A Dodransbicentennial Tribute

Do…Dodran…bi…Yeah that’s exactly what we are celebrating.  It doesn’t matter if you couldn’t a) pronounce it b) didn’t know the meaning. This is addressed to the erstwhile alumni of Christ Church Anglo Indian School who were taught to pronounce it and spell it, right after they had learnt the meaning of a word by distinguished teachers who continue to, not only live in our hearts but also in our acts.

Some good souls got together and decided that it would be a good idea to celebrate the milestone and the process of informing the diaspora spread far and wide began, thanks to the people connecting tools these days like WhatsApp & Telegram, they came in droves.  60 year olds were sharing anecdotes on managing the Traffic as teenagers on the erstwhile Mount Road, when it was still in a manageable state, with childlike exuberance, the 50 year olds wanted to play a game of Bank, River, Ocean, Sea & Land (More about this game later) overrating the strength of their aging knee caps, the 40 year olds were lamenting that the women folk were not well represented, well what else can they think of in their 40’s!

It was a potpourri of emotional outpouring. Indeed a pleasant sight to see the virtual banters between very eminent groups of alumni. How each went on to be distinguished in their chosen paths is always surprising, when looking back we were indulging in our scholastic exploits in a school sandwiched amongst five movie halls. The Eastman colored hoardings around us outnumbered the black boards in the school and it took some really eminent set of teachers to make the black boards more attractive...  In contemporary terms it’s like asking a kid to study in a room with multiple play stations switched on. That’s exactly where we had our first lessons in developing a monk like concentration on the job on hand.

All of us would have passed through many other Institutions during our academic pursuits after we stepped out as naïve 15 years olds from its portals. However the strength of the bond to this particular alma mater comes a close second to the umbilical one.

Many eminent historians have chronicled the history of the school and I would not even attempt it.  I would confine myself to a couple of trivial experiences on the campus which I’m sure many would identify themselves with…Here we go.

As soon as the Investiture Ceremony for a particular academic year was over the eagerly awaited part was the duty rooster that was published. The most sought after duty was the one guarding the narrow strip that connected the Boys side and the Girls side part of the campus. I would like to call it The Wagah of Christ Church sans the hostilities. It was a border that was always manned and ‘womaned’ during the breaks.  Many a crushes & many a friendships have blossomed at that border.

Corporal punishment was so common on the campus. Never have I seen an incident when a parent walked up and defended their wards action.  Try it today and the kids and the parents slip into depression. The only depression we knew in those days was the one that passed over the Bay of Bengal that later manifested itself into a cyclone. Each of our teachers had what I call a patented approach to corporal punishment. One still stands out vividly in my memory and yes… ouch…my ear lobes are hurting when I think of this. The ritual starts with both your earlobes being gently primed / massaged and was later used as a lever to pull you back and forth, increasing the intensity on the earlobe with each to and fro movement all along narrating the gory details of your misdemeanor. This ended with a simultaneous release and slap on both cheeks. The timing and the synchronization of this mode of punishment was executed with clock like precision and with the elegance of a ballet artist. The even more painful part was that this act was performed in the august presence of your class mates some of whom were your partners in crime.

The games we played on the campus were also quiet unique and very indigenous. One of them was a game Bank, River, Ocean, Sea, Land that was played on the church steps. I have been trying to dig up the origins of this game for many years but in vain. There surely should be an inventor and anyone who can throw some clues on this would be suitably rewarded on the day of the event. 

While we exhibited the stiff upper lip behavior most of the times the Madras in us came up once in a while. That’s how a game called Kallangole was born. The game was played at the end of the Kite season. The campus used to reverberate with the chants of ‘Any Maanja!!! Any Saada!!! Any Twine!!! It was said with the same poise with which one would narrate an Alfred Lord Tennyson or a Wordsworth in the class rooms.

Come 26^th November we gather as a family to not only celebrate a milestone but to share reminiscences of the days spent, honor people who facilitated it and above all a day to give back to the institution that has played a key part in shaping you.