Anandaloke Mongolaloke

Living in a foreign land, is, strange!!

Vihaan and I are participating in a Indian Festival, here in Stockholm, Sweden. Somani di is leading the singing group, with kids from the age of 4 to 10 years, and their mums. The program has a set of songs, one of which is Rabindranath Tagore song - "Anandaloke Mongolaloke".

What a wonderful song. Takes me back to my school, yes, once again. Being a part of the choir, I must have sung this song atleast 50 times. And now, after so many years, I sing it as a mom of the little performer.

Sheer Nostalgia grips me today. 

Linking this post to UBC, April 2014 . 

Love for the STS Library, and the Lala Saga

Just like chocolates give me a high (not all brands, mind it), books give me orgasm. From the buying process till turning the last page, its like an ecstatic ride. This could be a thankful gift from STS, and their exhaustive library. 

my love for books :)

 If you have read my posts, you must be aware that we had two school buildings - one in Karol Bagh and one on Mandir Marg in Gole Market (New Delhi). Both the schools have their own standalone libraries. STS libraries are known to have a vast array of books. Especially knowledge books. Series of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Mythological series, leather bound/ hard bound classic series, abundant science (physics, chemistry, biology) books - name the author and its available, mathematics books dating to 1950s, reference books, probably from first print, first edition till the latest editions. 

The huge expanse of the library - where one could hide the whole day, not attend any lecture, and drown yourself in the books. Well I have done that, (sorry ma'am, I know many of my teachers are reading this). The dusty shelves towards the back, which had older editions of reference books, and some not so famous fictions - yellow pages, some torn and then cello-taped carefully by Ritu (I will talk about her a bit later). 

The staircase leading to the library - in my times

I just missed talking about the junior school library. The library was on the first floor, just above the principal's room. We had one library card, and we could issue one book for a week. I read my Enid Blyton series lending them from the library. And I love them, like you. I used to preserve the library book, and it's home was a special pocket in my rug sack. My friends named it as the library pocket. I was somehow proud of the fact. The junior school library was done in yellow, in my days. I think it also had some blue tables. It felt so grown up, to search the library shelves, and pick out our books, get them issued. Aah, bliss was the library day, every Wednesday that was. 

The red brick building is the library, and the steps.. the mural of out school motto on the wall

Coming back to the senior school library, I haven't spoken about fictions. Ofcourse I read quite a bit of it. I was, and am still, inclined towards classics. And what better way to read them - hard bound or leather bound Elliot and Brönte, De Maurier and "Barbara Miller". I shouldn't forget to mention - Erich Segal, Danielle Steel, Sydney Sheldon, Jeffrey Archer and the likes. 

The three fold steps going down from the second floor library to the assembly courtyard used to serve as the reading place (the library had an extensive seating arrangement, but reading Danielle Steel and likes wasn't allowed in the premises). I recall spending many such lunch breaks and free periods sitting on the steps. My friends used to come over and hand me a breadpakora or a samosa, so that I don't feel hungry in the next physics and chemistry classes. I adore them for their love. 

Ritu, as I mentioned before, is the assistant librarian in our senior school. She is a specially able lady (was a young girl when I was a student). I doubt the lovely library could have a better keeper. The arrangement of books, registers, issue status, maintaining the discipline of the school. Oh, Ritu!! The library would run haywire when she used to be on leave, which was rare. Her smiling face used to greet us, always. I had a special bond with her. I loved to help her, talk to her, listen to her tales all about books. She used to read a lot as well. She had her own library cards. Ritu, in her salwar kameez and nicely ironed dupatta, miss you, and will visit you soon. 

A lot many library takes could be reproduced here. Let some be in my memories, like treasures. 

modern lala ka pitara - some of my super seniors trying to figure it out. 

Picture courtesy: seniors

No "L" can end without the mention of Lala. A true businessman, old, in his Gandhi topi, and white kurta pyjama, and with his small wooden box with glass top, used to sell aam papad, ram laddu, aloo ke chips, and some real desi sweet meats. No bif brands, no adverts, just lala ke ram laddu, lala ke chips, lala ka ye, lala ka woh. 50paise for a chip packet, 50 paise for peanut packet, 75 paise for aam papad (STSers, please confirm). The tangy taste of the aam papad churan lingers on my tongue, till date. My then principal, Mrs Manoharan, who happens to be our school alumni as well, paid a special tribute to Lala, on his prayer meeting (we lost him when I was in 11th standard). A special assembly was arranged, and his family members attended the same. Now his son runs the same small wooden box business, but probably lacks the acumen lala had. I have relished quite a bot of the stuff, sometimes by paying, and sometimes just by showing the cabinet badge. He was way too generous for the cabinet, for some unknown reasons. I do not know his real name, till date. 

Much love to the dear soul. 

