Shri. S Natarajan, an educationist and recipient of the DTEA Diamond Jubilee Award, has served the Madrasi School (called MEA Higher Secondary School and later DTEA Senior Secondary School) in New Delhi for 36 years. Over these years, he has been on the faculty at Lodhi Estate, Mandir Marg, and Laxmibai Nagar schools, and has headed the Pusa Road, R.K. Puram and Janakpuri schools from their inception. Appointed to the Courses Committee of the CBSE, Shri. Natarajan was also a Paper Setter and Head Examiner for Class X and Class XII CBSE examinations (Delhi Board and All-India Board) for 10 years and trained prospective examiners country-wide. He has contributed to the NCERT and Ministry of Education in various capacities including Paper Setter and Examiner for the All-India Merit Scholarship examination and as Resource Person for orientation of teachers to implement National Policy on Education.
Author of the textbook – Practical English Grammar and Composition, Shri. Natarajan holds master’s degrees in English Literature, Political Science, and Education, in addition to his specialization in Mathematics. After his final tenure as Principal of the Janakpuri school for over 10 years, he took voluntary retirement in 1992. He is settled with his wife in Dwarka, New Delhi.
As a former student of RKPuram MEA and later Lodhi Road DTEA- 1973 I would like to place on record my sincere and heartfelt gratitude to every staff member. The school has played a key role ( have gone on to be a doctor & a teacher i think the school can be reasonably proud of !!) as it should and gave me the opportunity to learn my mother tongue which i would have missed had it not been for it being mandatory. Thank you sir. I wish such models of school education were more prevalent in these times too.Very inspiring story indeed.
Hello Sir,
I wanted to know if you were teaching English in Lakshmibai Nagar from around 1971 onwards. It would be wonderful, if that indeed is the case.
Sir Natarajan (both of us share the same first name), taught and which I never forgot:
a. Never call a woman as a woman. She is always a Lady. For instance, it is never a woman Prime Minister, it is always, a Lady Prime Minister.
b. I learnt the word, cajole, in his class as he cajoled the class into using an appropriate word that means gentle persuasion coupled with a little bit of “something”. Though he cajoled us, the word was given out by a class mate of mine, Gayatri.
c. He told us to keep a journal of all the tough words that we across and to write the meanings of them.
Your writing is like poem in prose. Thanks very much, for teaching us so many things.
Sir,
Thanks for writing this…it brought back memories of school days. Reading the school pledge gave me goose bumps!
I was a student of the Lodhi Road school between 1978 and 1981. Mr. Natarajan was my English teacher. It was a delight to attend his classes. I still remember his teaching of “Pride and Prejudice.”
Mythili
Respected Sir,
I am M.K.SUBRAMANIAN. I belong to the 1960 batch in the science stream at Lodhi colony. (you will not find me in the group photo- why? – I shall explain some other time!).
This is to thank you for the articles you have written which I have read with interest. At 65 it was not merely a nostalgic experience – but much more! “To remember is to relive”, it is said. How true!
Now I can even recall vividly learning mathematics under you though for a short period.
Mathematics is ‘easy’ when the initiation on the subject is ‘welldone’.Along with you, I also recall to mind other techers from our school on the subect – Sunderasan Sir,’T.R’ and principal K. Suryanarayan sir himself!
Once again, I thank you, Sir.
I know you will not remember me as I was a mediocre student. But there has been a profound effect on me. All the teachers of the school have inflenced me positively. So, that explains why even I did meet with some modest success in life.
Namaskars.
mksubramanian