The Early Steps - Journey of Education (Part II)

A tight slap from one of my teachers brought me back to senses! I have been chatting nonchalantly in our Geography Class (if I remember correctly). It reminded me that I had eventually landed up in the Class 6 - the Secondary Section of my education journey.

Gradually, the mysteries of Physics, Chemistry & Biology started to unravel, taken by our uncompromising Chandana Miss. I remember vividly that she always encouraged us to ask the "why" behind everything! Deepali Roy Miss was our Class Teacher in Class 6A. It will sound incredulous, but she taught us singing in SUPW classes! Imagine our hoarse teenager voices singing the evergreen Rabindra Sangeet: "Agun er Porosh moni..."! 

I also remember a subject called "History Project" was introduced, which was taken by the very knowledgeable Suvro Sir; and much to our astonishment he even turned a subject like History into something quite exciting.

Sonali Mukherjee Miss was our Class Teacher for Class 7C. She was an upright and disciplined lady whom you wouldn't want to cross; she taught us well. I remember another life-lesson learnt the hard way. There was some issue for which the entire class was drawing some flak from Miss; in between that I inadvertently raised from my seat to draw attention to some feedback in my homework (what an idiot, I must have been!) which seemingly I couldn't understand... Miss was distracted and gave me a thorough dressing down that I thought myself above class to not pay attention to the matter which she was keen upon impressing to the class. I knew that I didn't do that on purpose, but the learning was to be aware of the situation before raising issues - and that is so meaningful in today's corporate world!

One of the best period of my student life was spent in Class 8D. Ananya Miss was our Class Teacher. I have rarely come across a better, a kinder and a gentler soul! She always had a smile and patiently overcame all our "naughtiness" (for want of a better word) to drill some learning into our thick skulls! I remember one occasion, when she would shed a drop of tear hearing one of her students had used obscene language - it reflected the deep care she had for all of us. 

We were all introduced to Nandy Sir, Raja Sir, Sandeep Sir by now - teaching the complex subjects of Mathematics, Physics & Literature with panache and ease. Especially Nandy Sir's "chaagol" is some thing we felt embarrassed about but also enjoyed in equal measure. Obviously, the enjoyment came when he called that to someone else!

Jayanti Bhowmik Miss was one of the most senior teachers of our school, but her enthusiasm and spirit meant that she remained "young" at heart and no doubt that was a student favourite! She was an expert in drawing maps and could do that at a drop of a hat - so you would've guessed already, she taught Geography.

Nandy Sir presided over Class 9D. One of the most unruly sections I have ever been; probably we realized that as teenagers we should make more ruckus and mind you, we were quite a handful with few of my batch-mates taking serious pleasure in disrupting class proceedings.

I remember, Nandini Miss patiently explaining the equations of Chemistry, Madhumita Miss & Geeta Banerjee Miss delving into the intricacies of English & Bengali Literature.

Must say, I do remember Neeta Banerjee Miss - who eventually would be our Class Teacher of Class 10B - spending enough time to make us appreciate the importance of Moral Science. It was a mandatory subject, and we read "We are the World" though our entire journey in St Xavier's School. On hindsight though, I do feel it wasn't such a bad idea, cause in today's world if there's one thing which is dwindling fast enough, it is "morality" in human beings! Miss, was equally adept while explaining the nuances of the Shakespearean classic: Mechant of Venice which formed a part of our board syllabus.

Uday Bhanu Roy Sir, a mathematician stalwart of our school, was an epitome of calmness. His sense of humour along with his mathematical prowess was always in top form! Rita Pandey Miss increased our knowledge pertaining to History & Civics while Angana Miss took us deep into the demand-supply curve of Economics. Madhumala Miss imparted lessons on Biology whereas Sumita Saha Miss took care that we made sense of Bengali Literature.

One teacher who was a constant from our primary school days to the last day was Shanti Sir. He always had an affable personality which changed radically during the football practice sessions for the Inter School Football Tournament. This tournament was a chance of all footballers of our school to make our mark, and it was an honour to get the chance to represent our school. I fondly remember that we could win the tournament both the times I represented our school in Class 9 & 10 defeating our arch rivals St Michael's!

I also remember, Dasgupta Miss - who organized our celebrations after the football tournament wins, Kakoli Miss, Chaitali Miss, Anita Miss, Rita Miss, Paromita Miss, Usha Miss who took classes unfortunately which I was not a part of... and I am sure I am missing some of our valued teachers - who all contributed to the wonderful Xavier's experience!

I am quite thankful to ICSE Board and my school who thought that some amount of introduction to a Third Language was also important - Snigdha Miss taught us Hindi from Class 5 to 8, which has helped me immensely as I ventured out of Bengal for higher education & eventual service.

It would be grossly unfair on my part not to mention Fr Wautier, Fr Wavreil, Fr Jerome, Fr Fohshow, Fr Mani under whose guidance and expertise the school prospered from one height to another. We rarely interacted with our Headmasters and Prefects but they commanded respect and love with their responsible words and actions at all times.

I also remember our School Bus Conductors & Drivers, our Watchmen, our School's Staff who all made our journey comfortable and ensured that we remain safe and carried only good memories from Xavier's!

School's memories are inseparable from friends - though nowadays interactions, much restricted to WhatsApp group and the occasional pleasant meeting in airports / stations, always feel as if it continues from where we left off. Even after much time, there's hardly any awkwardness and I suppose that is only possible with friends from school - people from whom we learnt the art of friendship over a span of 10 beautiful & formative years!

I have yearned to go back to St Xavier’s School, Durgapur for a visit, but for one reason or another couldn’t make it happen – I await the opportunity and hopefully next time when am at my home town will be able to visit the crucible wherein we developed from kids to boys!

I wish my school upholds its aura & swagger in these tumultuous times – wherein education is more a business than an avenue of shaping the world's tomorrow!

Viva La Xavier’s