My Alma Mater: What I recall most

St. Germain High School is one place that I can never forget. This school, among other things, has played a pivotal role in making me the person I am today. So I thought I should pen down my thoughts about it. Hmm... Now what do I write about it? My memory is pretty bad you see (God forbid my modesty). :)

For starters, there were the teachers; most of whom had really pertinent nicknames. My classmates come in a close second. These guys who shared the same platform with me for studies, fun and games, and mischief of course (I'm deliberately putting mischief in the end because I wasn't a mischievous kid as most of you would have misunderstood me to be. Whatever incidents have happened which make you feel I'm mischievous were either by accident, or it was one big misunderstanding. Duh!). I can never forget the benders I've got from Pacho (my math teacher Mr. Francis D'souza who eventually went on to teach me SUPW) or the slaps I've got from Mr. Wajid Khan, our Chemistry teacher. Incidentally (and unfortunately), Pacho also used to be in charge of students who came late to school, and me, being me, was always late to school. I would then be sent to Mr. Fazal Bari Khan, who happened to be our "Discipline Master" (You read it right, a Discipline Master. You really needed someone with such a job position to control the guys there). The conversation goes like this:

Pacho: Come come bugger! Late as usual
Me: Sorry sir, actually I, actually I...
Pacho: I suppose you're not late. Rather, everyone else is early
Me: Actually...
Pacho: Give me your school calendar. Time for another late remark. For all you know, you may set a record this year for getting the highest number of remarks.
Me (with regretful eyes): OK, here it is.
Pacho: Now go to our beloved Discipline master's chamber (a lion's den I would say) and collect your reward
Me (Mentally cursing): @!#$%^&!!!!!!! Not again!

The reward was always the same- Chicken sitting- A cruel & barbarous way of making a person squat while bending and placing his head in between his legs. Anybody who dared lift his head up would get a very painful bender on his derriere. Believe me when I say, that it was a real torture and the pain was excruciating. Guys with long hair got a little something extra. Yeah, you must've guessed it by now. They got a free haircut. A haircut that made a porcupine on steroids envious of you.

The time spent in the classroom was no better (Not blaming the teachers, who used to work fervently and with immense passion for their respective subjects). Time to get your minds working and time to get your homework checked. I don't know why this system of giving homework came into being. As if the trees (for the books) we're already wasting on our class work weren't enough. This is when I get the second "reward" of the day. The reward gave me special privileges to stay back after school along with like minded kids. This privilege is better known as ‘Detention’.

Now we already know the inhuman methods of punishment used by Pacho (Benders/Slaps), Wajid Khan (Slaps @ 100+ decibels) and Fazal Bari Khan (Benders/ Chicken sitting). Here are a few others who make it to the list for the use of their unique weaponry.

Mr. Francis Mathew (Nondi)- Wooden Duster- Hard knocks on the knuckles with this lethal weapon. You also got a complimentary coating of chalk dust on your hand absolutely free!

Mr. Joseph Kumar- Some great philosopher once said in the Bible "If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also," but with Mr. Joseph Kumar, that probability never arose because he ensured that he always gave double sided slaps which left your cheeks red-hot, like newly smitten iron (that too, early in the morning).

Mr. I. Charles (Chori)- Here was someone who didn't resort to slapping or physical harm. His main weapon was the teacher's remarks that he gave on the student's calendar; remarks that had to be signed by the parents. If anyone showed the slightest tinge of misbehaviour his calendar was promptly adorned with beautiful remarks. I still remember the weirdest one I got from him- "Jumping and laughing around during the prayer time. Parents to meet the class teacher."

Mr. Samraj (Kaka)- The man who was responsible for our physical training, sports, games and athletics had another unique weapon. His whistle had a thick rope knotted to it (a mini whip) with which he used to lash the boys who went a little out of course (reminds me of bullocks and buffaloes). Making us run five or ten times around the ground was another option he had depending on the type of offense we committed.

