( A Distant Retrospect ) By P.S. Ramakrishna Iyer, M.A., L.T, (Old Boy)

        It was in the year of grace 1890 – that the present school at Tattamangalam was started as a Primary school, on the initiative of the elite of the locality, headed by Mr. Parakkat Achutha Menon, a prominent and revered leader of the place, in whom the management was vested. The school was named after the Rev. A.F. Sealy, the then Director of Public Instruction, whose name is a household word in Cochin. In 1891, the First Form was opened in the school and in succeeding years, Forms II, III, and IV.

        After completing my primary course in my village school at Peruvemba, I with some other lads of my village, joined the S.M. School in 1891 in the First Form. The school was about two miles distant from our village, so that we had to cover a distance of four miles – to and fro – every day. Gay, young lads as we were, with an exuberance of animal spirits and brimful of mirth and jollity, we did not, however, feel the distance at all. On the other hand, these little trips were a source of enjoyment to us, with ample scope for fun and frolic, for wanton wiles and impish pranks. Actuated by a roving and romping spirit, we had, on and off, our little adventures on the way, such as climbing up mango and cashew nut trees on the roadside and plucking their fruits, kicking up rows with the molesters, if any, cracking jokes or making wry faces at passers-by, especially if they were a little queer or grotesque in their gait or appearance. Due to such adventures, we would occasionally be late at school but our teacher, stern as he was, would somehow find his way to bear and forbear, letting us off with a mild rebuke. It was probably because, about ten in number, we constituted a good proportion of the class and besides, we passed for a brainy set. I distinctly remember that, one evening, on our return home, the clatter of our feet and the chatter of our tongues provoked a bull-dog near-by and it gave us a furious chase and put us to a terrific flight to escape its fangs. Children that we were, we had our full share of the dare-devilry, the care-free, blithesome spirit of youth.

        I studied in the school for four years and left it early in 1895, after passing the Fourth Form. My first teacher and Headmaster was Mr. C.S. Subramania Iyer. Mr.Iyer was a man of grit and drive, of organizing capacity and persuasive eloquence and no one can forget the yeoman services he rendered to the school in its early years. He spared no pains at all, to enhance the strength, prestige and popularity of the school. It was his aim and endeavour to place the school on a firm foundation, as well as to win for it love and esteem all round. I vividly remember his visiting our village one summer evening and talking to my father and several other guardians, with his wonted eloquence and thundering sound and persuading them all to send their boys to his school. His mission was a signal success. Mr.Iyer was indeed a powerful personality at Tattamangalam in those days, as also the Dictator of the school to a great extent.

        As a teacher, severe Mr. Iyer was and stern to view. The pupils actually trembled, whenever he frowned or uttered an angry word. A martinet in discipline, the cane was his inseparable companion and its use was on and oft invoked for one thing or another. At the same time, all of us knew that, behind a forbidding exterior, Mr. Iyer had a soft corner in his heart for his pupils and his severity was only the outcome of the love he bore them. He was in charge of the class and taught all subjects equally. His method of teaching was however old-fashioned and mechanical and consisted in getting his pupils to con their lessons by rote and repeat them in the class in parrot-like fashion. English, of course, held a prominent position and was not only the first language but also, strange to say, the medium of instruction for all subjects. Our English text books were the graduated Readers, by Marsden, Barrow and Bradshaw and Sinclair’s History of India was our History text-book. The English Readers prepared as they had been by veteran educationists, were excellent but the history text-book was too tough for us. What we were asked to do was to get up this book by heart, page after page, and repeat it in the class one by one with punctilious precision. No wonder, we hardly acquired any knowledge in history – nay, came to regard the subject with positive dislike.

