Teachers’ Day Special

On this day, September 5, a tribute is in order to the many excellent teachers who raised the MEA to great heights.  I would like to recognize stalwarts on the faculty of the MEA who gave their everything – heart & soul – to put MEA on top of the educational map of Delhi in the forties & fifties.  Those were the days when the CBSE used to announce the all-round toppers and subject toppers in the national dailies like the Hindustan Times & Times of India.  From among 600+ Higher Secondary schools in Delhi, it was the MEA that would snatch the FIRST position (sometimes the Second position also) and a number of subject toppers year after year.  On the day of publication of the Board results, the headlines on the front page would invariably bring out the achievements of our students, becoming the talk of the town that day in the capital.  We were unbeatable!  The entire community felt proud of itself almost every year on those occasions.

The teachers responsible for those spectacular achievements were people of commitment and dedication, who worked like a team with one goal – to make MEA the best!  The Captain of the team was of course the Principal who provided inspiration and leadership to all the members of the staff.  Shri. K. Suryanarayanan can easily be called the Architect of the MEA schools.  He was a man of parts & promise known for his administrative acumen and teaching skills.  A disciplinarian with a tough exterior & a sweet interior, he proved himself to be a great orator too which enabled him to command respect from all quarters.  The Government of India recognized his meritorious service to the community and to the cause of education by conferring the National Teacher’s Award before his retirement.  Coincidentally, the same year, the Delhi Government too chose Shri. Suryanarayanan for the State Award.  It was a double honour that he richly deserved and an occasion of huge celebration.

Shri. Suryanarayanan was instrumental in opening a number of MEA branch schools, he introduced school uniform for children, started common terminal exams for all the branches to maintain common standards of education, brought the idea of inter-transfer of teachers among the schools maintaining common seniority, and introduced the custom of Saraswati Puja in each school to bless the senior students on the day of farewell.

I have already dedicated my earlier article to pay tribute to the other two seniormost teachers, Shri. V.Subramanian and Shri. T.Rajagopalan for their exceptional contribution.  Shri. V.Subramanian was Principal of Lakshmibai Nagar school when he passed away while Shri. T.Rajagopalan retired as Principal of Pusa Road school.  All the “top 3” – KS, VS, and TR were truly the pillars of the forties – fifties that held the foundation on which the MEA / DTEA continued to soar new heights in the later decades.

Shri. N. M. Rajaram, Head of Chemistry department, was a prominent figure in the educational circles of Delhi, whom none of the IITians from MEA / DTEA can ever afford to forget – thanks to his Midas’ touch of churning out dozens of successful IIT entrants from our school.  Final year students would go to him for private help, as a matter of course, in Maths, Physics & Chemistry as he was well versed in all three subjects.  I remember, for instance, 22 students from the 1962 batch alone were selected from Lodi Estate School for IIT admission.  What a rich harvest! His students are spread all over the world who I’m sure remember him fondly.  A tall hefty figure, shabbily clad & chewing paan all the time, NMR was an intellectual giant, full of humour and a great conversationalist.  He had as his deputy, Mrs. S. Jayalakshmi, who again endeared herself to one & all by her soft voice and sound knowledge of Chemistry.  Unfortunately a widow, she came from South India and fitted elegantly into the profession of teaching Chemistry, an important science subject, to senior classes.  She was sobre by temperament and students loved her.  Mrs. Jayalakshmi eventually retired as Principal of RK Puram school after a full-term service in DTEA.  Very commendable!

My association with NMR has been very SPECIAL indeed.  We were so alike and admired each other all the way.  I’m reminded of an unforgettable episode.  One staff member was to be elected as the teachers’ representative to the Managing Committee of the MEA.  I was nominated as a candidate, besides Shri. T. Rajagopalan and Shri. N. K. Sharma.  Subsequently, TR withdrew from the contest, and to my surprise I was elected, defeating NKS.  Soon a vacancy arose for the post of a Principal and it was NMR’s turn this time.  But some forces were working against him and cases were fabricated to scuttle his promotion.  The matter came up before the Managing Committee presided over by Dr. P. S. Lokanathan who was at that time the Director General of the National Council of Applied Economic Research.  In the meeting, Principal Suryanarayanan pleaded against his promotion, but I refuted his arguments outright, though I was the youngest among all there.  Immediately the President got alerted and deferred a decision on the matter, instead expressing a desire to have a personal interview with NMR.  The interview took place and NMR got duly selected on merit.  He took over Mandir Marg school as Principal in 1963 from Shri. V.Subramanian who went on transfer to Lakshmibai nagar school nearer home.  Incidentally, those were the same years I started the Karol Bagh school in 1960, then moved to Mandir Marg school for a couple of years as they were badly in need of a strong Maths teacher for their higher secondary classes, and subsequently got deputed to open the RK Puram school in Sector IV in mid-sixties.

