Apart from an episode that I wrote about my first day and a slight schema of my school life, there was a period that was left unsaid in that piece of script. It was the final six hundred and five days of my school life. A period that stands like a rose damp in the dew of a cold morning in my life as a student. So fresh. So nourishing. With full of energy.
There were forty of us. We were all combined in our Eleventh standard as the Commerce Batch 2001-2003 students under Jacob Sir and Geetha Teacher. Initially, the entire class was divided into two major groups. Boys and Girls. In that itself there used to be a lot of sub groups too...
But, that situation survived only for a couple of months. By then those great walls between us melted. We used to feel so homely in and outside the school campus. We used to feel it as a spirit when we boast that we are the students of Jacob Sir and Geetha Teacher. It was true that the scale of that spirit was not the same in each of us. It varied in each one of us and it could only vary. And I believe that, that spirit had an out of the ordinary worth that was in possession with no other student of that school.
Jacob Sir and Geetha Teacher. They were the head teachers of the commerce department. Both were strict and loved their students like their own children. But they way they both expressed it was entirely different. When to speak about Geetha Teacher, it is some of her masterpiece dialogues that hits my mind first. Some dialogues like “you people are notorious for your behavior”; “people who laugh for no reason are to be sent to a different place” and so on it goes. But the height of sincerity she had towards each one of her was remarkable. Though we all liked her very much, at times these words used to irritate us a lot. Sorry ma’am for being a bit frank….. But, I’m sure that what we all are today, have a share of the strain that she used to take to bring up each one of us. The sad thing is that to realize her feel for us, we had to move to the then unknown future, the present day, where those old days stands like a gorgeous tantalizing reverie…
Now comes the Macho-Man, Jacob Sir. What should I say about this man…? He is the person who moulds us into Commerce students. He was our class teacher in our eleventh standard. We all used to be his fans more than just students. His voice used to inspire us, scare us, and make us under his control with mutual admiration. He is the Magical-Teacher of Bhavans. A teacher who is the richest for the relation with his students even as the pages of years keep passing after the chapter called Bhavans is over in the book of life. His style and attitude used to fascinate us a lot. And yeah…, among all these the most important one that struck me was his 350cc Bullet Standard. The way he gets onto it, the way he starts it…MY GOD..!!! I was never able to tame my mind at all to wait for a day when I could buy a 350cc Bullet Standard of my own and use it the way he does. It would be an injustice if I didn’t admit the fact that he was the second person after Mohanlal who ignited that dream to buy a 350cc Bullet Standard into a much bigger forest fire which was only to the size of a spark within me. But he never knew that until I told him about it when I went to school for the first time, after my days as a student over there, on an Open-house day to collect my sister’s progress card. And the result…as u can guess was a loud laugh in that rough voiced and the waves of which was bounced from wall to wall several times in that classroom…
Sir used to have a minimum of three periods each in both the Eleventh and Twelfth Standards and each period used to be of forty minutes. And he also used to give us a lot of free periods allowing us to play. Let me be specific…this was never a reason why his students loved him so much. Even if he takes class for continuous hours we used to sit in the class as if we all are in a movie hall watching an action-thriller movie. Though we all were hard core fans of his, the interaction with him is still a nightmare. For him everyone was equal. Even the best student can be a victim of his caning. That whipping sound as the cane cuts the air and then that “CLAP” reverberation as it comes in contact with the buttocks of any one among us… Ooff..!!! Even now when I remember those my body makes a sudden jerk shutting my eyes tightly and stiffening my whole body for a moment. While caning someone Sir’s body language often reminds me Tigers Woods, the ace golf player…a Tiger Wood making a stroke with a single hand.
I was never ever his best student. Yet, by God’s grace….just only by God’s grace, none of my body parts have been a platform to produce that whipping sound when touched by a cane. Even for some issues which on which Geetha Teacher couldn’t make a control, Sir used to take the role of the executer. And in those situations, he may become several Tiger Woods together for just a single stroke. But still, we used to realize the reason and then correct it…both…those who have it and those who see it. But this never used to be the mode of approach when it was against girls. For them it was imposition. May be to write lengthiest problem of the Company Accounts a certain number of times. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Sometimes we may feel that caning is better than imposition. Because caning lasts for only a few minutes tension. But imposition spoils that night’s sleep and will also be caught by Geetha Teacher the next day for yawning in the class.
“Bhavans is a school were one can find the cream of teaching profession. And these two teachers are the purest part in that pot of cream. Of course there are some exceptions. After all there are exceptions in everything and everywhere. Whatever it may be, they are the best.” This was what my seniors used to say when I asked them about Sir, Geetha Teacher and their classes before entering into my eleventh standard. And we continued to say the same when our juniors asked us and it keeps going on. Commerce of Bhavans will remain the same with the energy of a teenager as long as they are there.
