Life as a Boarder in Stanes by Padma (Vishwanathan) Ramachandran ~Hip Grandma~
When I joined Stanes I was a twelve year old who had led a protected life as an army officer’s daughter. Living in Meerut had its advantages. We had a very efficient orderly who took care of making our beds, polishing shoes and ironing our uniforms. Hair care was my mother’s department. She’d nurture my long hair, treat it with scented Keshavardhini hair oil, wash it with soap nut powder and plait it into two tight braids. Every hair would stay in place once thus treated. So the first thing I learned to do in the boarding was to make my bed, polish my shoes and plait my hair. Little did I know that a lot of effort went into making myself presentable. Luckily ironing was taken care of by a washerman so I didn’t burn my hands learning to iron my clothes. But taking out knots and combing and plaiting my hair initially took a lot of my time.
We were woken up at
six in the morning. I can almost hear our matron Mrs. Peacock calling out in
her resounding voice “Girls get up”. It used to be rather cold in Coonoor in
the 1960s. Girls would cover themselves up with a blanket, kneel down to say
their prayers and doze off for an extra forty winks. We were 18 girls in our
dormitory and 6 cubicles with running water to brush our teeth and wash our
face. We were allotted our washrooms and initially I would be the last to get
in. Later I learned to insist that I wished to use it first once in a while. We
then took turns to use the facility and the matter was amicably resolved. Mrs.
Peacock would wake me up fifteen minutes earlier to help me manage my time. It
took me around six months to learn to get ready before study time at 7 in the
morning.
We, in the senior
dormitory, were given chores on a rotational basis. The school had four houses.
I belonged to Stanes house. One was allotted chores according to the house she
belonged to. The duties were interchanged on Mondays. Dining room duty involved
setting the table before breakfast and clearing up after a meal. We
particularly enjoyed our duty in the sub junior dormitory that housed little
boys upto the second standard. I remember being fond of a three year old kid
called Ashok in nursery class and another little boy Vimal whose parents lived
in Bombay. They would cry remembering their mothers and would find solace in
our laps. The duty was also a tad tedious in the mornings because we had to get
ready ourselves and then rush to get them ready for school. Though I do not
remember, I think we had ayahs to help us.
At seven o’ clock sharp we would file down to the high school
classrooms with our school bags ready for the day and finish our homework and
prepare for a test or exam. Seniors would monitor the rest of the group and
insist on pin drop silence. It was also the time when we would help each other
with homework. I was in demand because I was good in Hindi - having studied in
Meerut - and would willingly teach others who found it difficult. I was amused
that some students tried to memorise Hindi alphabets instead of recognising
them. For instance त was chair and प was inverted chair. क was 8 flipped over.
I found this novel method of learning Hindi amusing but I soon realised that
learning Hindi was easier for me having interacted with Hindi speaking friends.
Not so for my fellow boarders who did not have the privilege. Those who had
opted for Hindi as a second language were fewer in number but I think they did
benefit by my help.
After study time we
would line up for breakfast. We had our places allotted. After taking our place
we would say the grace before each meal and start eating. After the meal we
would again thank God for the food that we just consumed. Food was not great
but in the company of friends we didn't actually mind it. We belonged to an age
when adjustment came easily and our personalities could be molded. We were
normally expected to have our school bag ready when we went to study. A
geometry box or a textbook forgotten in the dormitory could be retrieved only
with the matron’s permission. The wooden staircase leading to the dormitory
would betray us if we tried to sneak in without permission. There was a piano
in the landing between the junior and senior dormitories and our teachers
including the Principal could be seen practising piano lessons. The wooden
staircase was also an indicator to the identity of the teacher or matron who
was coming up. Noisy brats that we were, we would become quiet depending on the
person ascending the staircase. The sound of the steps would be different for
each person.
Adjacent to the
dormitory was a box room that doubled up for a dressing room. At the beginning
of the school year we had to empty our trunks (suitcases were unheard of in the
1960s) and arrange our clothes in shelves allotted to us. We were not allowed
to keep money. All pocket money would be handed over to the matron who would
purchase stationery and any other stuff for us with it. Coins to be dropped in
the church collection box would be given to us on Sunday mornings and the
amount would be deducted from our pocket money. The masala dosa treat on
Saturday evenings would also be paid for from our pocket money. Hostel life did
make me responsible enough to take care of my things, manage my time and adjust
with other girls of my age. We learned to live as a family. I remember sharing
my fear of an unknown future and my mother's widowhood with my friends when my
dad passed away. We seniors would treat the juniors as our little sisters and
the bond thus formed helped us forget the comfort of our mother's lap to a very
great extent.
