Lessons learnt for lifetime from school
“D id you stand when the national anthem was being played,” asked our principal from the three of us in the classroom. It was Republic Day. The school festivities were in progress in the playground. Three of us were unwell and had permission to remain in the class. Now, he wanted to know whether we had stood up when the national anthem was being played. Fortunately, all three had stood up.
That incident became a defining moment in my mind, about what the school stood for. We must have respect for the national anthem, even when we are unwell. Since that incident 53 years ago, even when the national anthem is played on TV and I am alone at home, I stand up.
A school is simply a brick and mortar building with classrooms, blackboards and benches. However, this clutch of rooms and blackboards can become a great institution due to the attributes of its teachers and students.
Nestled in the heart of Dadar, Mumbai, is a school started in 1851 by Dr Antonio Da Silva and Reverend John Braz Fernandees. It has produced businessmen, doctors, politicians, scholars and professional managers.
In this institution, 200 of us commenced our academic odysseys in the year 1955. It is now 50 years since we passed out.
Years later at university, I met classmates who had studied in elite boarding and finishing schools, situated in mountains, valleys, amidst clouds, green forests and exotic flowers in Ooty, Dehradun, Panchgini, Scotland and Switzerland. I never envied them. I was secretly thrilled that I had studied in a school surrounded by markets, grocers and vendors.
The school has Ranade Road on one side, overflowing with vegetable vendors and grocery shops. On another side of the school is the Portuguese Church Street laden with hardware and carpentry shops. The markets kept us grounded to everyday realities. In front is a Hindu temple that houses a Christian cross. Next to it is a mosque. The school is the place where I learnt my first lesson in secularism.
The faculty of the school taught us English, Mathematics, Marathi, Hindi, etc. They also imparted us valuable lessons in discipline, hard work and integrity. Other teachers kindled our interests in craft, drawing, geography, history, etc.
We are united by the delectable memories of the days we spent in the school, like the library with over 20,000 books.
Then, of course, there was a large seven-acre playground where we practised football, cricket and hockey. Many lessons were learnt on the sports field. I remember Gabriel Fernandez counselling the classmates: “Never get frightened in football. You have to be aggressive and charge. Do not worry about falling or getting injured.” Truly, lessons for a lifetime.
At the annual sports day, the best athletes of the school would take part in a scintillating parade.
For the celebrations on Independence Day and Republic Day, we stood in neat rows, performing assorted drills, singing the national anthem with pride, then watching the awesome march pasts of the Road Safety Patrol, scouts and cubs, all dressed in their neat starched uniforms. Finally, we savoured the slices of plum cakes and hot coffee that were served in the canteen.
The 12 years of togetherness sped away punctuated with memories of rigorous studies and pranks. Another 50 years have rolled away with all of chasing careers, falling in and out of love till we got married and then looking after our children.
We have had our own shares of joys, sorrows, successes, failures, rejoicings and losses. Life, too, is a hard teacher. And we took our hard knocks outside the protective walls of our school and learnt to survive and sometimes succeed.
After all these 50 years, we stand united by our inspiring teachers and the values of the school, summarised as ‘Never give up, fight with integrity and live with dignity’. Always.
THE FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL TAUGHT US ENGLISH, MATHEMATICS, MARATHI, HINDI. THEY ALSO IMPARTED US VALUABLE LESSONS IN DISCIPLINE, HARD WORK AND INTEGRITY. OTHER TEACHERS KINDLED OUR INTERESTS IN CRAFT, DRAWING.