Free

Free bird in me

Soar in the sky

Call to thee

Lord, the creator, love me more

Body is fine, soul is sore. 

Linking this post to UBC (Sunday 6th April 2014) 

Vote for…. Elections @STS

Trust me, I deleted 50% complete posts draft twice. But as the day ends, I have to do my alphabet E. Therefore, finally I put a tape on the delete button. ;)

The reason for my anxiousness is the topic itself.

E, for Elections

Integral part of my school memories. An event which molded me as a person I am today. STS has annual elections, a replica of the Indian polls, held every 5 years (Recent Indian history has seen a change in this frequency though). STS conducted a fully democratic process of electing the cabinet.

St Thomas’ Cabinet was headed by a Prime Minister. The PM had two Deputies. And then there were a set of 10 or 12 ministers. Each minister had two deputies. The school house captains and vice captains were a part of the cabinet as well. I will talk about the houses in another post. There were 4 representatives from Class X, one from each section. Class XI and XII had 2 reps each.

STS Cabinet, Year 1996

Yesterday, my school friend, Manju Oberoi, whatsapped me. Talking about my blog posts, she went  back to yesteryears. Year 1994. It was my first election campaign. 

Once again, I have the disappointing and helpless feeling – such incidents and events need the pictures to do justice. I will update the posts once I procure pictures from various sources.

Anyways, the election campaign used to bring studies to a total standstill. From pamphlets, to print banners (cloth and paper), handmade posters, class to class campaigning, morning assembly campaigning, election songs. Well, we had it all. It was a mayhem. Total commotion. Friends forming groups, campaigning for their choice of candidate. Juniors timidly followed.

And then there was the D day, the voting day. Secret ballot (what did you thing, eh). No gundagardi, no dabangbaazi, no chance of booth captures. It was secret voting. One by one, you go, cast your vote on specially printed ballot papers, mark the one you want to elect.  Results were declared a day or two later, once the outgoing cabinet counted the votes. 

When I was selected for the first time, in Class 10, I can never forget the moment my name was announced. It was unexpected. I was pretty sure I can never win, the opposition was very strong. (I know you are reading darling!! :) ) But the moment is engraved in my memory. I don’t remember the result days of class XI and class XII. They were not unexpected.

The operations of the cabinet, and other details may come in separate posts. The STS school elections are the closest the teenage kids come to democracy.

For 3 years I was a part of the St Thomas’ School Cabinet. This fills me with great pride.

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 fifth post of the challenge, and is linked to the letter E -  E for Elections.

  

Linking this post to UBC too. 

Disclaimer - Memory Loss

So, I am pleased that so many of you are reading my posts, my thoughts about my alma mater. It makes me really very happy, that St Thomas' teachers and all my school mates are reading it regularly as well. :) What else does a blogger want? 

Unfortunately, inspite of my research before writing every post, there are some of my memories, which are not 100% foolproof.  Two the errors in the previous post - Dance Drama and Dumbos have been corrected, thanks to my teachers and friends, who prompted me. 
1. The dance drama - "save the forest save the world" was performed when I was in grade 4. The original post had Grade 3. 
2. The name of the Barry John directed play was "Indorella". The original post had "Superella". Superella was a character in the play. My teacher, Mrs Simmi Bhatia, and two of my friends - Vandana Puri and Dipti Malhotra, have been kind enough to point it out. Thank you. :) 

Well, the crepe bandage around my knee, and the lactose intolerance is taking a toll on my memory. Thanks for bearing me. 

**Clapping the STS clap**

Dance Drama and Dumbos

14 years in a school. Growing up. Toddlers to young teenage beauties. Learning - everything. Reading, writing, cramming, singing, dancing, acting, enjoying. Yes, I have done it all. Just like you.Out of the many exposures in school life, I loved a few of them. Reading, writing, and dramatics. I never got an opportunity to work on any of these. But you know what your heart says, right?

My first memories of dramatics at school date back to 1988. I was in grade 4. STS organized a dance drama – “save the forest, save the world”. Atleast 200 kids participated in the dance drama. I played the role of a poor and hungry farmer. Mr Pendarkar, our dance teacher, and a few of our teachers, directed the whole 2 hour show. It was performed in the night, under colorful flash lights. The big old beautiful stage (around 400 sqm)  was not enough. Two side stages were erected. The school was white-washed, fresh graffiti was painted on the side walls of the school lawns. The dance drama was a super duper success. My mum had the role to play as well – she was the makeup artist for class 4-A.

The next big thing was “Indorella” – a Barry John dance drama. Year 1992. 6 months of preparation – casting, planning, storyboarding, setting. It used to be a total chaos. Total success. Barry John and his professionalism clearly reflected in the show. Indorella was about women of today. What a women is, and what she can be. Those were the times when the young generation was rising for the gender equality. Due to shortage of space, this show was held at the Air Force Auditorium in Subroto Park, New Delhi.

The senior school stage, where Mahatma Gandhi used to meditate

Year 1995/ 1996 – we celebrated our school’s 60^th birth anniversary – the diamond jubilee. Along with the year long celebrations – scholastic, and others, we also had another Barry John show. God forbid my memory, I do not recall the name of the show. It was against the oppression of poor, and oppression of women, with focus on the eastern part of India. I played the role of a zamindar (maybe my built did not fit me in the female roles). It included recitation of Rabindra Nath Tagore’s verses, amongst other poets. This show was held in our new auditorium. We were so proud of it. It was built for the school’s 60^th birthday, a much needed audi.