It is not as if we
didn't quarrel. But our quarrels were for the silliest reasons and we patched
up within no time. We would stop talking for a while and would indicate our
displeasure on Sunday nights when we would gather in the staff room to sing
hymns. We would be allowed to choose our favorite hymns and would deliberately
choose
“What a friend we have in Jesus.”
The lines “Do thy friends despise forsake thee, take
it to the Lord in prayer” would be sung with gusto and we’d exchange
surreptitious glances to make sure that the message reached the person it was
intended for.
The other choice
would be “Courage brother, do not
stumble….”
The following lines
would have special significance.
“Some
may hate thee, some may love thee,
Some may flatter some may slight.
Turn from man and look above thee,
Trust in God and do the right”.
I still remember our school anthem and sing it
(read croak) to my grandson. The opening lines have special significance. I
remember feeling very patriotic when I sang it.
“Land of our birth we pledge to thee,
Our love and toil
in years to be.
When we are grown and take our place,
As men and women with our race” …
Then the opening
lines of the second stanza were equally dear to me.
“Teach us delight in simple things,
And mirth that hath no bitter spring.
Forgiveness free of evil done,
And love to all men ‘neath the sun”...
Is it any wonder
that I still remember the school anthem and taught it to the girls in the
college I work for participating in a patriotic song competition and they won a
prize for it. I cannot sing well but I managed to teach it to a friend with a
good voice and she trained them. Those were days when there was no malice in
our hearts and one easily forgave and forgot.
Lunch was served at
one o’clock in the afternoon while tea and snacks after school. Any edible item
that we brought from home was stored in the tuck cupboard and we could take out
a portion and consume it after tea. We could not take edible items to the
dormitory though on a few occasions we did sneak a little of our home made
sweet and savoury to the dorm and enjoyed a midnight feast after the matron
retired to bed. Consuming Tambrahm snack ‘murukku’ that my mother generously
packed for me could not be distributed or consumed without making a noise and
the ruckus we created made the matron come out and put on the light. The packet
was confiscated and we were duly admonished. I was a newcomer so it was my
seniors who were scolded for being a bad influence on a fresher. Talking of
seniors, I particularly have fond memories of Jennifer Swain who was in her
school final when I joined. She was a very sweet tempered person and would be
extra nice to me when I would feel home sick and lost in the new set up. She
kind of initiated me into hostel life and I found her to be very balanced and
approachable. Beryl Fregrado was another senior whom I remember apart from
Crystal Godfrey and Iris Walsh who was in my class. My granddaughter Aarya
while delivering her farewell speech on leaving middle school joked that she was
of just about the same height while leaving as when she entered the school. I
must say the same is true for me. When I joined Stanes many in my class were of
my height. I remained where I was while all of them shot up much to my despair.
I once believed a fellow boarder who said that my long hair was pulling me down
and promptly got it cut up to my waist hoping to grow tall. My hair grew back
but I remained short. After relaxing for an hour we would again have an hour of
study time after dinner at seven in the evening. Our chores would take up
another half an hour's time and we would be in our dorms by eight. Lights would
be put off at nine after which we would retire to bed. Those were days without
TV and mobile phones and games. But we found ways to entertain ourselves. A
power cut would make us sing “Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning”. Life
was simple and our needs were few. Visits to the Sim’s park, the sports meet in
Wellington, picnic in Pykara falls, trip to Kamarajasagar dam, the pleasure of being elected as a prefect
and being voted as the ‘best girl in the hostel’ add to pleasant memories of my
school life.
While hostel life
taught the joy of community living and prepared me for the ups and downs that
followed in my adult life, I wouldn't advise it for others. It is better to
stay with one’s parents till one turns eighteen and becomes better equipped to
handle things. I still wonder what was the compulsion that made Ashok’s parents
leave him in a boarding school at the age of three? At least his parents lived
in Ooty and visited him twice a month and took him home during month ends.
Vimal’s parents lived in Bombay quite far away from Coonoor. Couldn't they find
a residential school closer to Bombay?
Stanes school
memories would be incomplete without a mention of the Tibetan refugees who
joined school when I was in the tenth grade. All schools were bound to take
them. They knew no English and we were asked to teach them to converse in the
language. Doma was a name common among them. We had one Tsering Doma and Doma
Yankee. I am not sure but I think Tsering or Doma meant Lotus in their language
and I remember telling Tsering Doma that my name also stood for Lotus in
Sanskrit. They were smart kids. They picked up fast. By the time I left school
they had integrated themselves well into life as boarders.
I could go on and on about my Alma Mater that made me what I am today. Somehow my mind retains a lot of pleasant memories about my school. The bond forged at that impressionable age has lasted for over fifty five years and I easily connect with anyone who has been in Stanes School as well as Coonoor. The little town of Coonoor in Nilgiri hills will always be remembered with fondness and the four years spent there would be counted as the best ones in my life,