This was we…….
Aasish - True lover of Carnatic Music and a Die-hard fan of Mohanlal.
Akhilesh - Calm and quite outside…but a funny volcano inside. Ready for any mischieves.
Ani - Somewhat same like Akhilesh.
Anitha - The heavy-weight girl.
Artika – Brilliant and have a very good smile. She shifted from our school following her father's transfer reducing the strength of our batch to thirty nine.
Arun PA - Quite, Calm, Softspoken…the one who owns an extraordinary tale to say.
Arun R Warrier - The wit…another Die-hard fan of Mohanlal.
Betty – Ever smiling Pretty Betty.
Catherine - Quite, Cute, One among the Top 3 or 4 in the Class.
Cherian - a.k.a Chery. The chocolate guy. ‘Was’ an artist….
Dhanya - Quite from a “far” view. Miss Cheerful.
Diamol - Everywhere, every time…energy refuses comes down from the peak.
Goutham - The Ganguly fan. The silent but the subject in most of the gangs where he is present. Most popular for his gestures and actions.
Jayalakshmi – Quite (not when laughing). The listener among the 40.
Jithu - The Leftist in the making. Don’t know if the Leftist is still in the making or not.
Joji - Athlete. The Ben Johnson of Commerce. A pious guy with his own principles of values.
Krishnadas - Shortest but sharpest among all of us.
Meera – The thin and tall form of fun.
Neethu - Almost a copy of Meera. Someone who always find it hard to control laughing.
Nelson - According to him what he asks will be a sensible question. But, for those who hear may feel he's out of sense…hahaa...Sorry Nelson.
Nihas - The Athlete. The Bruce Lee. Decent guy with all kinds of jokes. Above all he’s a great singer too. He used to be my favorite music system during free hours.
Nirupama - The Judo Girl. Energy….that is what she is.
Prashanth - a.k.a Pashu. The magician. The prefect. The quickest one to get popular. I like that quality of his.
Poojitha - Miss Careless and funny.
Rakesh - Yet another athlete. Hard Worker.
Ray - Better known in another name…OMG..!! He's going to kill me for this. Ray, Aasish and me used to be seated together. He’s my first friend too.
Remya - Studious. Always first or second rank in class…..
Reshmi - A quite little girl.
Sanay - Jolly, cool and soft guy. Pashu's best friend. Everyones too.
Sangeetha - Same as Reshmi. A small quite girl.
Shalini - The slim beauty.
Shoby – “The Revolutionary” as per Geetha Teacher. A great fan of the cow boy novels authored by Louis L'Amour.
Simi - Always Fashion designing in head…also sings well…
Sithara - everywhere, every time…energy refuses comes down from the peak.
Sreejith - Record holder for making Jacob Sir pose like Tiger Woods for most number of times.
Srinath - Artist. Friend for all.
Tony - The Footballer. The Cricketer. All in one and an all-rounder.
Varun G - a.k.a Padayappa. Don’t exactly know how this name came into being. Most of the laughter in chorus during Geetha Teacher's class hours begins from our Padayappa.
Varun N - myself….I have no rights to speak about myself.
Vishal - He's the best known for the way he laughs. Ray and Padayappa are the guys to use to tease him the most.
Vivek - a.k.a Pattar….Quite from a far view…but cheerfully violent as we get closer.
There were forty of us. We were all combined in our Eleventh standard as the Commerce Batch 2001-2003 students under Jacob Sir and Geetha Teacher. Initially, the entire class was divided into two major groups. Boys and Girls. In that itself there used to be a lot of sub groups too...
But, that situation survived only for a couple of months. By then those great walls between us melted. We used to feel so homely in and outside the school campus. We used to feel it as a spirit when we boast that we are the students of Jacob Sir and Geetha Teacher. It was true that the scale of that spirit was not the same in each of us. It varied in each one of us and it could only vary. And I believe that, that spirit had an out of the ordinary worth that was in possession with no other student of that school.
