24 February 1995 | Down the Blessed Lane of Nostalgia
MCC School Days
#memoriesfromdiaries
#hostelyears #HSCDays
This entry that dates back to more than 29 years, runs to around four full pages.
This makes me wonder thus –
If one day’s diary entry for a teenager in his HSC days, runs to four long pages, how much would there be for every individual this same way, for each day, every day of our lives.
My personal reflections and recollections from any given day would be so precious to me, so dear to me, and so valuable to me.
However, they might not be of any great value to my friend in any way.
Also, a day’s record of events would inevitably have a different perspective - to a teenager, to an elder, to a child, to a parent, to a teacher, etc. - to each their own!
So yes! Taking us all back to almost three decades ago, for a sneak peek into this particular day, 24th February 1995 - [29 years ago], from a teenager's perspective -
Here goes -
5 o’ clock had PT. Then after breakfast, went to school. First period had Zoology Class. So went to lab.
Zoology Master [Mr. Devasahayam] told boys not to join engineering or medical.
Exhorted he -
“All parents want their children to go for engineering or medicine. Choose IAS, IFS, IPS or MCA, BCA or Accounts. The present syllabus is not at all useful. But the government has banned dissections in Zoology whereas we do sectioning in Botany”.
“From next year onwards, the syllabus is going to be very much enriched.
But see, the doctors of today do not know how to administer even an injection, since they give 20 or 30 lakhs, opt for MBBS and get their degrees.
Students of Science groups are made to run from pillar to post for their practical marks. So from next year, they are considering taking steps to stop internal exam marks”,
he said.
Physics Master [Nedumaran Sir] was on leave. In Math Class, Master taught us all Integral Calculus.
In this period, Pua was sound asleep in class, when Master quietly came up to his desk, and gently poured water onto his eyes. Still, he did not seem a wee bit interested in waking up! 😄
Then slowly he began to sniff what was happening around him, and he got quite ashamed when boys started laughing at him.
Master scolded him asking him to go back to his native place, if he thinks that he doesn’t want to study - instead of wasting his father’s money.
Then Language hour we were free.
Chemistry Master Manivachagam Sir taught us about Halogens.
After 3 pm, had refreshments, bath, and then got ‘Grant Me’ leave Form. Then studied Zoology and by 4.30 pm had a little sleep. By 6 pm woke up. Had evening prayer in the dining hall as usual.
You see, MCC School back then, had one of the finest auditoriums in the City.
Hence all mega events that were up and happening in the city made a beeline to MCC School for its renowned auditorium.
We also had ample car parking space back then, with only the Britannia Amritraj Tennis Club having their grass court right at the main entrance, wherein now stands a huge-multi-storeyed Matriculation School started by the school, much later in time.
Interestingly, on this particular day, there was a wedding reception of a famed cine star (I don’t remember who exactly it was, though!) - 24th February 1995.
Hence, many actors had made a beeline to the famed Auditorium to wish the couple. We saw actors Prabhu, Sathiaraj, Revathi, Karthik, Nizhalgal Ravi etc, and Directors Selvamani and P. Vasu among others. Got autograph from many of them, as recorded in my personal diary.
The way we were getting autographs, as teenagers back then, left-right-centre, with all excitement at having seen our silverscreen stars right in front of us, made our Warden to give us a sane piece of advice.
He said -
‘Why do you follow these actors. They’re also like you and me and us’.
A great lesson from a dear teacher for us, as teenagers back then, that sounded a wake-up call for us from our Rip-van-Winklish slumber of sorts!
*Well, Madras was renamed Chennai by the Govt of Tamil Nadu in the year 1996.
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