This post is dedicated to the A-to-Z blogging challenge - the largest Blog Challenge in the history of Blogkind. My selected theme is "memories of St. Thomas' "- my Alma mater. This is the tenth post of the challenge, and is linked to the letter L: L for Love for the STS library, and the lala saga.. 

Linking this post to UBC too. 

Simple pleasures with a friend for life

I was lying on my back, on the big swing, staring at the blue sky, the white clouds drifting slowly across. My 5 year old was lying beside me. :) His curious question came up next. "Mom, why do we have a big blue hole in the sky?" "Vihaan, that part of the sky is clear, the clouds haven't yet covered it with their blanket..". "Oh, OK mom, I thought its a monster's burrow". 

Before relaxing on the swing, we had done some football passing practise, skipped rope, played stapo, went round and round on a merry go round, and jumped the trampoline. Well, we needed a break. 

Later we went to the supermarket. Standing in front of the chocolate shelf, we decided. "No mum, we have to be strong, so no chocolates. You already had some ketchup in the afternoon today, which is bad for your health." 

Last week, there was a leaking water tank at the Söder Hospital, next to Vihaan's school. The water was gushing down in a stream down the road. Thus began some fun, which converted into experimentation mode. How does the water flow stop when we put our foot on the drain. And similar stuff. 15 minutes well spent, irrespective of the passerby's staring at us. After all it was raining as well, at 5pm in the evening. Time to go home lady. 

As Vihaan just pushed me into fixing the dry clothes from the laundry, and putting them back in the almirahs - a job pending since a week, a sudden calmness engulfed me. Enjoying these simple pleasures, I have a made friend for life. Vihaan my son. Love you darling. 

Linking this post to Ultimate Blog Challenge (UBC) April 2014. 

K, Kh, G, Gh - Kakehra

I wish I could write this post in Hindi. But there are readers who may not clearly understand the post, therefore, I am penning it in English. 

Every weekend, my son prepares the national song of India - "Saare Jahan se achha, Hindustan hamara..". A group of kids are practicing for the upcoming Indian Festival in Stockholm, here in Sweden. This is V's first stint at Hindi. Knock on the wood, he is doing pretty well, especially with his pronunciations. Comes from his mom. Ahem ahem!! 

My school, St Thomas', had a very good faculty. Staff is extremely learned. The most important point is that they all love teaching. If you love your job, you are best at it, isn't it? 

But here I want to bring out the Hindi classes, and the hindi teachers. Some awesome memories, knowledge which I am proud and thankful of. Lest Hindi gets lost in the deep dark ocean. One on my uncle is running a Non Government Organization to popularize Hindi in India. He holds conferences and workshops. What a pity. 

My stint with the hindi varnamala (alphabets) started with Mrs. Saxena, in grade 1. She was a very sensitive teacher , knew how to inculcate children's interest in the language. It was not a easy task, but she did it with such ease. Then was Mrs Das. Who doesn't love her. Her distinctive Bindi, her stern ways of teaching, yes soft heart, full of love for her children. Miss her a lot. 

A recent picture of Mrs Das, with some of my super seniors, STS alumni

When I moved to senior school, I was excited. I had some of the best teachers, and I am sure all STSers will agree to this. Mrs Vinod was my hindi teacher. Years 8, 9 and 10, have a lot of focus on Hindi syllabus. Those were the days I enjoyed the subject. I have a natural instinct towards peotry, and Mrs Vinod used to explain the deeper meaning of the verses with deep intellect. 

I remember doing Prasang sahit vyakhya of so many poems. My favorites include SumitraNanda Pant, Harivanshya Rai Bachhan and Mahadevi Verma. But the poem which is engraved in my heart, and now more so with my mommy status goes as below: 

यह कदंब का पेड़ (Yeh Kadamb Ka Ped) - 

सुभद्रा कुमारी चौहान (Subhadra Kumari Chauhan)

यह कदंब का पेड़ अगर माँ होता यमुना तीरे

मैं भी उस पर बैठ कन्हैया बनता धीरे-धीरे

ले देतीं यदि मुझे बांसुरी तुम दो पैसे वाली

किसी तरह नीची हो जाती यह कदंब की डाली

तुम्हें नहीं कुछ कहता पर मैं चुपके-चुपके आता

उस नीची डाली से अम्मा ऊँचे पर चढ़ जाता

वहीं बैठ फिर बड़े मजे से मैं बांसुरी बजाता

अम्मा-अम्मा कह वंशी के स्वर में तुम्हे बुलाता

बहुत बुलाने पर भी माँ जब नहीं उतर कर आता

माँ, तब माँ का हृदय तुम्हारा बहुत विकल हो जाता

तुम आँचल फैला कर अम्मां वहीं पेड़ के नीचे

ईश्वर से कुछ विनती करतीं बैठी आँखें मीचे

तुम्हें ध्यान में लगी देख मैं धीरे-धीरे आता

और तुम्हारे फैले आँचल के नीचे छिप जाता

तुम घबरा कर आँख खोलतीं, पर माँ खुश हो जाती

जब अपने मुन्ना राजा को गोदी में ही पातीं

इसी तरह कुछ खेला करते हम-तुम धीरे-धीरे

यह कदंब का पेड़ अगर माँ होता यमुना तीरे

Source: 

www.ramprasadbismil.blogspot.com 

(I follow this blog and read some of the best and famous Hindi Poetry, recommended)