Jacob Sir and Geetha Teacher. They were the head teachers of the commerce department. Both were strict and loved their students like their own children. But they way they both expressed it was entirely different. When to speak about Geetha Teacher, it is some of her masterpiece dialogues that hits my mind first. Some dialogues like “you people are notorious for your behavior”; “people who laugh for no reason are to be sent to a different place” and so on it goes. But the height of sincerity she had towards each one of her was remarkable. Though we all liked her very much, at times these words used to irritate us a lot. Sorry ma’am for being a bit frank….. But, I’m sure that what we all are today, have a share of the strain that she used to take to bring up each one of us. The sad thing is that to realize her feel for us, we had to move to the then unknown future, the present day, where those old days stands like a gorgeous tantalizing reverie…
Now comes the Macho-Man, Jacob Sir. What should I say about this man…? He is the person who moulds us into Commerce students. He was our class teacher in our eleventh standard. We all used to be his fans more than just students. His voice used to inspire us, scare us, and make us under his control with mutual admiration. He is the Magical-Teacher of Bhavans. A teacher who is the richest for the relation with his students even as the pages of years keep passing after the chapter called Bhavans is over in the book of life. His style and attitude used to fascinate us a lot. And yeah…, among all these the most important one that struck me was his 350cc Bullet Standard. The way he gets onto it, the way he starts it…MY GOD..!!! I was never able to tame my mind at all to wait for a day when I could buy a 350cc Bullet Standard of my own and use it the way he does. It would be an injustice if I didn’t admit the fact that he was the second person after Mohanlal who ignited that dream to buy a 350cc Bullet Standard into a much bigger forest fire which was only to the size of a spark within me. But he never knew that until I told him about it when I went to school for the first time, after my days as a student over there, on an Open-house day to collect my sister’s progress card. And the result…as u can guess was a loud laugh in that rough voiced and the waves of which was bounced from wall to wall several times in that classroom…
Sir used to have a minimum of three periods each in both the Eleventh and Twelfth Standards and each period used to be of forty minutes. And he also used to give us a lot of free periods allowing us to play. Let me be specific…this was never a reason why his students loved him so much. Even if he takes class for continuous hours we used to sit in the class as if we all are in a movie hall watching an action-thriller movie. Though we all were hard core fans of his, the interaction with him is still a nightmare. For him everyone was equal. Even the best student can be a victim of his caning. That whipping sound as the cane cuts the air and then that “CLAP” reverberation as it comes in contact with the buttocks of any one among us… Ooff..!!! Even now when I remember those my body makes a sudden jerk shutting my eyes tightly and stiffening my whole body for a moment. While caning someone Sir’s body language often reminds me Tigers Woods, the ace golf player…a Tiger Wood making a stroke with a single hand.
I was never ever his best student. Yet, by God’s grace….just only by God’s grace, none of my body parts have been a platform to produce that whipping sound when touched by a cane. Even for some issues which on which Geetha Teacher couldn’t make a control, Sir used to take the role of the executer. And in those situations, he may become several Tiger Woods together for just a single stroke. But still, we used to realize the reason and then correct it…both…those who have it and those who see it. But this never used to be the mode of approach when it was against girls. For them it was imposition. May be to write lengthiest problem of the Company Accounts a certain number of times. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Sometimes we may feel that caning is better than imposition. Because caning lasts for only a few minutes tension. But imposition spoils that night’s sleep and will also be caught by Geetha Teacher the next day for yawning in the class.
“Bhavans is a school were one can find the cream of teaching profession. And these two teachers are the purest part in that pot of cream. Of course there are some exceptions. After all there are exceptions in everything and everywhere. Whatever it may be, they are the best.” This was what my seniors used to say when I asked them about Sir, Geetha Teacher and their classes before entering into my eleventh standard. And we continued to say the same when our juniors asked us and it keeps going on. Commerce of Bhavans will remain the same with the energy of a teenager as long as they are there.
This was we…….
Aasish - True lover of Carnatic Music and a Die-hard fan of Mohanlal.
Akhilesh - Calm and quite outside…but a funny volcano inside. Ready for any mischieves.
Ani - Somewhat same like Akhilesh.
Anitha - The heavy-weight girl.
Artika – Brilliant and have a very good smile. She shifted from our school following her father's transfer reducing the strength of our batch to thirty nine.
Arun PA - Quite, Calm, Softspoken…the one who owns an extraordinary tale to say.
Arun R Warrier - The wit…another Die-hard fan of Mohanlal.
Betty – Ever smiling Pretty Betty.
Catherine - Quite, Cute, One among the Top 3 or 4 in the Class.
Cherian - a.k.a Chery. The chocolate guy. ‘Was’ an artist….
Dhanya - Quite from a “far” view. Miss Cheerful.
Diamol - Everywhere, every time…energy refuses comes down from the peak.
Goutham - The Ganguly fan. The silent but the subject in most of the gangs where he is present. Most popular for his gestures and actions.
Jayalakshmi – Quite (not when laughing). The listener among the 40.
Jithu - The Leftist in the making. Don’t know if the Leftist is still in the making or not.
