On Honing Healthy Habits | Hostel Life ❤️
#memoriesfromdiaries
2nd July 1994 ❤️
MCC School Hostel Years
[This day, 30 years ago, from my personal diary entry]
Having been mollycoddled and brought up as a pampered kid, up until my 10th grade, I was not quite used to waking up this early [5 am] 😊 in the morning anytime!
So when our Warden Mr. Parthiban woke me up by ringing a real hard cling cling bell right into my ears, something that he did with utmost commitment in front of each and every cubicle, that’s when I slowly made a ‘detour’ to the world of ‘reality’ - like Keats getting back into ‘reality mode’ from Lethe-ward mode! 😊
Well, quoting from his ‘Ode to a Nightingale’ would be apt here I guess!
Forlorn! the very word is like a bell
To toll me back from thee to my sole self!
And yes, we were all ‘tolled back’ to our ‘sole selves’, and we were quick asked to fall in line in the playground where our morning attendance was taken.
Well, our playground is famous for many reasons you see!
It is located quite close to the Chetpet Railway Station. In fact, when you take a journey from Egmore to Tambaram via the local EMU suburban train, you cannot fail to notice the beautiful, sylvan, sprawling football ground, yes, MCC School is known for its football fever, [Don Bosco was our chief rival in football, which Dr. Lakshminarayan [Dept of Physics, MCC], Dr. Victor Frederick [Dept of English, MCC] and Dr. Leslie [Dept of Botany, MCC], as old students of MCC School, would gladly vouchsafe for.
Let me add with a little tinge of pride that, our present Chief Minister Mr. M. K. Stalin is also a proud alumnus of MCC School, Chetpet.
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| (The New Indian Express, dated 18 December 2022) |
Even a couple of years ago, during the grand reunion, he was reminiscing on his good ol’ days in school. On an aside, he has always been regular in attending the reunion meets – as Mayor, as MLA, as Deputy Chief Minister, and now, as Chief Minister.
Coming back,
Well, from the local train, one can see the MRF Pace Foundation and the great Swimming Pool which have been the hallmarks of MCC School ever since we studied there in the early 1990s.
[Only the Brittania Amritraj Tennis Court and the Squash Courts are not to be found today].
So yes, coming back,
Each of our classrooms and hostel dormitories had the PAS [Public Address System] which relayed the baritone voice of the Headmaster with such cadenced regularity.
Saturdays were extra special, since we were ‘privileged’ enough to listen to the Headmaster’s address quite often on the PAS, booming out his typical baritone, a baritone that bordered on the bass, between the second G below middle C and the G above middle C! lol! 😉😉😉
Indeed, his baritone was powerful enough to send a shiver down your spine! He was also known for his ‘corporal punishments’ that he meted out in his own inimitable style, with the help of a huge bamboo cane that he always proudly sported in hand. ☹
But our Warden Parthiban Sir was very gentle! He knew the gentle art of disciplining us through love!
Friday evening roll calls were extra special to all of us because, it was during this ‘happy hour’ that, our Warden Parthiban Sir used to give each of us hostelers Rs.10/- as pocket money for the upcoming weekend. Rs.10/- in 1994 was quite a good amount you see! 😊
[Beyond this decent Rs.10/- given by the Warden, we were not supposed to carry any money or jewellery, as per hostel rules].
All of us happily got our weekly quota of ‘Ten Rupees’. However, since this was our first ever Saturday in the hostel, none of us went out for shopping – which our hostelers usually frequented - to the nearby Grace Shoppe or in Alsa Mall, Egmore or for the movies in the nearby Ega Theatre. [For our past post on the grand Ega Theatre, you may want to read about it, HERE.]
On this particular day, we were happy and contended enough, enjoying our snacks and coffee, and our little siesta as well.
Added, we had a rehearsal for the upcoming march past parade, followed by a quiet study time.
To conclude, yes! a hostel, is a home away from home, were we hone a different set of skills altogether.
And yes! Quite soon, rising up early became a habit on all of us in the hostel.
Reminded of the Pareto Principle, that I remember sharing with my students in the II MA Class, last week.
Also known as the 80-20 rule, the
Pareto principle, formulated by Italian economist and sociologist Pareto states
that,
80 % of your results will come from 20 % of your effort.
Hence, an awareness of the Pareto principle helps us in getting our priorities right, bigtime!
To put it another way –
The 20 % of good habits we cultivate in our younger days, determine 80% of our success in the rest of our sweet lives.
So yes, we slowly got used to this new habit of rising early in the morning – a practice that continues to have its sway over us bigtime even today! 😊
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