I am indebted to my school, for the knowledge of my mother tongue, for the love I have for the language, for the feeling of belonging when I speak it, for the feeling of proud when I rad literature, for the ability to teach my son, who is almost a swede now, bits of the language and inculcate his interest in Hindi.

For the K, Kh, G, Gh, I am proud of Hindi, I am proud of Kakaehra, I am proud of STS. 

This post is dedicated to the A-to-Z blogging challenge - the largest Blog Challenge in the history of Blogkind. My selected theme is "memories of St. Thomas' "- my Alma mater. This is the tenth post of the challenge, and is linked to the letter K - K, Kh, G, Gh: Kakehra: hindi alphabets, The Lord has come.. 

Linking this post to UBC too. 

I am STS

I am a tree, I am strong

I am a boat, I sail along

I am a lamp, I glow

I am water, I flow 

I am Mariam, I am peace 

I am love, I am bliss

I am Durga, I am strength 

I am Lakshmi, I am wealth 

I am green, I am yes

I am red, I am STS

Lovely collage: Courtesy my super seniors @STS

This post is dedicated to the A-to-Z blogging challenge - the largest Blog Challenge in the history of Blogkind. My selected theme is "memories of St. Thomas' "- my Alma mater. This is the ninth post of the challenge, and is linked to the letter I - I for STS.  

Linking this post to UBC too. 

Helen Jerwood’s School – Houses within

For empowering woman, educate them

Save the female foetus, treat them a human

Feed them, clothe them, clean them, love them

School them, educate them, let them be a woman

Mrs Helen Jerwood, missionary from United Kingdom, worked for the purpose of education for girls in the days of British India.  She founded a couple of school in Delhi, St Thomas’ being one of them. With ideals and undying mission she went from house to house to kindle the light of education for the girl child.

Ms Helen Jerwood

Mrs Helen Jerwood’s vision and her untiring devotion have given St. Thomas' a glorious foundation. Since then, the principals – Ms Ayesha Jacob, Mrs Joy Michael, Mrs Cynthia Manoharan and Mrs Anuradha Amos have striven hard to follow her ideals.

As I take myself, and the readers through this journey, I realize that full justice is not being given to each post. Therefore I decided to carry on with the series after the challenge as well (not as frequent as AtoZ Challenge).

Anyways, apart from the founder’s introduction, H post will be incomplete without talking about the school houses. No prizes for guessing the house names.

Madam Curie (Red house) 


Marie Skłodowska-Curie (7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the only woman to win in two fields, and the only person to win in multiple sciences. (Source Wikipedia)

Chand Bibi (Yellow house)

Chand Bibi (1550–1599 CE), also known as Chand Khatun or Chand Sultana, was an Indian Muslim woman warrior. She acted as the Regent of Bijapur (1580–90) and Regent of Ahmednagar (1596–99). Chand Bibi is best known for defending Ahmednagar against the Mughal forces of Emperor Akbar. (Source Wikipedia)

Sarojini Naidu (Blue house)

Sarojini Naidu, born as Sarojini Chattopadhyay was a child prodigy, Indian independence activist and poet. Naidu served as the first governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh from 1947 to 1949; the first woman to become the governor of an Indian state. She was the second woman to become the president of the Indian National Congress in 1925 and the first Indian woman to do so. (Source Wikipedia)

Nightingale (Green house)

Florence Nightingale, (12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was a celebrated English social reformer and statistician, and the founder of modern nursing. She came to prominence while serving as a nurse during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was known as "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night. . (Source Wikipedia)

Each house has its own election, through a democratic process, where the students elect their house representatives – the house head and the two deputies. The houses compete with each other in several activities – academic, co curricular and sports.

In my early years, I was in Chand Bibi. But I was young, and did not understand the meaning of houses. Later on I was moved to Sarojini Naidu. And that was my house – the blue house. We had small badges which we had to pin up on our shirts every day. Scarves were introduced later, in 1990s.  Every Friday, we had to wear the house scarf, which was an additional matter of pride.

Proud STSers

Short note: Now I realize from where the feminism comes in me. 

This post is dedicated to the A-to-Z blogging challenge - the largest Blog Challenge in the history of Blogkind. My selected theme is "memories of St. Thomas' "- my Alma mater. This is the seventh post of the challenge, and is linked to the letter H - H for Helen Jerwood (founder) and school houses. 

