Ripples of laughter and loud music echoed through the Corporation Kalyana Mandapam at Golden Rock this weekend at the annual reunion of Railway Mixed High School (English medium) as memories ruled the day.
Established in 1923 by the British for the children of railway staff, the school’s history and fortunes have changed many times over the years. But these thoughts were left behind at Sunday’s reunion, organised by the RMHS Alumni Association. Most of the 120 guests had come from all over the country to attend the function.
“We had plenty of time to play, and that was why we liked going to school,” Cyril Joseph (Class of 1982), said. “Unlike today, schools then were not very insistent on academic success.
Sports and studies went hand in hand,” he added. Inspired by the school’s PT master Baby Thomas, Dr. Cyril pursued doctoral studies in Physical Education, and works as a teacher in a government school today.
“My best memory of the school is the innocence of the students,” said Creswell Hingles (Class of 1976), who recently retired from an automobile firm after a career in the Indian Air Force. “The boys and girls used to treat each other as brothers and sisters … there were no schoolyard romances in those days. We used to share our notes and even food.”
For T. Satish Kumar (Class of 1984), the basic discipline instilled by his teachers has been the lasting effect of RMHS. “‘Please’ and ‘thank you’ are the two words that I learned from this school and have taken me across the world in various professions. Today in our colleges, we are teaching students how to dress and behave in public from scratch,” said the director of a group of educational institutions based in Nagapattinam.
Insurance professional Stephen Robert and friends reminisced about their alma mater’s glorious days in sport, led by Mr. Baby Thomas, who had worked there from 1967 to 1999. Mr. Thomas, who participated in the 1968 Olympics, and represented Indian Railway at the World Railway Games in Czechoslovakia in 1969, was known to train his students in unusual settings. “We used to cycle all the way from Golden Rock to the Cauvery bridge, and be made to run on the dry riverbed there by Sir,” said Mr. Robert. “After a tough workout, he would buy a basket of river fish and have them cooked and served to us by his wife at home. He was very strict but also very affectionate with all his students,” he added.
Sisters Mary Teresa Stephen and Anne Rita Joseph, former athletes at RMHS, dedicated their professional success to the coaching given by Mr. Baby Thomas.
Mr. Thomas was surrounded by his former students at the reunion, and after much loud cajoling, was made to conduct an informal ‘march-past’ for the alumni. “When I was teaching them, my athletics students used to do well in academics also. Now of course, there is very little physical fitness among school students today, and sport is not taken seriously,” said Mr. Thomas, 74, who is now based in Kottayam, Kerala.
The Alumni Association hosted lunch, games and informal cultural items at the day-long reunion. Group photos of student batches were taken as mementos.