Animals at least have PETA to back them up to tackle such ruthlessness, but the poor students (not exactly) had to be content with mental cursing, and a beseeching hope that such an event doesn't happen again.
But at the end of it all, I feel some students (I said some, not all, and definitely not me) deserved such a treatment in order to rectify their incompetencies and mistakes, and this was, according to these teachers, the best way of getting the students on the right path then.


Another thing that I cannot forget are our hockey matches. The times when our school beat its arch rival St. Joseph High School (European) in the finals was really something to look forward to. A typical hockey match included:

• The players from both sides of course (funny)
• Drums, trumpets and other such paraphernalia
• Charged up students who came to cheer for their respective schools accompanied by a few teachers to control them (most of them would quietly give up and surrender to the strings attached with such energetic matches, and the audience of course)
• Booing and shouting slogans against each other (and you guessed it right- slogans filled of profanity)
• Fist fights or throwing things (including corn cobs) at each other sometimes (yeah only sometimes. Honestly!) and finally,
• Victory! Mostly for us (I'm serious).

While hockey, cricket and football (for which our school received many accolades) came under the category of outdoor games, there were a few of us specialised in games played inside the classroom; me being one of them. The most popular among these were pen fight and arm wrestling. Needless to say, I was a champion in both. Only the big boys in class could defeat me in arm wrestling (a different league altogether isn’t it?). Pen fight was a game played on the benches or the teacher's desk by two or more people with the main intention of making the rival's pen fall off it and winning points. This was done by striking the pens against each other with planned positioning.

One more thing that I loved about school was the last day of exams. This was, according to me, a moment that brought about immense merriment in every student. Two months of vacations were a lot in the asking after so much of studying. I also used to look forward for the school to reopen with the same interest level. It was indeed a joyful occasion getting to meet all my friends again after such a long break. The anxiety of knowing which section I would be shuffled to, and which good friends would accompany me was also there. Another thing we missed, being part of an all-boys school were girls. This explains why I'm still not good at the flirting game. ;)

After school I don’t know why, but I didn’t keep in touch with any of my batch mates or teachers (I was shocked to find out that most others didn’t, just like me, and they were stepping into school after a period of 8 years. Now that makes it an even deal). It was only recently; with the help of certain social networking sites that I could rekindle the old fire (I said old fire, not old flame). Most of them couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw me the way I am today.

Throughout my school life I was a really skinny guy (It was only while I was doing my graduation that I started to bulk up and get to the way I am now). I used to curse myself for being like that. But I kept telling myself that one day I’ll become healthy and strong, and now, I’m so relieved that it materialised. One thing that made me famous throughout the school was Yoga. Coming from a pedigree specialised in the discipline meant I needed to know it too. I used to perform certain difficult asanas to impress my classmates, and my trademark trick was to hold my hands together and rotate it from the front of my body to the back of it (or vice versa, without letting go of my hands). I was elated and taken aback when my friends said that they still mentioned my name whenever they discussed Yoga and sorts with others.

The incidents that I regretted doing in school are too many to mention. But the one thing that clearly stands out was when I got caught passing on my answer script to my friend sitting on the other side of the aisle. I couldn’t even make up a different story to tell my mother because I had already confessed to indulging in malpractice, in writing to my teacher. My mum was called to meet the principal who later told me not to attend the rest of the exams. My friend, to whom I passed the answer sheet, was also shown the door but he was lucky his parents didn’t have to be bothered as he was a boarder.

Our Old Boys Association meeting and the reunions that followed is something I’ll always treasure and look forward to. The teachers were in fact very happy to see us all doing so well for ourselves. It made me feel good about the fact that we have changed a lot from what we were in school but changed for good I must say, all the while keeping our basic characteristics the same.

I end this topic with a few verses of the cheer we used to shout against the opposition team during all the hockey matches.

Wherever we go, people want to know
Who we are???
So we tell them...
We're the Germainites, the mighty mighty Germainites, We're the dynamites.........