Linking this post to UBC too. 

Gandhi, father of nation: Connection with my Alma Mater

I am proud of my alma mater. 

Who isn’t? She made us what we are. 

All schools have something special which is the reason of pride. STS has been special in many ways. Or that is what we Thomasites perceive and strongly believe. Mahatma Gandhi’s connection to our  school is one such underliner. 

Gandhiji (Mohandas Karanchand Gandhi), the father of Indian nation, was a prominent leader and freedom fighter opposing the British rule in India. Following his non violent ways, India regained her lost identity, and attained freedom. 

I learnt a few of life's lessons, where Mahatma walked

One of the many movements of Gandhi, was the campaign against untouchability. He renamed Dalits (untouchables) as Harijans (children of god), and worked towards their rights in the country. 

Residents of the Harijan Basti attending programs at St Thomas' Platinum jubilee celebrations

A small harijan basti exists in the bylanes of Gole Market, next to the St Thomas’ senior school building. A school gate opens to the basti as well. Gandhiji frequently visited the basti, and used to stroll in the school compound. The old red brick stage, in the school used to be his meditation ground. He used to love the school, where girls were educated. This dates back to 1930s/ 1940s. 

I do not have a further information about this. But our school chairperson, Mrs Manoharan, who was the principal in my times, may shed some light as well. She is a school alumni too.  I will try to update this post, if I get to meet her, in my next India visit, soon. 

In the picture: the school stage

This post is dedicated to the A-to-Z blogging challenge - the largest Blog Challenge in the history of Blogkind. My selected theme is "memories of St. Thomas' "- my Alma mater. This is the seventh post of the challenge, and is linked to the letter G - G for Gandhi, father of the nation. 

Linking this post to UBC too. 

Friends and Food - Thomasite Style

While thinking about writing on letter F, the first thing which came to my mind, or what would come in any of our minds would be “friends”. School friends. I am sure we can have a triology release about friendship tales in school. A small blog post cannot justify “friendship” memories. Therefore, I tried to extract a part of my memory. A summary of tales about “Friends and Food”.

As primary grade student, we were naïve. We started learning about relationships. Friendships. Those were the days, when I recall having a picnic lunch, a potluck as we adults prefer to call it. Venue used to be the school playground. A similar potluck was organized for the Christmas party as well.

As I grew up, and started middle school, the bonds of friendships grew stronger. There was no inhibition, no portrayals, no dramatization of the real self. It was pure, open simple, transparent – friendship. It still is. I am lucky.

In the pic: Class X C, 1995. One of the most notorious, yet loved my teachers. Mrs Rowena Gideon was our class teacher. Much about her in my later posts. :)

Class 7/8, year 1993. The lunch hours started witnessing commotion. No one was eating their own food. Atleast 8 hungry girls on each lunch box. Potluck became a daily routine. One chappati, split in 6 bites, fed six different mouths. This was just to exemplify the extent.

Astha’s mom used to make delicious tehri/ pulao. It was a plain dish – white rice, chane ki dal, with zeera and ghee tadka. Amazingly awesome. Astha used to get a big box of this. During lunchtime, a helping of this delicacy was put in the lunch box cover and handed over to me. The rest was gobbled up be the rest of the class.

Bharti Agarwal (love you honey!!) and her yummy bhujia patties – one was booked for me even before the box opened. And that was the only way I used to eat bhujia (Haldiram bhujia). I swear I never eat bhujia, neither then nor now. I don’t recall what used to be the contents of my lunch box, for I have never seen it. It was seen by my besties. I will ask them if they have any memory of what mum used to pack.

This food business slowly relinquished. Instead carrying food was considered oh so old fashioned. Unfortunately, not all could afford eating in the canteen everyday. So what was the way out. So simple, eat nothing, just have fun. After all lunch breaks are not meant to waste time. It is meant to do stuff which makes you famous or sometimes notorious. I stopped eating lunch from class 9 onwards. All I used to do was – teenage fun. Vandana Bhatia was my mentor, my guide – “Calling trouble by being naughty: for dummies”. Bhatia, please spare Sia from the mayhem you put me into so many times.

Bharti used to hand me the patty twice a week, which was sufficient for my tummy ad our friendship. We are still good friends, haven’t met for long, oh really long.

Mental note: Need to plan up with VB and BA soon.

Disclaimer: Astha, Vandy and Bharti are not the only ones who fed me/ unfed me, they are just top of my mind. For the sheer love in my heart for the three of you, your name showcases here. Feel proud girls. 

This post is dedicated to the A-to-Z blogging challenge - the largest Blog Challenge in the history of Blogkind. My selected theme is "memories of St. Thomas' "- my Alma mater. This is the sixth post of the challenge, and is linked to the letter F - F for friends and food. 

Linking this post to UBC too.