Joji - Athlete. The Ben Johnson of Commerce. A pious guy with his own principles of values.
Krishnadas - Shortest but sharpest among all of us.
Meera – The thin and tall form of fun.
Neethu - Almost a copy of Meera. Someone who always find it hard to control laughing.
Nelson - According to him what he asks will be a sensible question. But, for those who hear may feel he's out of sense…hahaa...Sorry Nelson.
Nihas - The Athlete. The Bruce Lee. Decent guy with all kinds of jokes. Above all he’s a great singer too. He used to be my favorite music system during free hours.
Nirupama - The Judo Girl. Energy….that is what she is.
Prashanth - a.k.a Pashu. The magician. The prefect. The quickest one to get popular. I like that quality of his.
Poojitha - Miss Careless and funny.
Rakesh - Yet another athlete. Hard Worker.
Ray - Better known in another name…OMG..!! He's going to kill me for this. Ray, Aasish and me used to be seated together. He’s my first friend too.
Remya - Studious. Always first or second rank in class…..
Reshmi - A quite little girl.
Sanay - Jolly, cool and soft guy. Pashu's best friend. Everyones too.
Sangeetha - Same as Reshmi. A small quite girl.
Shalini - The slim beauty.
Shoby – “The Revolutionary” as per Geetha Teacher. A great fan of the cow boy novels authored by Louis L'Amour.
Simi - Always Fashion designing in head…also sings well…
Sithara - everywhere, every time…energy refuses comes down from the peak.
Sreejith - Record holder for making Jacob Sir pose like Tiger Woods for most number of times.
Srinath - Artist. Friend for all.
Tony - The Footballer. The Cricketer. All in one and an all-rounder.
Varun G - a.k.a Padayappa. Don’t exactly know how this name came into being. Most of the laughter in chorus during Geetha Teacher's class hours begins from our Padayappa.
Varun N - myself….I have no rights to speak about myself.
Vishal - He's the best known for the way he laughs. Ray and Padayappa are the guys to use to tease him the most.
Vivek - a.k.a Pattar….Quite from a far view…but cheerfully violent as we get closer.
…..and when we are together we were called the COMMERCE BATCH 2001-2003…..
Hahhaa…..now I feel as if I sat in the class for yet another time. While writing about each one of us it was felt as if I moved through those six hundred and five days of our life starting from June 21st, 2001 to February 16th, 2003 one by one. February 16th: that was the day that was fixed by Sir to be the last day with the thirty nine of us together in a room called XII-E. He didn’t want anyone to be absent on that day. Will that ever happen again? I don’t think so. Even if it happens again, can we be that same students who were notorious for their behavior as Geetha Teacher used to say? Will we be the same as when we were in those two shades of blue? I don’t know.
That was the best herd for friends I have ever got in my life…and luckily I’m in touch with almost all of them. And some of them got married and now have kids with whom they can share these stories of theirs.
Thank you...dearest teachers...and my dear dearest friends…Thank you all….
Thank you so much on behalf of all the students of XII-E for this wonderful opportunity you gave us to once again become students of Jacob sir and Geetha Teacher:-) Everything you mentioned was touching and worth reading which everyone who read this will agree upon...
ReplyDeleteNow working as a Trainer, I can really understand the pain our teachers took and the real love they had towards us which was veiled while teaching...
I appreciate the effort you have taken to write this and it really really came out well Varun.. Your writing skills are awesome and I encourage you to do the same more...
I also encourage all to air your memories...
Regards, Cherian
THIS WAS AUSM VARUN CHETTA...U NEVER MISSED ANYONE WHO WERE BEHIND UR SUCCESS...AND IT WAS JZ LYK READING THE AUTO BIOGRAPHY OF SUM GREAT PERSONS....ITS ONLY BECAUSE OF UR LOVE AND RESPECT GIVEN 2 UR TEACHERS,U'VE REACHED SUCH HEIGHTS...ALL THE BEST
ReplyDeleteGOD BLESS U...
hey varun...its simply superb !! no more words to say... as u hav said i felt as if i sat in tat class once more...
ReplyDeleteu hav got excellent writing skill....
simi here guys....
ReplyDeletedays n nights passed bt we all r d same brats of the commerce division. nothin can change dat... those times can only be reincarnated wen all we 39, no 40 of us be togethr... it was really a refreshening slot to my brain in dis jam packed period of life... those palmy days wich we can neva get bak in our shades of blue... and our loving gurus ..jacob sir n geetha mam... will love dem foreva...
tears rolled down wen i read dis documentation of our school days...kaash!! we all cud get along once more in our 12 E. :)
i miss one n all of u ...n love u all for making those time of our lives d most special.
all my wishes love n prayers to one n all der.
love simi
When thought to scrible down something i got stuck what to write. Our school days , our teachers (Jacob sir & Geeta teacher) we got, the "Himalayan Blunders"we used to say, the "Challis"that went on air all came back to me in split second when i went through your words. Its not simply words its your 'Heart'& Thanks that you accomodated all of us in that & Thanks da to take all of us once more to that "Golden Days".
