It's been a while since I wrote about SDA School, Madurai, and its hallowed halls of learning. As impressionable children enjoying each day with friends at school and going about our usual routine, we don't recognize then what a great impact our school is going to have on us for the rest of our lives. In retrospect, from the vantage point of adulthood, we realize that our alma mater is what has shaped us and moulded us and branded us into the kind of people we've turned out to be. The role our teachers play is incredible, and let me acknowledge here with heartfelt gratitude and praise that I was fortunate in having some of the best teachers there could ever be!
In my last post about the school, I'd written exclusively about Mrs. Kamala Jegadeesan, who actually shaped my career path and motivated me to become an educator. The next important teacher at SDA who'd win hands down any day on the influence scale would be none other than Mr. Daniel Thomas (DT, in short, to many of us!). He started his teaching career when I was in Grade 8, and was assigned to teach us, the first batch in the school, Math, Physics and Chemistry. His dedication to the job was unparalleled and the sincerity with which he went about his task was a little daunting to us children. With his slicked back, straight-parted, wavy hair, and those scholarly glasses, and clear enunciation, he was all that a strict school master was supposed to be, not forgetting the ruler or cane or long pencil he wielded in class. He unravelled beautifully for us the mysteries of the aforementioned subjects, and woe on any student who proved to be a slacker in class! He would teach us a rather difficult problem in Math and then would put down another one on the blackboard, and call upon an unsuspecting student to go and solve it on the board. The ones who did, got away with his praise, but the ones who didn't, recieved a hard rap on the knuckles with the wooden ruler or pencil, whatever happened to be in his hand at that time, a technique that always made sure his pupils paid attention to what he taught!
Mr. DT was best known at that time for mispronouncing certain names, and after he'd left the classroom, the boys would repeat it and cackle away with uncontrolled laughter. Like all the other teachers, I knew him well outside of school, at church. He attended my Dad's Bible classes regularly, particularly on the prophecies in the books of Daniel and Revelation. The church leaders would have a meeting after the Saturday service at noon, and child that I was, I would hang around and wait for my parents to take me home for lunch. On one occasion, my Dad called me "Oluvu" in one of his affectionate, endearing moments, and I was mortified when Mr. DT called me the same in class the following Monday. I remember flushing awkwardly and wanting the floor to open up and swallow me. You can imagine the riot that followed after Mr. DT had left the class - I was teased mercilessly by the boys, Jeba, in particular!
The boys had the impression that Mr. DT was a scholarly nerd, that all he knew was Physics, Chemistry, and Math, and of course the Church, that he knew nothing beyond those, about anything else in life. Typical short-sighted, erroneous teenage judgement, I would say! They seemed to be very surprised on hearing the news that Mr. DT was getting married shortly. I also remember quite vividly Mr. DT bringing his new wife to my house in Vilangudi, at my parents' invitation. To see one's teacher, and that too a strict one at that, in a different light and setting, was a very unique experience for me as a child, and I remember walking them back to the bus stop with my father. Mr. DT had a son, Tennyson, quite closer in age to my brother Karikalan's son, Julian, and it was always a joy to see him in the role of a father.
The years rolled past and in 2002 I had the privilege of visiting SDA School with my son. I took Dinesh to the English Church at the SDA school campus in Ellis Nagar, and Mr. DT was overjoyed to see us. He was the Principal of the school at that time, and we had a wonderful time walking down memory lane together. He told my son what a great student his Mom had been, and the 7 year old looked on at this distinguished gentleman with the same awe and respect that his mother had had for him when she was a little girl! Some things never change, do they? Thank you, Sir, for all that you were to us!
Olivia, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blogs. It was wonderful to see you put into prose that flows beautifully the thoughts, concerns and uncertainities all of us have. Chandrasekar
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot, Chandra! I appreciate your comment and feel heartened that you are reading what I write and are finding something in my posts that resonates with you! :)
ReplyDeleteJulius Karikalan commented on Facebook (Feb.9):
ReplyDeleteI fully endorse your views, Olivia, on DT. These are some rare species on the verge of becoming extinct
Thanks a lot, Annan! Dedication and commitment are rare to find these days, but we were all fortunate in having the best teachers ever, including you! :)
ReplyDeleteMohamed Nizamudeen, on Facebook, Feb.10:
ReplyDelete@Olivia- Well I read Your blog about D.T. very late.No other Person in the Whole of S D A can be compared to Him- His whole hearted dedication to the job He was given is quite amazing,A Clean cut Guy of sorts. To Me it took nearly thirty odd years to understand this Man,Well as You said I was in the second category of students where Maths &Science never got to My clay head.so I was always like a prey fallen to a wild hunting animal.Though He never punished physically during Our ICSE days.yet His words pricked guys like me.For most of us both Girls &Boys He was a Foe then,,But turn of events in Our life makes Me think,That with out this rude Gentle Man S D A -Madurai would not have prospered, from the strong foundation laid by Mrs.Kamala Jegadeesan.I had the opportunity of studying in S D A-Chennai ,-Vepery branch also for a year,I could award that School(S D A_Chennai)as the worst School ever unlike Our Madurai School.Hats Off To The Man called Mr.Daniel Thomas.We all owe Him a lot.
