A JUBILEE GRAPPLE

AWESOME TROIKA

Sakthi Kumar told me this story some twenty years back. Sakthi was the most Sakthiman of the TRIO of Oomman, Mon(yet to become Mohan) and Sakthi folded into one. They were my MSc students of the '91 batch. Undoubtedly the three have the most prominent place in my heart. Before telling you this story I tell you about this AWESOME TROIKA.

The three were very special in many ways. While here in CMS college they were the last to leave the campus. But man, you guessed it wrong. You might have guessed 5 o'clock or 6? No. Even by nine they might be still be lying idle under one of those numerous trees or in the soft cool moonlight. So, 10 o'clock was a reasonable time to leave..........of course on days they left!!

.......a small digression

.......The boys cannot be blamed. i myself had often been mesmerized by the beauty of this campus. Recently Renjan exclaimed about its beauty and said that this is the most beautiful campus he has seen anywhere in India In the night the campus is simply irresistible.Standing in the moonlight trickling through the woods of the campus I often feel like divine swaras falling from a height from Usthad Amjad Ali Khan's Sarod. Standing in the open in front of the Great Hall at times past mid-night I have heard Hari Prasad Chaurasaia's Bamboo pouring out some divine fluid that flowed all over with no viscosity. These feelings are so romantic that one has to experience it to believe it. But then, I think not every one may get it. You or your soul has to be in perfect resonance with that of the campus...its music...its charm....its spirituality....its mission.....

back to you...

The trio sincerely believed that they were the emotional custodians of CMS college. They had a lot to look after!!Now, during their MSc days Prof Mohan Kurien announced his candidature for the Zilla Panchayat election. The pack of three started door to door campaigning on their own. One fine after noon. They knocked at the doors of a palatial residence and out came a stunningly beautiful girl. GULP!!Oomman who was leading the pack of three at that time fell head over heel and even as he was falling he managed to say this much,..."We are students MSc college of CMS course"........ Tongue of a slip!!!! Despite their sincere efforts Prof Mohan Kurien won the election by a thumping margin !!!

Now even after their MSc they did not leave CMS immediately. The umbilical cord was so strong to sever. Eventually Oomman went to IIT Delhi(Now at Pennsylvania State University). Mohan to Delhi University(Now at James Cook University). Sakthi took his Doctoral degree working at the Geroge Sudarshan Centre CMS college(Now at Toyo University). It was their common character to indulge in everything in CMS college as if it was their own personal matter and work for it with all sincerity and put in all hard work unmindful of any reward. God Almighty has rewarded them

Return to the promised story........

The boys used to leave the MSc lab only very late. One day late from the lab the three were lazily walking through the campus. About 8 pm. They were near the Askwith hostel. From far they saw two persons grappling on the ground. I have told you, the three will take charge of any situation in CMS college. They ran up to the scene and found that it were two old men in their seventies. They rose from the ground, stood blushed with drooping heads. In a low tone one of them tried to explain the situation. Both are old students of CMS and were inmates of Askwith hostel.50 years back on the same date on the same spot they had fought a ferocious battle and had threatened to destroy each other. But later they became good friends in life.This day they were commemorating the GOLDEN JUBILEE of the fight. The two men in their sweet seventies never thought that someone would come there at that time to disturb their Jubilee celebrations.

If the two are alive now, they must be in their sweet ninetees!!! WISH THEM A CENTURY GRAPPLE WITH NONE TO DISTURB

SHE WAS AN ANGEL

If she were teaching today, students would have addressed her Mary Ma'am. Ten years back she would have been Mary Miss and twenty years back she would have been Marykutty teacher. But forty years back, in 1970 to be precise, she was Marykutty Sar for us. She was the biology teacher of the elite 10-A class of St:John's High School, Mattom, Mavelikara. In her immaculate white "Chatta, Mundu and Neriyathu", the traditional attire of christian ladies of central Travancore, she looked like an Angel. Perhaps her golden framed spectacles was one thing that told us that she was not an angel but a human being. We called her Marykutty Sar, a down to the earth address with no formality or vanity of a "Miss" or "Ma'am" One boy of our class refused to call her Marykutty Sar as he was privileged to call her "Amma". Yes, Simon George with charming looks was the eldest of the three children of Marykutty Sar. And it was only natural that we were very jealous of him.

Those days our headmaster was the serious looking, heavily built John V Thomas Sar. Though he was not always seen around, his imposing presence in the school ensured that no student tried any mischief. When he was on his morning rounds with a cane in his hand, the school was almost frozen. He never terrorised anybody, but his impeccable personality commanded infinite respect from the people around him. He was a great teacher of English and History. I still remember his class on the "Battle of Panipat". I felt like being there in the battle field. A wonderful teacher with an unmatched sense of humor. Yet, we all were afraid of him.

In contrast, when Marykutty Sar came to our class we felt like a cool gentle breeze blowing over us. She was a conscientious teacher but we had a tendency to relax in her class because, to us, she was Simon's mother and ours too! We never showed the seriousness of being inside a class. We were not shy of not answering her questions or even giving stupid answers. Because, as I said, after all she was Simon's mother and ours too!! When we were too casual she would threaten to use the stick. But we used to sit there undeterred with a "do-it-if-you-dare" kind of posture. We knew that Marykutty Sar cannot inflict pain on anybody, and never on us as we were her darlings. By the end of the year we started to feel that she was Simon's mother too !!! I left the school in 1971 and never met her again, a sin I regret, a sin I can never forgive myself.. Forty long years.......

December 2010. I met Simon after 27 years. We were in Thiruvananthapuram to attend a wedding ceremony. The bridegroom was my student and the bride Simon's. Prof Simon George now is a management expert at the Manipal Institute of Management. I was shocked to hear from him that Marykutty Sar was no more in this world. I had not known that. It is about an year now. I fell silent and there were tears in my eyes. I realized that the world is now a lesser place without Marykutty Sar. Breaking the silence Simon asked:

"When did you see Amma last"?

I replied:

"She was always before my eyes. She still is".

I don't know how I gave that answer. It was right from my heart.

She belonged to the richest tradition of Indian Guruss. She will always be remembered by her students the world over.

This note has no literary value. But it has come from the depth of my heart. Hence I feel emboldened to submit this before the revered memory of my Marykutty Sar. This note is a humble attempt of a humble student to pay homage to a great teacher and a great human being..........No,......... she was an Angel.