Forty students of SSKV School in Kancheepuram will meet after 46 years on December 4 at their alma mater
It's a meeting with a few women from a 40-member group that has planned a reunion after 46 years at their alma mater, Somasundara Kanya Vidyalaya (SSKV) in Kancheepuram, and I arrive 15 minutes late.
It's obvious I was not missed. Five grey-haired women, draped in saris, sit misty-eyed recollecting memories. Shanthi shakes her head in disbelief, as she tells V.S. Manonmani, “It's incredible I failed to recognise you — one of my best buddies!”
Like a stump sprouting to life at the touch of water, faded memories return powerfully as they discuss their teachers, rivalries and pastimes at SSKV. Y. Vijaya reminds Ambika about their close competition in academics. “Often, just half a mark would separate us,” recalls Vijaya. Ambika nods in agreement. When Shanthi remembers their principal Yashoda Bai, her friends mention the admirable qualities the lady had. “Our SSLC exams were postponed by two months, due to the anti-Hindi agitation,” says Devasundari. “Yes, the 1965 anti-Hindi agitation was intense in Kancheepuram,” adds Shanthi.
This meeting — at Ambika's house in Vadapalani — has turned out to a beautiful prelude to the grand get-together on December 4 in Kancheepuram. “We'll spend the day — from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. — at SSKV chatting all the way. Forty-six years is a long separation and we have a lot of catching up to do,” says Devasundari, who master-minded this reunion, which brings together 35 students from the 1965 batch and five from the 1966 batch.
The plan for the get-together took shape in an extraordinary way. “Around two months ago, my mother's obituary in a newspaper enabled a classmate, K.S. Prema from Vellore, to get in touch with me. Through her, I contacted a few other friends,” says Devasundari, who lives in Bangalore.
The ground work for the reunion was done by Mallikeswari — a classmate who lives in Kancheepuram — and her husband. With Mallikeswari and three others, Devasundari approached the school authorities to seek permission for the programme. “They were greatly impressed with our initiative,” she says.
The children of these women are surprised that their mothers — most of them stay-at-home — are taking the trouble to meet their school friends. The beauty of the effort lies in the fact that 99 per cent of them are not Net-savvy and are not present on online social media. Phone numbers had to be collected.
“As we were out of touch all these years, the task was not easy,” says Vijaya. “In the past, landlines alone enabled people to stay in touch over long distances. But some families did not have them.” A Tamil poem commemorating the reunion, penned by Devasundari, sums it up: “Like Eliza in My Fair Lady, we were limited by our circumstances. After fulfilling our responsibility to help the younger generation on to its feet, we are now free to meet and share the wonderful years we have walked through.”
Rajappa
0830 AM
02 Dec 2011
*** Prince Frederick, correspondent
**** The HINDU, Chennai Metroplus, Friday, 02 Dec 2011
It's a meeting with a few women from a 40-member group that has planned a reunion after 46 years at their alma mater, Somasundara Kanya Vidyalaya (SSKV) in Kancheepuram, and I arrive 15 minutes late.
Like a stump sprouting to life at the touch of water, faded memories return powerfully as they discuss their teachers, rivalries and pastimes at SSKV. Y. Vijaya reminds Ambika about their close competition in academics. “Often, just half a mark would separate us,” recalls Vijaya. Ambika nods in agreement. When Shanthi remembers their principal Yashoda Bai, her friends mention the admirable qualities the lady had. “Our SSLC exams were postponed by two months, due to the anti-Hindi agitation,” says Devasundari. “Yes, the 1965 anti-Hindi agitation was intense in Kancheepuram,” adds Shanthi.
This meeting — at Ambika's house in Vadapalani — has turned out to a beautiful prelude to the grand get-together on December 4 in Kancheepuram. “We'll spend the day — from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. — at SSKV chatting all the way. Forty-six years is a long separation and we have a lot of catching up to do,” says Devasundari, who master-minded this reunion, which brings together 35 students from the 1965 batch and five from the 1966 batch.
The plan for the get-together took shape in an extraordinary way. “Around two months ago, my mother's obituary in a newspaper enabled a classmate, K.S. Prema from Vellore, to get in touch with me. Through her, I contacted a few other friends,” says Devasundari, who lives in Bangalore.
The ground work for the reunion was done by Mallikeswari — a classmate who lives in Kancheepuram — and her husband. With Mallikeswari and three others, Devasundari approached the school authorities to seek permission for the programme. “They were greatly impressed with our initiative,” she says.
The children of these women are surprised that their mothers — most of them stay-at-home — are taking the trouble to meet their school friends. The beauty of the effort lies in the fact that 99 per cent of them are not Net-savvy and are not present on online social media. Phone numbers had to be collected.
“As we were out of touch all these years, the task was not easy,” says Vijaya. “In the past, landlines alone enabled people to stay in touch over long distances. But some families did not have them.” A Tamil poem commemorating the reunion, penned by Devasundari, sums it up: “Like Eliza in My Fair Lady, we were limited by our circumstances. After fulfilling our responsibility to help the younger generation on to its feet, we are now free to meet and share the wonderful years we have walked through.”
Rajappa
0830 AM
02 Dec 2011
*** Prince Frederick, correspondent
**** The HINDU, Chennai Metroplus, Friday, 02 Dec 2011
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