Sampath Kumar, on Facebook, Feb.11:
ReplyDeleteExcellent blog.He had a great bearing on most us. To me he was a text book teacher ,like the ones Swami meets in Swami and Friends. Since he was our class teacher in class 8,9,10 ,we were literally groomed by him.Like the laws and definitions of physics which are precise, so was his approach in everything –
his teaching. mannerism, discipline ,punctuality etc.Miss White mentioned the other day that when D.T sir left his house to school in the morning and started walking on the street,people on the street knew it was 8.05 am.
He had a fine sense of humour and enjoyed with a laugh when we were caught of our misdeeds.Who can forget his pinches,cuts along with jovial comments (like Godfrey always playing pambaram).He pioneered in setting up the science laboratory,with great zeal and care .We ( our class ) carried all the precious gadgets and instruments from our school to a rented building wher it was set up and they were all set up by nicely by him.We use to enjoy the practical classes.He taught physics for our class.Since he taught physics in class 9 &10, straight from the famous three authors PUC physics book, we had a great advantage over other students in PUC .Most of the practicals was a repeat for us.
There are 4 engineers and a physics teacher from our class, two doctors and even others could have become engineers if they had wanted. Our class owe a lot to him.
To me he kindled the passion in physics and till date I stay connected with it
Thanks, Sampath and Nizam, for sharing your memories of our teacher here! These are the collective memories of every single student who was taught by Mr. Daniel Thomas, I would say! He egged us on to greater heights and his influence on our lives has been far reaching!
ReplyDeleteOlivia Good post.It is really a blessing to have had such wonderful teachers.As you said DT was a stickler for punctuality. On a rare occasion he was late, maybe for 5 minutes. Our class had been called for a special practical class on a holiday/Sunday. Our 'laboratory' used to be a rented house near Chandrasekar's house as Sampath pointed out. We were all happy to find that DT wasn't there, we could back to our pambarams and marbles after all. Our happiness was short lived as we spotted DT approaching us from TB road. Immediately all of us decided to hide and fool him to think that we had all gone back. After all he was late 5 minutes or not. So all us, including the 3 girls in our class hid in a few vantage points. A few of us ( it is an overstatement as actually the whole class can be called a few of us. We were only 18 students in our class)hid behind a big tree on the roadside. We were jostling with each other to have a glimpse of DT's expression when he realises his students are not there. DT reached the lab. Stood there and looked at his watch and turned to face us as if he knew where exactly we were. Or maybe he had seen us hide behind the tree. Then somebody, I don't know who, pushed Balusamy. He started running and in the middle of the road he stood with the characteristic Balusamy look. Eyes wide open, mouth forming a perfect 'O'. He froze facing DT as a rabbit caught in the lights. It was time for us to come out of our hiding sheepishly. The scene is perfectly etched in my memory. I don't remember whether he punished us or not. Knowing DT, he would have had a quiet chuckle.
ReplyDeleteGovind, thanks for your memories! I can't believe you guys did that, and to DT of all people ...LOL! Yes, I remember that house very well - the lab was upstairs, and I remember dissecting cockroaches, frogs, and field rats there, under Ms. ...Juliet Rani's supervision. DT familiarized us with experiments with the Vernier Calipers, physical balance, titration of salts, etc., which made them all like child's play in the pre-university class, thanks to our teachers! BTW, did you guys really play pambarams and marbles? On the school grounds or elsewhere? Interesting!!!
ReplyDeleteVidhya said On Facebook,Feb. 17:
ReplyDeleteHere's one from me.well, Lawyer Rajsekar kindled my memory when he quoted this incident.I was a very fussy and slow eater. So it was a rule that we had a double decker tiffin box that was usually carried by my sister from whom i would have ...to collect and return the box to so that she could keep tab on my lunch, if i had finished it without wasting or if i hadnt she would bully me to death and get all her work done through blackmail.One afternoon,DT Sir was screaming furiously at the entire class for not being able to give him the right answer, it was well past the bell for lunch and I was standing there in his fullest view smiling at my sister being bombarded! Today was "My Day". Suddenly he walked up to me and asked me what I was there for and as i spoke to him, action queen that I was, I had this Thick Fat pencil, which Massey Fergusan,had given as a compliment. I carried it with me as it was a rare possession, so I naturally wanted to show it off and secondly could never afford to loose it.He grabbed it from my hand and asked me where I got it from and with my head heald high that such a BIG man was asking for this small possesion of mine I told him that my dad presented it to me as it was a compliment that came with the tractors they sold.And off went the pencil to smother the nails and knuckles of that entire class.I could have died 36 times.(thanks Govind,f you were 18 in number, then both your hands were hit, so 36 times, I say) As for my sister she was breathing fire and crying, now I realize it was more that I was watching rather than the pain.After DT sir left , she gave me both the boxes and told me I had to finish both of them and if I opened my mouth back at home or even breathed a word about it... dire consequences awaited me. But the saddest part is, DT sir never gave back my pencil.After A week ,I mustered all courage and asked him.. he gave me a look, his lips all curled, his eyes, eyebrows raised and said"Ask your father for another one" How could I tell him my dad was even worse and how difficult it was to hide the fact that I had Lost my pencil cause my dad would never have bought my story that DT sir had my pencil...But I really Loved Both of them so much that I thank god that I will be seeing one soon .. DT sir, I really miss you and your thoughts actually bring a smile to my lips. Thanks again.
My reply to Vidhya, Feb.19:
ReplyDeleteVidhya, your memory seems to be really sharp ...how well you remember all the details! Thanks for the pencil story! Somehow I thought DT personally selected all those long, fat pencils to punish his students with, but now I know better! LOL!