A Cut above the Rest... as Alwaysss...!

Early morning walks were a routine for many of us in Professors’ Colony, East Tambaram. And still is!

Once you finish your walk, in the company of a good few, an august few, a chosen few – the few who could stare their eyes with astonishing success through the clearing darkness  of the pre-dawn hours – then you contently move ahead, on to your next schedule for the morning – to wipe your car and/or bike clean! J

Well, it was yet another relaxed Saturday morning. A day when the mind slows down its pace to a lethargic ‘lullaby’ish pace! I had just finished my walk, a wee bit early to be able to start quite ahead of time on a weekend sojourn!

So once back at home I take my hose tubing and start in all earnest - my car-cleaning chore!

Cleaning my car is something that I enjoy doing all of the time – what with a wonderful nylonish flexi-tubey for company, and water - water - water - all the way – I do relish and enjoy to the utmost the sheer delight in being ‘water-sportive’ when cleaning my car, and well, yes! it was my first car, a brand new car, a Santro XO car, a precious car, ha ha and what not!

Happily humming away a tune that rhymes to the spray of the shower of the tubey – I was shaken from the stupeficated-world-of-my-own’ by a neatly-dressed gentleman who taps gently on my shoulder!

With a startled surprise, and a bated sigh, I wish him, ‘Good morning Sir!!!’

He was just finishing his morning walk, and was on his way home, when either something about me or my car, bid him stop right on his tracks!!

He stood his gentle ground and asked in his usual inimitable style, 

‘How are you rufus?’

‘Doing fine, Sir. How are you? Please come home Sir!’

I request him as part of the cultural protocol ;-)

Having politely declined my impulsive ‘offer of the day’, he gently persuaded me to first turn off the water from the hose-tubey on a ‘priority-basis’!!!

I did.

He now asked me to quickly fetch him a pail of water and some soft cloth wipes.

I did.

Then he rolls up his sleeves and in a fraction of a second starts on a ‘mission-clean-up-op’ cleaning the car upfront.

He started to gently apply the cloth-wipes from the bottom of the vehicle up to avoid even the tiniest of streaks or the wimpiest of rashes in the vehicle’s polish.

After five or six ‘swipes’, he soaked the cloth-wipes in plain water and went about doing the task with a dignified alacrity and consummate ease. The spots and specks of dirt came off loose from the car’s sides, as easy as pie, and he didn’t stop with that.

He soaked the cloth wipes yet again, wringing it damp-dry, and cleaned the offside yet again, completely removing even the tiniest film of moisture in its shiny and lustrous teflon-coated surface! And very soon one quarter of the offside was as clean as a whistle!!!

Now he soaked the cloth-wipes again for the umpteenth time, and was starting off on the nearside, when he stopped, looked at me, smiled clairvoyantly and quipped:

‘rufus, now, don’t expect me to wash the whole car for you!’

‘ha ha… okay Sir!’

‘This is how you go about washing a car, rufus!’

‘Now, here’s the cloth wipe. Go ahead. God bless. Have a good day!’

And he was off, in as casual a manner as he had come down to help me out.

Indeed, it was not a help but an ignition! A spark for a life-time from the blue!

Well, instead of giving me a fish each day, here was a ‘mighty-senior-Professor’ teaching me how to fish!

The proper way of fishing!

Without wastage of water of any sort!

With the limited resources available at one’s disposal!

With respect and thought to the needs and wants of the vast humanity around you who are deprived of even a bottle of water at their disposal for days!!!

I had learnt my lesson! must have surely been a decade ago!

And how!!!

Luckily, from a teacher’s teacher!!!

From none other than the Principal of Madras Christian College - Dr. Alexander Mantramurti…!!!

The senior-most (Principal) of the College was not only giving valuable ideas to the junior-most (Lecturer) on how to use water judiciously, but he was also simultaneously teaching me those invaluable lessons in as non-chalant a manner as could be, and with a dignified ease!

This gave me an instant answer to my ‘long-thought-out, seldom expressed’ question:

What makes the Madras Christian College different?

What makes the dynamic Principal, the vast array of illustrious Professors and the committed Students in MCC different?

Why are they always a cut above the rest?

Why are they always

Unique in their thoughts?

Dependable in their words?

and

Exemplary in their actions?

Why can they NEVER settle for mediocrity?

Why do they keep striving ONLY for the bestest?

Why oh why???

The answer my friend aint blowing in the wind!

Well, it lies in something unique and inimitable:

Yes! It lies in its rich and magnificent AURA!

The AURA that is MCC!

An Aura that can only be felt and that CANNOT be well-expressed!

Viva la MCC..!

God bless MCC..!