Every year, we had Christmas plays. Every year. Christ was born in the artificially created manger. One of the beautiful girls’ used to be the guardian angel. We had the three kings travelling from the east, carrying gifts for little lord Jesus. My participation used to be mandatory, less because I used to act well, more because I was sincere in my practice and attending the sessions.

Along with these events, we had morning special assemblies every Tuesday. Every section got its turn. The class had to take a topic and act+sing+dance+recite in order to get the message forward. It could be “being kind to others”, “respecting elders” etc etc. The assemblies could be based on the festivals as well. For example, if holi was approaching, the theme could be holi, and then enact the whole Holika and Prahlad scene, sing songs and play colors.

If all this was less, our teachers used to set up wonderful show at teacher’s day. I remember, once, our school principal, enacted a madari (the man who runs monkey shows) scene. I decipher the hidden meaning now. ;)

I think I can write a full novel on St Thomas’.

On a different note, in grade 9, (year 1994) Mrs Avinash Kaur Sareen, yes, our very on Avinash Kaur, from DoorDarshan, was my physics teacher. She was a science teacher in St Thomas’. Her spectacles, stern looks, red lipstick lips, top knot, and lovely sarees made her one of the strict teachers of STS.  Not even a single student was spared. For Mrs Sareen, all of us were – DUMBOS. 

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 fourth post of the challenge, and is linked to the letter D - D for Dramatics and Dumbos.

  

Linking this post to UBC too. 

The Canteen Saga

My school, St. Thomas’, has three buildings – Nursery (nursery and kindergarten), junior school (std 1 to std 6) and senior school (std 6 to std 12). Nursery and junior school are in the same compound, in Karol Bagh (New Delhi). The senior school is situated on Mandir Marg (Gol Market, New Delhi). I have spent a good 14 years at STS, therefore I remember all details of these three buildings. Classes, halls, receptions, principal’s room, playgrounds (and the swings), lost property shelves, book stores, sickrooms, corridors, courtyards and ofcourse the canteens.

The Canteen!!

Junior school canteen was like a two sides open verandah, with brick and mortar tables and benches, all in pastel red. It was pretty huge, and had a very strong asbestos roof. After school it used to convert into a parents waiting area. I remember my mom waiting there for me.

Raphael, the junior school canteen owner. I never saw him free. He was always busy, running on his feet. I have no memories of Raphael smiling, or enjoying (except on the Christmas party when he used to get the gift from Santa). I just remember him serving food, collecting money, helping his aids in cooking and cleaning. He used to supply lunch for Nursery and KG children as well. I distinctly remember a few of the menu items for the nursery wing –

• One small samosa with plain potato filling. Only salt within.
• One idli – no chutney, no sambhar
• One slice of musk melon, mango or half a banana
• Juice (I don’t recall what kind of juice, but some drink in colorful plastic glasses used to  be served)

The junior school menu was not so bland. Infact, it was delicious. I don’t think I have even eaten tastier samosas.

• 4 samosas for two rupees, served with the world’s best Raphael recipe chutney. Awesome is an understatement.
• There was idli and dosa, with the best sambhar I have ever eaten.
• I think there was chhole bhature as well, but honestly, I don’t recall anything other than his samosas and idlis. To die for.

The senior school had a beautiful octagonal two floored red brick building. The ground floor was our canteen. It was done in red hues as well. Colorful collages hung on its walls. The furniture had a contemporary feel, octagon tables with colorful lamination printed of graffiti art. (I love my memory). There were two doors which were always open, a main door used as exit, huge, with double glass doors and a single door small entrance. Well, the entry and exit doors were identified by the school cabinet (details in later posts)

Peter, the senior school canteen owner (I smile here), was a man with less words. He was the “owner”, of the canteen, and he had set some rules for the canteen queue and ways of eating in the canteen. The cabinet team was “supposed” to monitor the students follow these rules. Alas!! In the peak hours, there could be double queues. No plates and cold drink bottles go out of the canteen premises. No messing up with sambhar and chhole. If you drop food, clean it before leaving. 

And a lot more. (Now, I doubt the love for my memory). 

Rules, are meant to be broken. And broken without noise. The entry and exit doors were used interchangeably, depending on the comfort. Plates are bottles were never carried out through the doors, the windows came to the rescue. The double queue used to be a planned mishap. Peter tried to introduce token system in the canteen, just to keep it organized. It did work, as far as I remember. 

I can go on and on. Memories, I love thee.

The senior school canteen was 10% food, and 90% non food. A lot of additional side activities could be witnessed in the canteen. (PS: Before your mind starts running, we are talking about a convent school). From pranks, to birthday treats, to dance preparations, song practice, election campaigns: the canteen used to double up as everything that comes to our mind except food at studies. Peter never objected to any of this. He enjoyed with us. Good old Peter, he had trouble in walking, used a walking stick. I hope he feels better now.

Just to add, one rule which was never broken by any of the STSer, neither in the junior canteen nor in the senior canteen, was: keeping away the dirty dishes. This is imbibed as a STS culture, in all of us, all Thomasites. 

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 third post of the challenge, and is linked to the letter C - C for Canteen.

  

Linking this post to UBC too.