On the busy thorough-fare of the arterial AJC Bose Road, stands PRATT MEMORIAL SCHOOL... I was handling a project of ZEE Television for which I had an appointment with the Principal of the school. As I stepped inside the premises of the school through the narrow, dingy side-gate... and took a deep breathe... I was assailed by the familiar smell ... I could feel my heart pounding.... the sight of the yellow & green building my face splitting into a grin...my eyes lighting up... years falling away... It was almost as if everything else had ceased to exist... & I was standng there in isolation...I was transported back into time...
Long buried memories resurfaced like a gurgling mountain spring... that of a pint sized 'me' tugging at my teacher's skirt and asking her in a wobbly voice..." Miss, amar kaka aashchena keno??" JB & me, standing at one corner of the front lawns and chatting during breaktime... that of Teresa house girls practicing March-past...that of all of us rushing to our match-box school bus, as the bell rang,to reserve our places.... that of sitting on the steps with a book in hand, doing last minute mugging up for the board exams... that of 'Shirt-writing'... that of hugs... tears... failures & successes...
I was back to innocence...Back to my Childhood.... My School.... My Alma mater... My Cherished Memories ... & my girlhood dreams...
The Wooden Staircase...which was out of bounds for us during our schooling years....
It almost seemed to me that time had stood still here... The same grills... green carpet...banister.. the stained glass window...
The Front Lawn... around which we marched, in the sun... to the beat of the Frank Anthony School Band!!!! ha ha.... I remember how the girls loved ogling the guys....
This was where my class 5 Class room used to be... Mrs. Das used to be my class teacher... Now Mrs. Kerr, teaches her class 3 students here...(she also happens to be an ex-student, GOSH!!! I remember when she had just joined as a junior school teacher.... she had a HUUUUGE fan following.... JB included...!!! I used to hav a good laugh at this....)
The Basketball Court... where Ms. Mallah, Still rules with her Forceful Voice & Whistle... ... she used to make us run around the court... here we practices our throws... races... played Kho-kho... volley-ball... I spent a huge anount of time in this place...practising...
The Pearson Block... named after one of our old Principals, she was there when I joined school in lower nursery…
This Tree outside the classroom window.... was a wonderful Daydreaming place....
The New Generation Prattlers.... we had a different uniform in kindergarden...(a white shirt with pipings on sleeves & collar... and a green pinafore)
The Laboratory Corridoor....there was ...(and still is...) a skeleton in the bio lab... we usesd to be so scared of that... we used to spin ghostly stories all around it... as kids, when we got caught misbehaving in the boarding... we were told by our 'cane-lashing, bi-spectacled, harridan' of a warden,(Mrs. Murray, was her name) that we would he sent to the lab & left there alone... (Shuddddddderrrrrrrrrr...!!!)
The Garden where, we practiced our Broad-jumps & High Jumps... we used to have soooooooooooo much fun here durning the Zero-period... There is a huge Jamun tree... the ripe fruits used to fall on the ground.. kids used to go around squashing it underfeet & turn the place purple...
Our Canteen .. where we bought our.. paratha & chilli chicken... jhaal chips... ice-creams.. meringues... aloo-chat... ohhhhhhhhh... those golden days... (when we didnt have to worry about putting on weight!!!)
The groundfloor corridor.... where I did my classes 6, 8... I remember the day I walked in here wearing my 1st senior school uniform of white blouse with piping & green skirt... I remember rushing about in this corridor... waiting for the prize distribution with pride... That door at the end of the corridor....I used to have my lunch here during my day-boarding days..
I met quite a few of my old teachers....Ms. Dalal (my Fav. English teacher, my love for the subject grew because of her), Mrs. Moitra (Physics teacher), Mrs.Chowdhury(bengali teacher), Mrs. Lahiri(physics teacher... she has put on weight), Ms. Avari( My Geography teacher... she made me love the subject...her emphesis on meticulous map-pointing fetched me a lot of marks...), Mrs. D'mello, Mrs. Biswas....strangely.... none of them seemed as intimidating as I presumed they were when I was in school... In fact they went out of their way to help me complete my project....
A Nostalgic moment...
I visited my school after a gap of a decade... This time as I stepped out of the gigantic, green, iron gates.. I vowed to my self that I will be back sooner!!!
2 comments:
Bhalo hoyeche...
It's always good to feel too nostalgic about a very special place like this,... all sorts of momeries do come rushing in. The last snap carries the feeling well.
Good work...
Hi There,
Just wanted to say thanks a ton for the blog and the pictures.... brought back many a pleasant memory of those glorious school days! :-) I hope to be back someday to have a walk around those corridors and turn back time..... great work! :-)
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