While the test-cum-interview was a breeze, the actual pain was getting to school daily. St.Xavier's school was at Navrangpura, which was quite far from Sabarmati, where we
stayed. Mt.Carmel was also far from our home and thus the task of getting me and my
sister ready for school was all the more difficult since there were no school-buses plying
to our locality.
Since there were also other kids in the township who studied in these schools & other
such schools far from home, we had a staff-bus of my Dad's organisation that did service
as a school-bus once in the morning and once in the evening to drop and pick us up. But
since the bus was needed to serve its primary purpose of dropping employees at work,
the only time they could make out for us was early in the morning.
I still shudder thinking how early that used to be. Our school days started around 4AM.
Yes, that early. Imagine trying to wake up a kid at 4AM in the morning and getting him
ready for school. Especially in a place where winters can be really cold, making it all the
more difficult to leave the comfort of your bed.
I hazily remember being awake at that time and a toothbrush with paste smeared on it
being handed over to me. While my parents would leave me to brush my teeth and go
attend to other tasks like getting our breakfast and lunch packed, I would promptly go
back to sleep just sitting there with the brush in my hand or mouth. :-)
Somehow, our parents would coax us through our bath-toilet routine & around 4:30AM
or so we would be at the gate awaiting the bus. It would still be dark outside and once in
the bus, we would promptly go back to sleep, only to be awakened by the driver when
the bus reaches our school.
Since I was too young then, my memory is not that good, but I guess we would be at the
school around 5:30AM. School started only at 8AM or so and we had loads of time on our
hands, which would be spent roaming around the massive campus, which Wikipedia tells
me is spread over 4 acres of land. When I see schools in Chennai that run out of just a few
buildings, I still marvel at the huge campus of my alma mater.
There would be dew all over the place & I remember walking around the playgrounds.
I remember a bright shiny red bug which used to smell funny and which we would go
after. One favourite place was the swimming pool which had a giant turtle in it. There
was also a kind of mini-museum with stuffed crocodiles / tigers, and other museum-y
stuff in it, including a statue of the Rajput king Rana Prathap in full body-armour.
But what made my school stand out from any other school (atleast to my knowledge)
in India, was the mini-zoo in its campus. There was a big fenced enclosure which had
giraffes, rabbits etc in it. Ofcourse, the rabbits would burrow their way out and roam
around the place.
And as if this was not enough, there were various fauna in enclosures adjoining our
classrooms. I remember studying in a classroom that had peacocks in an adjoining
enclosure. We used to try retrieving any colorful feathers that were within hand's
reach of the cage. Another classroom had monkeys in an enclosure adjacent to them.
There were other such enclosures with other animals in them, though I can't recollect
what they were - can remember only the monkeys and peacocks.
I know that to most of you this idea of a school-cum-zoo must either sound funny or
interesting. Some of you might even be thinking that I am making this all up & I won't
blame you for that because I am yet to come across another school that has giraffes,
rabbits, tortoises, monkeys and peacocks on campus. But that was how it was, though
I am not sure if they still have animals/birds on campus. The Wiki link does not mention anything about this.
Yesterday I was talking to my wife and was wondering whether they still have these
animals at school. She was sure that they would not be having them now. I am surprised
how she can be so sure and her reply is, "They must all have passed out by now." :-)
BTW, the famous billiards champ Geet Sethi studied at my school. And so did the founder
of Syntel, Bharat Desai.
To be continued in sub-posts .....
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