        A memorable event of 1891 was the visit to the school of the Rev. A.F. Sealy who was then on the eve of retirement. It was the occasion of the School Prize-distribution. The premises and grounds of the School were tastefully decorated and presented a gay, festive appearance. The modest school-hall was filled to suffocation by the pupils and members of the public. We, the pupils of Form I, successfully staged an interesting Dialogue on the occasion, for which we were complimented by the President and awarded special prizes. Mr. Sealy made a short speech on the occasion which was, however, beyond our comprehension. It was indeed a red-letter day in the annals of the School

        After being at the helm of the School for about three years, Mr. Subramania Iyer was succeeded as Headmaster by Mr. K.K. Krishna Iyer who was a graduate and, I believe, an L.T. also. Mr. Krishna Iyer was quite a young man and it was probably in this school that he had his initial career as a teacher. Endowed with a magnificent build, tall and stately, Mr.Krishna Iyer impressed us by his commanding personality and moved among us like a Colossus. His dignified bearing and sonorous voice always inspired us with awe and reverence and we were chary of taking liberties with him. Somewhat reserved and reticent by nature it was not his wont to move freely with us, to chat or jest with us, or allow us free and easy access to him. He was also the least haughty or over-bearing – the least given to petty tyranny or teasing in his relations with his pupils. A gentleman to his finger-tips, he dealt with us in a kindly spirit and while paying due regard to discipline, he, by no means, made a fetich of it.

        English was Mr. Krishna Iyer’s forte and he excelled in the teaching of it. His pronunciation was chaste, his articulation clear, his exposition luminous and his method of teaching educative. He exercised our mental powers and made us think. He taught us some other subjects also, if not quite as efficiently as English. We enjoyed his English classes especially and were much benefited by them. Mr. Krishna Iyer was probably too big a man for our school. Hardly had he been with us for a year, when an attractive offer came to him from a high school elsewhere, and having accepted it, he left our school, much to our regret, for the loss of an able teacher and discreet disciplinarian.

        Mr.Krishna Iyer was succeeded as Headmaster by Kavassery Veeraraghava Iyer, who also, if I remember rightly, was a graduate at the time. Mr. Veeraraghava Iyer was a sprightly young man of radiant looks, winning manners and a fluent tongue. His magnetic personality and mellifluous eloquence charmed and fascinated one and all of us. He moved freely among us, chatted and joked with us, narrated to us lively stories and anecdotes, made frequent visits to our village and contacted our parents-in fact, did everything possible to win popularity and prestige for the school as well as for himself. His winsome personality and charming ways endeared him very much to us and we all looked up to him as the beau-ideal  of a teacher. He was a friend, philosopher and guide to every one of us and not merely a teacher.

        Mr. Iyer taught us most of the subjects and that, in a lively and interesting manner. A fluent speaker that he was – as well as ready-witted and resourceful- his classes were as much entertaining, as edifying, and we always looked forward to them with eager interest. At times he dazzled us by a display of his learning and wit and we, youngsters, often wondered how a ‘small head could carry all he knew’. There was a little affectation, bordering on oddity, in his speech which seemed to most of us a deliberate pose, to impress us all the more.

        Mr. Veeraraghava Iyer was the Headmaster of the school when I left it, early in 1895, after passing the Fourth Form.

        In my days there was only a hall of moderate dimensions as the school building, with a platform at the southern end. All the classes were huddled up in this hall, the highest class being perched on the platform. I understand that this ramshackle building was subsequently demolished and replaced by a better and more decent building, which is now the western wing of the L.S. Block.

        I have also to mention that in those days there was no problem of discipline or indiscipline in our school and for the matter of that, in any other school. Those were days of genuine guru-bhakti when we students loved, reverenced and even adored our teachers and rendered them implicit obedience. In their turn, our teachers were warmly attached to us, took parental interest in us and strove, by precept and example, to guide us aright and mould our character on healthy lines Such ugly incidents and unseemly demonstrations on the part of students, as are only too familiar to us in these days, were entirely unknown and would be incredible to us. Our interests and activities were strictly academic and confined to our school. The happenings of the outside world had little interest for us and left us totally unaffected. There was a calm atmosphere prevailing in our school which was seldom disturbed by the storms and tempests raging outside. We passed tranquil days in this calm atmosphere, with our minds in steady poise and concentrated on our studies.

        My above-mentioned teachers have long dead but the good work they did for the school can never die and their names and memories will be cherished green by their grateful students, for ever.

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