ReplyDelete(its me Dr Varun)Nice wrk da..grt memories flashed by ,d gud tyms in school ..though m nt part of xii e..still most of us gud frndsd..wil continue to be...happy 2 be part of 2003 pssots of bhvans tcr..thanking God 4 givin oppurtunity 2 study in a prestiguous instn like bhavans..empowered wid words f wisdom frm all sides..grt teachers..fun filled frnds..d greetings of NAMASTHAE across d corridors nd n class rooms.ideology of let nobe thght.....:)...keep writin man...let more grt wrks come frm u ...n yrs 2 come...wishin ALL the very bst..
ReplyDeleteregds Dr Varun Menon.P(XD,XIIB)(LKG-XIIth BHAVANS tcr)
cool work re...dint know uy had so much creativty...hey am not that studious ok....really missing those precious days....esp when my sister talks abt the same class they call sir sagar alias jackie....y dnt we plan a reunoin??
ReplyDeleteHiii everyone dis s Mrs.Diyamol Jackson here...well varun u did an excellent work...keep writing on n on n on...our batch was so kool dat v enjoyed d school...our teachers always guided us in d right path...those memories were wonderful vith full of colours...especially those 'HIMALAYAN BLUNDERS'...THANKU MI DEAR FRNDZ N TEACHERS FOR UR LUV N CARE...i always feel proud to tell someone dat i belonged to d gr8 'BHAVANS'...those golden dayz vil never come back ...11E n 12E...so ne plans for a reunion???itz hard tym after d 1st one...i feel proud ven i turn back...regards to all frm mi hus Jackson Paul n kidz Nehemia n Daniel...
ReplyDeleteVarun.... its really excellent!!! Once we are out of that school rather to say out of commerece class, we realise "How Greatful we are to Jacob sir and Geetha teacher, also How badly we miss them". I have to say not my degrees fetch me any where not my certificates fetch me anywhere.... But the basics that we got from our class made me love accountacy and guide me to take the path of Finance... so being Varun now.
ReplyDeleteThen regarding the comments, its true that you should not comment on yourself but still you have to scribble something..;).
After reading this, I wish to be a student again and agin in my life. But I know that certain things in life won't come back instead we can keep those moments as gems(memorable) moments for Ever and ever and ever......
Varun...
ReplyDeleteGreat article man... I just love reading ur blogs.. especially the ones on BVB.. just brings back the old days....
To continue on the BVB 11th and 12th days:
1. Remember that day when Varun G aka Padayappa imitated Jacob sir's trademark tiger woods shot and the cane broke... and padayappa hid the cane... Later Jacob sir being furious of it. But there was again another lesson to be learned from that incident... Varun finally went and told the truth, and sir just told him "good to see you tell the truth..." He dint beat Varun and that was an eye opener for all of us... Jacob sir had a particular way to handle such moments of truth and we learned a lot from it.
2. Shoby was asked to cut hair and the next day, in assembly there was a big line of bald heads (mainly in science batch)...Again Jacob sir asked him, did u and ur friends do it to make fun of me... and Shoby replied and said 'yes' and sir just laughed out loud....
3. This ones my best memory : First day into commerce class, Jacob sir starts talking of accountancy, as usual we are glued to our seats (not cos we loved to discuss bout accounts, but cos we have heard a lot about sir's strictness). And he writes his trademark first day in class joke "Balan's Sheet"... Let me be frank, I thought that that was the actual spelling for Balance Sheet!!!!!!
4. As for Geetha Teacher, she had caught my love letter to anita in her class... first she said she would complain to vasantha Maam (If she had, my life would have taken a different turn today).. but later she just tore it and threw it. I am sure she did that favour cos it was me... really thankful to her for that...
Cheers
Pashu
Hi.
ReplyDeleteI am really sad that I was really late to read this.. I have some different feelings going through me. I can't explain it.Anyway its excellent. I feel like , a few minutes ago I was sitting sitting in the classroom and watching everything that happened. I used to say to my tuition children about those days and those impositions and 'Himalayan Blunders'.Those days will never come back ,still wishing.. I miss everyone of you.. Hope to see all of them together...regards to all and thanks to you varun..