: On Tuesday, catholic nuns of the Sacred Heart Church Park School started collecting archival material about their most famous alumna, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
After nuns of the convent including the principal Rev. Sr. Prabha and Mother Superior Mary Augustine paid homage to the former Chief Minister in Rajaji Hall, they returned to the convent, reminiscing about the many aspects of Ms. Jayalalithaa’s time in school in the 1950s. Pointing to the socially backward condition of some women in the State, Mother Superior Mary Augustine said students such as Jayalalithaa have been role models for women who wanted to “stand up on their feet and be courageous”.
“I have a feeling these have been some of the things she got from here. She was the best outgoing student,” said Mother Augustine.
Waxing eloquent on the welfare measures for the poor initiated by the former Chief Minister, Mother Augustine said schools have to continue building character of students by making them understand that India was a welfare state.
Recollecting Jayalalithaa’s visits to the school as Chief Minister and her intervention whenever the school management was bogged down by red tape, Mother said the Chief Minister showed real empathy.
Principal Sr. Prabha recalled the annual sports meet in 1992 in which Ms. Jayalalithaa participated; she not only reached in time for the event but also left only after it was over.
“She was captain of Rose House. She told me she was very fond of the school. She had an European sister Celine as her principal. She was very fond of her also,” said Sr. Prabha. “She realised the importance of education in her own life. That education helped her become what she was,” said Sr. Prabha.
