A Daffodil's Diary

"Part of St.Ann's being demolished. Sixty classrooms – 30 on the ground floor and 30 on the first floor corresponding to a total of 2,388 sq.mts are being demolished. The school will be losing anywhere between 20ft-40 ft in width and 625 ft in length for the proposed road widening work."
-Read the newspaper.
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I almost jumped from my seat in confusion. For, confusion there was. How can they touch St. Ann's...? Isn't it a school? ..& who's ever heard of part of a school getting demolished for road widening? Also, doesn't it come under the heritage buildings? After all, It is 100+ years...138 to be precise. HOW CAN THEY EVEN THINK OF THIS..?

I was very upset & angry!!

All these thoughts made my day heavy & I was down with a distinct pain at what's going to get lost...forever. Though I hadn't visited my school in quite a while..its where I got my basic foundation, the place where I graduated from a toddler to a teenager...where I learnt my 'Do-Re-Me's-..the place where I saw my first English movie at Sangeet....the place where I learnt to put on the first stitches in the needle-work class... the place where I read my first novel -Nancy Drew...& so many other first things.
A place which has given me umpteen memories, beautiful friends, meanings for life...& helped mould the person I am to a large extent.

...The wing that was getting demolished was the one which housed classes V to Xth...
Also to be gone forever were the Singing hall, Library & the Piano classroom.

So, understandably, majority of my schooling was spent in that wing...& hence the mood.

As there was displeasure over the happenings...over the inevitable, [coz when there are losers ruling... the public too inevitably- Loses!!]; ...Anyways, I've not started this to write about the Govt. & what I think of it...

...I'm reminiscing some wonderful memories of the great institution called, 'St. Ann's High School' ; which had begun as a co-ed & then later became a girls only school.

Anybody who has studied there or has memories of it, are welcome to add any memories which I may have missed. :)
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Right from lovely spacious campus...dotted with amazing trees, huge playgrounds, assembly halls & boarding house within too, St Ann's had it all.
Following 2 educations systems within,The SSC & the ICSE, the school wonderfully managed to hold in so many students in one campus, at one time. The induction day was the only ceremony where both the sections, SSC & ICSE came together.

Students were distributed in four houses...named on 4 flowers, that were,
Daffodils/Pansies/Roses & Shamrocks, [It isn't too difficult to guess the colours of the houses... & the house I belonged to... Right? :) ]
In competition for the school championship every year, each house gave their best year after year to win the championship. Decided on ratings for the sports day march past, drill displays, games, dramatics, debates... etc... the overall count decided which house won the championship.
The few other memories that I cherish are:

• St. Mary's church: This beautiful church must have had almost every Annite pray & burn candles there at some or the other point in their schooling years. :)
• Saturday Canteens: These were canteens where students got food from their homes & sold it in the break. The money went for charity. I most loved those canteens. My Mom's chhole were a hit so that used to be my constant, constant! :) 
• Class Assembly: Every class had their turn to represent for morning assembly on rotation basis. 1 girl from each class, would come onstage & start with a preceding small prayer before the main prayer.

Apart from the prayers, the assembly also had,

• The School song in the Monday assembly,
• Maa telugu talli for Tuesday assembly,
• Vande Mataram on Thursday &
• Saturday was for the National Anthem.

• ~ Then there was 'Money for the mite box': A box to collect money for charity in each class.
• The lovely Christmas Celebrations.
• Sports day: Which was a sure hit, with the Military band which played & made it awesome - Always!!
• Display board near the Principal's office - Again Class wise, each class had to come up weekly with something inspiring for the board & decorate it.
• Out of station excursions: Excursions for the IX std. students. [My batch had gone to Bangalore, Mysore & Ooty.]

...& finally how can I miss adding the names of the teachers who taught me through out the years...who were an important part of my growing up. To begin with, Late Mrs. Singh & Late Jaya Didi. Lovely human beings & teachers who impacted me the most.
...Mrs Poppins, Kumar didi, Mrs. Shobhna, Mrs Dutta, Mrs. Joan, Mrs Fillo, Mrs. Matthews, Mrs. Clara Fernandes, Mrs Baliah...& how can I forget Mrs. Trivedi. :D

Studying in St.Ann's was a privilege & 1 of the best things that happened to me....Will finish off here by quoting the first few opening lines of the school song:

Scenes of our childhood, scenes of our youth,
the school we love & cherish dear...
Preparing us for life's rough way..
..St. Ann's forever we will cheer......

... & so as we sang ~~~ Loved, Cheered & Cherished would be the spirit of St. Ann's & the Annites in the times to come.
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