JOIN USThis photograph was taken in 1941,when I appeared for the SSLC examination from Fort High School in Bengaluru. It is a government high school; in fact, during this period, government institutions were at the top, not only in terms of academic values but also other activities like sports, debating and literary competitions.
Our headmaster Ramaswamy (a London return with double MA in English and Sanskrit) was a strict disciplinarian. Exactly at the second bell at 11 am, the collapsible gates used to be closed, and no entry was allowed afterwards. Once in a week, on Thursdays, a prayer congregation was conducted in the quadrangle and I was picked for a prayer song as I was identified for my good voice. I was so afraid to sing that the stage fear vanished at the very command of the headmaster.
The teaching staff consisted of a good team including M V Krishnamurthy, D Raja Rao, C D Govinda Rao and others. Even today, I remember Krishnamurthy saying ‘my children and your children are playing with our children’, commenting upon the so-called modern life.
Even in my degree class, apart from what C D Govinda Rao taught in our high school, there was nothing to learn in English grammar and composition. D Raja Rao was a Mathematics expert. The Chemistry teacher Krishna Iyengar has written a Chemistry textbook in kannada.
Regarding my classmates ,there are a few retired Engineers like M K Ramachandran, Narayana Rao, Vijayaranga Shetty and N Govindappa. Basavaraju is the owner of ‘Doddappa and sons’ (a garments shop) in Chickpet. Vishwanath, cricket captain, met a premature death and even today, Vishwanath Memorial Cricket continues in his memory.
Another personality is P R Brahmananda, son of late P R Ramaiah, editor of daily ‘Thayinadu’, is a famous economist. He is the product of Bombay School of Economics. S G Srikantiah (grandson of the late legendary B M Sree) retired as the director of medical services in Hyderabad.
We used to often sit on the stone slab of the compound and observe B M Sree passing through K R Road on the way to Central College in his four-wheeler ‘Chevrolet’.
Shankaranarayana Shetty used to share ‘khali dosai’ with me costing ‘mooru kasu’ (1/64 of a rupee) at Krishnappa Hotel (diagonally opposite to Sri Venkateswara Temple) on Saturday mornings before attending classes. What a simple, innocent and unassuming life that was! This meal together was more for fun than hunger. I cannot forget another notorious friend of mine Seshadri. Once, he managed to escape with a pair of gold bangles from my niece, barely three years old. After some time, he was spotted in the premises of Shankar Mutt and he confessed to have committed the crime so that he could free himself from the clutches of his stepmother; out of the two bangles he stole, only one was recovered.
The school field was wide and free with no ‘pandaals’, ‘shamiana’ and plastic bags. The ‘Ramotsava’ music festival of today began with a dais arranged on the terrace of Grain Merchants’ Bank. What an exhilarating feeling it was to float with the melody of the combination of Chambai, Chowdiah and Mani, stretching myself on the green lawns and observing the moon moving slowly along canopy of the blue sky!
The school field was not only used for playing cricket but it also provided a ground for football, volleyball and basketball. I remember even today the then director of education J B Mallaradhya, known among his friends and relatives as ‘Mallu’, entering to play football in sports knickers and a vest. One of my uncles H Venkateshiah also used to take part in the game.
One cannot for a moment think that a great dignitary and statesman like Sir Mirza Ismail, the then Dewan of Mysore, hosting in his prestigious castle, Carlton House, a batch of high school students on certain Sundays with biscuits, tea and chocolates. It is still green in my memory that we were invited by him with sincere and pure affection for the student population. Likewise, BRV theatre, one of the reputed cinema houses, invited high school students to witness certain English classics at a discounted rate of two ‘annas’ (12 paise). I remember watching Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and ‘The Hunchback of Notre-Dame’ there.
I am 93 years old now and I take pleasure in recollecting such memories after my retirement from the State Education Department in 1978.
(The author can be contacted on 8722223619).
To our readers
We invite you to share your memories through our column ‘From the Albums’ by sending in your photograph, with family or friends, in old Bangalore. You can mail us on metrolife@deccanherald.co.in