52. HAPPY SCHOOL DAYS
Days before communal politics
OUR place was predominantly rural. Population was overwhelmingly non-Brahmin. This was reflected in the school too. In a class of 48, only 8 or 10 were Brahmin boys. We were easily noticed. There were boys of all castes and creeds, and we felt nothing odd or strange. Our friends were from all communities.Teachers were also from all communities: Brahmins, Pillais, Chettiars, Naidu, Mudaliar, Christian- Catholic and Protestant, and Muslim.We would not share cooked food with anyone, but would easily share other eatables sold outside the school- groundnut, guava, mango, coconut pieces and other local nuts and fruits. We would often buy a mango and smash it into pieces with stone and share them; when we could not find clean stone, would just have a bite each and pass it on! We were so unselfconscious. We had no notion of any differences. These were created by the Dravidian politicians later on.
In the 1952 general election. the Congress chose a candidate who was not from the locally dominant community, and lost. [ He was not an original Congressman, either.]Since then every political party has only chosen a candidate from the dominant community! Communal divisions have become sharper after the rise of the Dravidian parties. Brahmins, as also the other so called forward communities have been marginalised in all walks of life, and now the others are fighting among themselves- all in the name of Dravidian politics! With each election, new grounds for division are found or invented!
Trips around the town
Four or five furlongs out of the town in any direction, we would cross the motor roads and highway and beyond would be agricultural fields, with crops of the season. It would be corn or groundnut or some gram or paddy in the areas adjacent to the lakes. We would just enter the field and take what we wanted!
Sorghum was very common.
As a rule, the farmers were generous. If we asked for groundnuts, they would ask us to take as much as we liked and fill our pockets! They would not accept money.We would take what our pockets would hold, and selecting a spot spread some dry straw on the ground, put the nuts on it and set fire to it.. The nuts would get roasted and since they were fresh, they would be juicy and it would be so sweet. Sometimes, the farmer himself would give us a piece of jaggery to go with it! Only those who had tasted it would know what heavenly stuff it was!
Freshly picked groundnuts. One should taste them raw or roasted to realise how nice they are.
The mango groves were a different matter. The owner would keep a strict watch, with a dog or two. And he would not let us pluck a tender mango, which we particularly liked. So often we had to steal.
We had devised our own strategy. We would be in a group of 3 or 4. While some kept the watchman engaged on one side, one would sneak into the grove from another side and pluck enough mangoes! Mangoes were quite cheap then, but there was especial pleasure in outwitting the watchman and taking it on our own! It took some courage to enter the grove, as there would be huge anthills there and we were afraid big snakes lived inside them!
Only once were we caught - my cousin and I- but that was when we attempted to steal the whole bunch of banana from the tree! The stem proved to be very tough, contrary to expectation, we did not have the proper equipment to cut it and made so much noise in the process, we were easily caught. The owner had been a classmate of my uncle at school, so the matter was promptly reported home and we were dealt with at home!
Picnics and excursions
Our place was surrounded by beautiful hills, lakes, fields and groves all round. Many boys attended school from those places and would take us to their villages. The school would also organise picnics to some of those places. Only one village was avoided- a place reported to be having a patch of quicksand.
The school picnics were nice outings.The teachers would take great care, scouting the area in advance. As the region was generally hilly, there would be small snakes and scorpions lurking under the stones. So, we were strictly instructed not to rush into any spot, or overturn or disturb any stone. We would carry the material and cook our own food. But the boys from the village would have enlisted all the elders from the village: they would flood us with tender coconuts, corn, roasted or boiled groundnut, jaggery, milk, curd, sugarcane, fruits of the season, etc! There would be delicacies like groundnut or til cake, left after extracting oil, [புண்ணாக்கு] mixed with jaggery, which had to be taken fresh. There would also be a syrup extracted in the process of making jaggery.[ தேன் பாகு] In season, we would witness how jaggery was made from sugarcane juice- which also would be given to us in plenty!
