STUDENT FOR LIFE
"A healthy mind in a healthy
body"
I may have never heard that quote in the two
years of running down the long hall of St. Joseph's P. U. College, Bajpe, but
it is how I remember the two years of my student life there.
My first memory is the interview with Br.
Conrad. He asked me a few questions in impeccable English, & I mumbled some
answers. While I don't remember his questions, I do remember promising myself
that I would learn to communicate like he did, clearly, calmly & confidently.
My first day at school was more terrifying. I
may have been the only unknown student in my class: I had transferred from an entirely different school to everyone else. Walking down the long hallway to 8A
class, located next to George master's drawing class, I was introduced to the class
as the new boy. By the time the day was over, I had made my first of many
friends, Chittu, who quickly updated me about the stories of all the teachers,
their special traits, & what to expect.
I did not, however, know how seriously the
Brothers took physical exercise & sport, until I was running out of the
back gate to the bus-stop near Mr. B.D.Pai's house that first week. Br. Hector
jumped out from his hiding spot behind the gate, where he was waiting for kids
such as me, who couldn't wait to get home. That was the day I was introduced to
the game of kicking shins, or football, as it is more commonly called.
Furious that I had to stay back, every time I found myself defending against
any Brother, I aimed my kicks at his shins. I offer my apologies, publicly and decades later, Brothers Conrad, Hector, Samuel & Joachim!
The results of the first academic exam decided
my fate: apparently I was the first student in the history of the school to
score the most marks (I still don't believe that), so I suddenly found myself
being either befriended, or ignored completely by my classmates. Academic
performance was considered most crucial - a belief I have since grown to
disagree with - so this also meant most of the teachers in the school knew of
me. The pressure was on, so I had to perform!
In hindsight, I was terrible at any sort of
sport (and I still am!). While I made it to the school kho-kho team, I never
actually played in any game. I got smashed at volley ball, at whacked for sixes
and fours in cricket. I could run the 800 meters race, but only if it was
done in four stages over two days. I did enjoy, and have a chance at
badminton, but was beaten in the first round, so that was the end of
that.
St. Joseph's P. U. College stretched and opened my mind in so many
ways. Br. Samuel's handwriting exercises during English classes exposed me to
the fine (and definitely not dying) art of calligraphy, something I practice
to this day. I've even been teaching my children the same exercises!
Br. Conrad's brilliant ability to go back to
first principles to posit and prove concepts has been the mainstay of my
working career. So has been, like I said earlier, his example of communicating
lucidly.
I cannot forget the contrast that was Br.
Joachim - his calm exterior and deep voice hid his generous heart, and his
furiously fast footwork on the football field. He taught me the importance of
never judging a book by its cover.
But one memory is seared into my brain: I had
eaten my home-packed lunch, and then accompanied two classmates to (the now
likely non-existent) Gopli's hotel to eat some goli-baje. When I got back, my
lunch box was missing. One of the girls in my class said Br. Hector had taken
it. There I was, stuck between going home without the box and getting the
treatment from my parents, and terrified of going to Br. Hector to ask for it
and getting the treatment from him.
I swallowed my pride, knowing whatever I got
from him was going to be only fractionally better than what I'd get at home
and went to Br. Hector's room. He looked up from his desk, and asked me a simple
question: "were you still hungry after eating your lunch?" I got
neither the cane treatment, nor a lecture but I burst into tears. I've never
forgotten the lesson: to be grateful for what I had already received without
clamoring for more.
I look back at the two years I spent at St.Joseph's, Bajpe as
the two best years of my whole student life. The Brothers made me a student of
life and a student for life.
Thank you gentlemen, for all that you've done,
for so many people, without favour or fear. It is a rich legacy that you leave
behind.
The best of health and the best of luck in
your new roles.
Neil Sequeira
Australia
Ex-student
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