..Bala's father, Vepathur Kittu, had just penned the dialogues for "Motor Sundaram Pillai", a Gemini Studio Production. Every day we used to get tit-bits about what Ravichanran did or Jai Shankar did etc. from Bala. He had taken me to his home at Royapetah many times and we became good friends. Even today we have contacts...even though we do not meet often.

Our Maths teacher, Shri Sundaram Iyer (I think I am right...) was fantastic...I was also taught by "Nadkarni" (I don't know his name...he looked like Cricketer Nadkarni and so all in the school knew him as Nadkarni)...this teacher was supposed to be a mathematical genius. I heard a story that when Sakunthala Devi visited the Hindu High School, she took more time to answer Nadkarni than any other teacher...so everyone said that he was a genius...giving tough time to Sakunathala Devi!!! (such stories abound in each school...I don't know how far these are true). Of course no one can forget Shri T.S. Rajagopalan, whose book on composite mathematics for X and XI standards was a bible..he was the Head Master during those days. I should be proud to state that Rt. Honrourable Srinivasa Sastry was also a Head Master of this School. Nobel Laureate S. Chandrasekhar was a student of the Hindu High School between 1922 and 1925.

Hindu High School, had a decent laboratory for science experiments and was stocked with quite a lot of biological species, preserved in formalin. I remember our teacher pouring concentrated acid on woodfloor and make it catch fire...or making a toy ship to move with the steam produced by a candle etc...they were enthusiastic showing us experiments...I think the name of my Science teacher was Narasimhan...Seshan was another science teacher...

Mani and Manni were living at 3, Ramaswamy Maistry Street, Triplicane, in a small portion of the house with two small rooms, hall and a kitchen. This was OK for them when they were living as young couple. By the end of the academic year 1964-65 (around Jan/Feb 1965), I contracted "TB Glands" in my hip joint leading to unbearable pain. Dr. R.I. Srinivasan, Orthopaedic Surgeon, advised me complete bed rest and regular injection of Streptomycin and Pencillin for three months. My right leg was plastered and tied to the bed. My Appa, the great human being I have seen, took all the pains to see me clean every day, including cleaning the toilet pan, cleaning the "shit" from me etc. I have not seen such a soul devoted to service so far....I take this opportunity to thank my appa for what all he did for me...he never felt awkward cleaning me every day or for forcing the enema pill through my anus / colon to remove the faeces. While I was in bed many things happened around....Hindi agitation was started by the DMK in Jan/Feb 1965, with more and more students joining the agitation it had assumed unimaginable dimensions; many students got killed, schools and colleges were closed...Dhinathanthi and Malai Murasu had their field days....people used to wait for them for the "hot" news...I did not lose any lesson thanks to the agitation. There were no examinations at the end of the academic year...I was saved and promoted to the X Standard.

While I was still in bed, 3, Ramaswamy Maistry Street house had become over crowded; a house meant for two was occupied by six, including my grandmother (Vepachi Patti). and essential luggage ...and one room was exclusively given to me...the house was, indeed, in a mess. This had created, in my opinion, a lot of stress in Amma. She was used to big bangalows ten times bigger than the portion we lived in 1965...the bathroom was outside our portion...for her it was, perhaps, difficult to pull on .....then came the news that the marriages of Rukku and Lakshmi were fixed and would be taking place at Didigul on the same date. While Srinivasa Chithappa and Chithi were to give Kanyadhanam of Rukku, Amma and Appa were to give the Kanyadhanam of Lakshmi. Appa requested Ramakrishna Chithappa for taking care of Patti for a short while....there was no response....the day for starting for Didigul arrived...but Ramakrishna Chithappa or Radhakrishna Chithappa did not arrive....Amma blurted out something at Patti which she should not have....probably the stress was telling on her...I loved my Patti...she loved me as much too...I could not stand the tears coming out of Patti's eyes....I was also crying within me....For me Patti was an epitome of patience...Appa probably had imbibed some of her qualities...the months following this incident were the worst in life I had seen...even though personally I did not get affected. I also saw how Appa handled the situation, almost like removing a cloth entangled in a thorny plant carefully without any damage...he was at his best at the worst of the situations.

By 1965 end we moved to 21, Kuppiah Chetty Street, West Mambalam...a big house stretching between Kuppiah Chetty Street and Lake View Road, with a little open land at the rear. This was an old house belonging to Duraiswamy Iyer, Appa's Chithappa (not direct).....The surrounding was dirty...the first thing one used to see was a child easing itself on the open ...there was this open drain on the side of the street which was used by one and all in the street as an open lavotary...and the stench....the less said the better. Initially it was a shock...but later I got used to it. I can write a book on neighbours and friends and good/bad/ugly experiences ...at 21 Kuppliah Chetty Street.

Appa used to give me about Rs.25 every month for my bus fare and Lunch.......I had visited almost all the restaurants around the Hindu High School - Sarathy Canteen, Murali's Cafe, Ratna Cafe etc. With quarter of an ana I could get Idli-vada and Coffee (somehow taking coffee became a prestige issue....just taking Idli Vada and leaving the restaurant looked indecent...I don't know why?). Sarathy Canteen was the preferred eatery...because it was CHEAP and I could save some money by the end of the month....that savings allowed me to visit Nathan's (T. Nagar) whenever I felt hungry while returning home. I NEVER exceeded the budget.

In 1966, Vepachi patti died...Krishnaswamy Thatha and Sundarambal patti came home to stay with us for a few months, Sringeri Swamigal Abhinava Vidyathirthar visited our home, Appa conducted a Pada Pujai for him, and by the first quarter of 1967, the time had come for me to leave the Hindu High School....for Higher Studies again.