There was a variety of fruit we called "konapuliyangaai or kodukkaappuli." It was not so common and the trees were found only in some areas. It was difficult to pluck them as they were found only in the top branches and the tree was full of thorns.When we got them, we were so happy!. The ripe ones would be delicious. [ கோணபுளியங்காய்/ கொடுக்காப்புளி.] The botanical name is Pithecellobium dulce. It is also called "Madras Thorn" for whatever reason!
The other village boys would also join us. Thus, the entire village would celebrate with us. We would end up eating what the villagers gave, and we would serve them what we had cooked! Thus, it was a grand gala time. The teachers were held in such high esteem that there would always be special gifts for them: a sack of groundnuts, vegetables, etc. Some elderly women would tell the teacher: "சாமி, நல்லா அடிச்சு சொல்லிக்குடு" Sir, don't spare the rod if they don't learn well!
The other village boys would also join us. Thus, the entire village would celebrate with us. We would end up eating what the villagers gave, and we would serve them what we had cooked! Thus, it was a grand gala time. The teachers were held in such high esteem that there would always be special gifts for them: a sack of groundnuts, vegetables, etc. Some elderly women would tell the teacher: "சாமி, நல்லா அடிச்சு சொல்லிக்குடு" Sir, don't spare the rod if they don't learn well!
On the way to one such spot we would pass a village from which hailed a freedom fighter: Theerthagiri Mudaliar. His house was considered a pilgrimage spot. Also, in the lake nearby, a British plane had crashed or force landed during the war! Its debris were spoken of in the villages for many years! Some would reckon the birth of their children from the year of that plane crash!
Many languages in school
Those were the days before the Dravidian poison snake had raised its head. We were taught Tamil, English, Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu at school. Usually, Brahmin boys studied Sanskrit as one part of language. Muslim boys studied Urdu. Those who found Tamil tough ( usually those whose mother tongue it was not - there were many Telugu boys) chose Hindi, beyond compulsory Tamil.
Sanskrit and my trouble
I was in the Sanskrit class with 5 or 6 other boys. B.N.Venkatramana Sastri was our Sanskrit Pandit. He looked his part- appropriately orthodox, in dress and demeanour.
He would insist that each boy should come to class duly wearing the appropriate marks on the forehead- the vertical stripe for the Iyengars, three horizontal lines for the Smarthas and the sandal paste mudra for the Madhva boys. We had one or two of each in every class. Everyone obeyed, till one day I had a brainwave.
TTD News.
I invented a shortcut. We had no distemper or painting those days. The walls would be simply whitewashed with a solution of lime. It would be done every year. If you touched the wall, the lime powder would stick to your fingers! So I felt it was an easy method to decorate our forehead- rather than wearing the Vibhuti since morning! Just before I entered the Sanskrit class, I would rub three fingers on the wall and with the lime powder, put three horizontal marks on the forehead! Two other Smartha boys followed me. Sastri noticed us and would tell others: ''Look at them! How fresh they are! Why can you not come like that?" One day one of those boys blurted out: "Sir, they are cheating! They are taking the lime powder from the wall.It is not Vibhuti they are wearing!" He then noticed the wall and saw how we had rubbed the wall in many places, making those spots dark! He was angry. On enquiry he learned that I was the author of that mischief. When I entered the class the next day, he took me to the Head Master and related the matter. The Head Master- one Sadashiva Udayar- was a great man. He looked at me- I was already shaking with fear- and then told Sastri, "send him out. Let him go to Tamil class". Thus ended my official Sanskrit studies!
Hindi Pandit v.Urdu Munshi
When we entered 9th standard, we had another choice of language- we could study specialised Tamil or Sanskrit or Hindi. I chose Hindi, since I had been expelled from the Sanskrit class two years earlier. But Sastri was without a student from that class and he asked my grandfather to send me to Sanskrit class, but I refused. So I stuck to Hindi.
