E-Paper
Never forgot the lesson of not wasting I learnt in kindergarten: Rana Safvi
I joined La Martiniere Girls’ College (LMGC) in January 1962 and passed out in 1972. At that time I was Rana Zaidi (her maiden name).
I joined La Martiniere Girls’ College (LMGC) in January 1962 and passed out in 1972. At that time I was Rana Zaidi (her maiden name).
I remember my first day at school very clearly. My mother had come to drop me and my class teacher was Miss Alphonso. That evening, at home, I told my mother I had learnt all the English that I needed to know and there was no need for me to go to school again.
When she asked what I had learnt, I said ‘thank you’, ‘sorry’ and ‘excuse me’. Of course she sent me back!
My two elder sisters, Farzana and Naheed, were also studying there and I would often tag along with their friends.
In those days, there used to be benches in the verandah and our driver would bring hot food for our lunch daily. I was in kindergarten but I never forgot the lesson of not wasting that I learnt back then. Once, I left a lot of food in my plate and my driver said, “Baby what you wasted could have fed some hungry child. Why did you take it if you couldn’t eat it?” Since then, I am careful to take only what I need.
Those were fun days.
I did well in school and got a double promotion. I skipped Class 5 but it proved counter-productive, as my grounding in maths became shaky. I picked up all the other subjects but to date, I am scared of math. It didn’t help that my sisters aced their mathematics paper. Eventually, I dropped the subject in ISC (Class 12), else it would have affected my grades.
I was good in English and history. My favourite teachers were Miss Ludwig and Miss Medley. I learnt a lot of values from school. Miss Cornelius and Mrs MacLure were role models for us for their behaviour and the values they inculcated in us.
Miss Thakurdas is often remembered by our batch – mainly for being very strict in the maths class. She also taught us history. I was her favourite history student and her worst maths student. So, I got praise and condemnation in equal parts.
Miss Charan and her starched sarees are etched in my mind. But most of all, Miss Gresseaux and how scared we all were of her.
We learnt the values of brotherhood at school by repeating the pledge ‘Hum sab Bharatwasi bhai-behen hain’ (We Indians are all brothers and sisters).
Those were the days.
Today, I am connected to many of my class fellows via whatsapp. We also meet as often as we can.
I am looking forward to coming to Lucknow. I was a grubby schoolgirl when we celebrated the centenary and now, as an adult, I will return to celebrate the 150th anniversary.
It’s special.
(The writer is a historian. She lives in Delhi and will be travelling to Lucknow on November 29, 2019 for LMGC’s sesquicentennial celebrations.)
