Hail Alma mater dear!!

Hail Alma mater dear!!

Today I paid a visit to my school, Sishya, after more than 2 years. I wasn't expecting much from the visit except meeting my hindi teacher Mrs. Kotiyal. It ended up being a lot more than that.

Even as I stepped into school, a whole bunch of memories came rushing back. Today was election day. Looking at all the banners and kids plastered with badges campaigning for themselves and others, i was taken back a few years. Nothing seemed to have changed. Somehow it appears to me that sishya kids are bigger and healthier than the average school kid. Even as Ramani and I walked around with no teacher in sight and students running haywire everywhere, we realized that they are all probably in a staff meeting. As a joke I told him we should probably walk in and introduce ourselves. Turned out I opened the library door at a wrong moment only to be met by stares from about 50 staff members...........today was going to be a memorable day, one way or the other.

Looking at kids playing football in the ground, made me want to play some myself. I remember how we used to play till sweat poured off our uniforms and then usually sit through a hindi or history lecture. The nursery block made me go back in time instantly. Met a couple of aayas who have been there since i was 4 years old. They've spent their entire lives taking care of kids. Even today, they are so proud of what they do........hats off to them! The same old slides, merry-go-round and see-saws. Berry fights, talent shows, running and catching, craft, it all came rushing back. Almost all buildings are still the same. The examination hall, the library, the games room, the principal block, the basketball court, the canteen..........all except the auditorium. That is going through a major overhaul. Some of the furniture in the newer classrooms can be found only in some choice restaurants these days. Sishya is only getting more sophisticated.

Speaking of which, the kids were as usual at their sophisticated best. The profile of an average sishya kid is that of a well-to-do child who is brought up with a lot of freedom, who doesn't have the pressure of excelling in academics, who is allowed to develop his own personality and so on. I think that is something that will never change. Ever since we were toddlers upto now, the line of cars entering the school has only increased. Most kids have a swagger about themselves and know how to carry off the clothes they are wearing even if its just their uniform. Not to be left behind, the parents are quite fashionable themselves. From filmstars to politicians to industrialists, all of them have their kids in sishya.

Ofcourse, we met most of the teachers that taught us from the senior classes onwards. Some of them have left. But most of them still look at us the same way..........as kids who just look grown-up. For them, we will always be little kids running around in our blue uniforms. Every teacher remembered me. Not just the teachers, even the administative staff, the peons, the aayas, all of them remembered me. That ofcourse, has a bit to do with the fact that my mom teaches in sishya. but i was a part of sishya even before she joined. But that is one of the good things about being in sishya. Every teacher who taught you knew you individually. It may not be the greatest thing always but it makes the kid as well as their parent feel that someone is looking out for them. Also, the teachers give a lot more freedom to the kids to decide what they want. That is in keeping with the motto of the school "Aspire and excel". I think that is where sishya stands out. They dont force you to pursue a particular field of interest. They let you explore your possibilities and help you excel in that. They dont try to stereotype the kid into thinking engineering is the way to go. Making one a boring kid who does homework all the time and is forced to mug for exams. There are so many schools out there in chennai and all over india where they pressurize kids so much into being this model nerdy student who must become a doctor or engineer. Do the kids learn more? Are they more successful? I dont think so. Turns out every kid who leaves sishya does pretty well for themself. Most of them are educated from good colleges (through merit or otherwise) and end up doing pretty well for themselves in life. They have increased the intake of students this year. Hope that doesn't hinder that rare student-teacher interaction that is such an integral part of the school.

Ofcourse, the public impression about sishya is that its full of snobs. That is not true. Barring a few in every class, most kids are just outgoing. That they are well-to-do is not their fault. Ofcourse, one of the teachers told me that its almost a status symbol to have your kid in sishya nowadays. Also, the closeness that kids share with each other in unmatched. We met an old classmate of ours, Fatima, who has now joined sishya as a teacher. It was quite interesting talking to her. We updated each other on the whereabouts of our classmates. Surprisingly we could account for almost all our classmates who were with us till 10th grade. That shows that we still keep in touch and stay updated about most classmates. I'm sure most of my collegemates from other schools wouldn't be able to do the same. You might think the academics is not challenging enough. That isn't true either. And one of the teachers told me that Sishya is producing some of the best results among schools in the city. Ofcourse we follow the ICSE board which is slightly different from the CBSE.

Its almost six years since I left school. It felt so different going back and yet its the same. So do I regret studying in Sishya........not in the least bit. I've spent 14 years there, 14 wonderful years. I owe most of what I am today to my school. And I wouldn't hesitate to put my kid in Sishya when the day comes!!!