This led to some entertaining moments. There were only three students learning Hindi. There were 4 students learning Urdu. These classes were held at the two ends of a big, rectangular classroom. The Hindi Pandit was Velayudham. I forget the Urdu Munshi's name now- he was quite elderly even then. At one end , the Hindi master would tell us something. Immediately, the Urdu munshi would shout from his end: "Arre Velayudham! Kya bakwas keh rahe ho! " ( O Velayudham, what are you bluffing!) Then a duel would start between them about the origin of the word- whether it was Arabic, Persian, some North Indian dialect like Bhojpuri or Brajbasha, and about its exact meaning. We always liked it because it meant the end of the lessons for the day! We would watch the fun. After arguing for about half an hour, the Munshi would suddenly say: "O Velayudham! Ab tho bas karo. Chalo chai peeyenge". So they both would troop out to Balan Nair's tea shop at the end of the road. It was thus a hilarious time for us. Practically, there was no teaching for most of the year! But listening to the arguments between the masters, we learned many things outside the books! After the Pongal holidays, the Hindi master would ask us to come to his house daily and he would cover the book, in time for the annual examination. Since we were only three boys learning, the contact with the teacher was intimate- it was almost like Gurukula! Velayudham was a Gounder!
| Status change of languages | |
|---|---|
| Urdu replaces Persian | 1837 |
| Hindi and Urdu granted equal status | 1900 |
| Urdu declared sole national language in Pakistan | 1948 |
| Hindi granted separate status and official precedence over Urdu and all other languages in the Republic of India | 1950 |
Madrasa and Madras- mighty confusion!
But Velayudham was a principled man. He had prepared us for the public exam. In the question paper, there would be one essay question which alone carried 35 marks. When I got the paper in hand , I read the question as an essay on "Madras". So, I started writing the answer. This was a topic we had not prepared for and I had to write extempore. I had to think up Hindi words for many things.Hindi grammar could be tricky so it took time. Velayudham was also a supervisor doing vigilance work. During his rounds he came to our hall too and stopped by me and saw what I was writing. He became angry, stamped his foot on the floor twice, put his finger on the heading "Madras" I had written and after staring hard at me, passed on! I read the question paper again and I felt I was right. I could not understand why he was angry. I completed the paper and came out. He was waiting for me just outside the hall. He seized me by the shoulder and just slapped me! " You idiot! Three years' work is wasted! Can you not even read the question properly? What is asked and what have you answered?" he shouted.
I then opened the question paper again and saw carefully! The question was to write an essay on "MADRASA" मदरसा and not Madras मद्रास! Madrasa means school, and it is more Urdu than Hindi! In my myopic hurry, I had misread! I now realised why he was angry. He told me plainly that I had lost one third of the marks outright and I had to get the pass mark only out of the other two thirds of the paper and he wondered whether I could do it! This was in March, and till the SSLC results came out in June, I was having nightmares! Somehow, I passed with the minimum marks in Hindi! This was the lowest mark I ever got in any subject throughout my school years!
Days when moral standards reigned!
But this incident throws light on the strict moral standards we had those days, 60 years ago! Velayudham was our own teacher, he was on vigilance work, I was one of just three students in the whole school writing Hindi paper. Yet he would not help directly! How things have changed in the same Tamil Nad now! Last year, in the engineering faculty, in one of the govt universities, my relative's daughter's answer sheets were snatched from her as soon as she completed a sheet, and was circulated in the hall by the very vigilance supervisor, so that everyone could copy, and be happy!
If salt shall lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted?
Fond and vivid memories. Those were the days. I am expecting a sequel to this - on the great College days.
ReplyDeleteBTW, no mention of the village or place of the school, why so ?
I have written about the college days in earlier blogs- but they are scattered. I hesitate to write about such matters as some might feel they are invading their privacy!
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