NMR was fond of reading and would finish any book in a single day.  As Principal, he developed a beautiful library and spent money lavishly on the purchase of latest books.  His other weakness was playing chess.  In the evenings we played table tennis and badminton in the school till 7.30 PM & walked back home together to Karolbagh.  We became the best of friends.  NMR wrote a textbook – New Age Chemistry – for higher secondary classes, which helped with IIT preparations also.  He richly deserved the State Award that was conferred on him before his retirement by the Delhi administration.

Shri.J.N.Ganju, M.A, LL.B was the Head of English dept.  He came from Kashmir.  Always nicely dressed, smart looking & fair in complexion, he would attract anyone with his slow modulated voice.  He brought in an ambience of a college atmosphere.  In the staff room, Shri. Ganju would be either preparing for his next lecture or checking students’ work.  He would openly discuss the mistakes students committed so others could benefit from it.  Although he did not know Tamil, he never felt out of place in a South Indian set up.   He adored the Principal and always strived to be in his best books and made a mark as an English teacher.  Shri. Suryanarayanan rightly chose him as his successor for the Lodi Estate school.

Shri. N.K.Sharma headed the Geography department.  He hailed from Khurja (near Aligarh).  He was a perfect gentleman, knew his subject well and had a good command over English.  Being an excellent teacher, Shri.Sharma was a good student too.  On joining the MEA, he started learning Tamil very earnestly, both reading & writing.  I was wonderstruck when he started conversing with me in Tamil in the staff room one day.  Any doubts he had in reading, he would not hesitate to approach me.  That is how our friendship started.  He had a room exclusively for Geography that was well done with exhibits, the globe, maps and other related materials, that inspired students to opt for Geography.  He exhibited great respect for authority that was worth emulating.  He was subsequently promoted as Principal of the Pusa Road school wherefrom he retired gracefully.

Shri. H.C.Shali was Head of History department.  He also hailed from Kashmir working as Inspector of schools there before joining the MEA.  A loveable personality, he would attract anybody by his kind nature.  His communicative ability was fantastic and he was very popular with students.  He organized a historical tour of Delhi every year for the benefit of class XI History students and he would ensure that I joined that tour without fail. We used to have so much fun on those trips.  Shali had a special attachment to me and was truly my friend for life.  He retired in 1973 as Principal of the RK Puram school.

The list will go on.  There were other departments and so many wonderful teachers like Badra Vratt (Hindi), S. K. K Arya (Hindi), Mary Thomas (started Biology department in Lodi Estate), Shiv Dutt Shastri (Sanskrit), P. D. Kapoor (Domestic Science), R. N. Trehan (Social Studies and English), R. Parthasarathy (Tamil), Ram Bhaj (Engineering Drawing), Dhan Raj (Physical Education), K. G. S Rao (Maths, who later became Principal of Kannada School), etc.  Though it is not my intention to leave anyone out, it is practically impossible to include everyone.  I remember and am grateful to Shri. Badra Vratt who taught Hindi to me and Mrs. Mary Thomas (from Kerala) during lunchtime as neither of us knew a word of Hindi then!  That goes to show how supportive the teachers were to one another and what a healthy learning environment that was.  The esprit de corps displayed by all the teachers was incredible!

There were other junior teachers who started coming in to take the place of the above-mentioned senior teachers as they retired or as the schools expanded.  Very competent and noteworthy, they too served the institution with utmost dedication making significant contribution to the lives of so many students.

Ms. Bhuvaneswari started the Biology department in Mandir Marg school and proved herself to be a GEM of a teacher.  She was easily the best among all Biology teachers of Delhi!  Very affectionate towards students and concerned with their career, Bhuvaneswari was responsible for producing a large number of doctors from DTEA.  She was considered the “counterpart” of Shri. N M Rajaram who produced countless number of engineers.

Shri. Darshan Kumar, a brilliant teacher made a mark in DTEA with his superb and unparalleled knowledge of Physics & Maths.  Every student loved him for his passion of teaching, a decent person and a perfect gentleman.  IIT aspirants of the latter years looked up to DK for guidance.

Shri. Hari Om, a resident of Ghaziabad, came to teach mathematics to the senior students at the Lodi estate school commuting daily.  He was thorough in his subject, very friendly with the students and earned their love and respect by his very nature.  He knew every student by name and even their brothers and sisters studying in the school.  He further knew most of the parents too by name and maintained good PR with them.  Hari Om was an asset to DTEA

Mrs. Kamala Bhuvarahan was master in her subject, very gentle, and extremely proficient with a great sense of duty.  She was one of the best English teachers I have come across.  I always admired her professional skill and eagerness to learn more.

Last but not the least, I would also like to recognize Tulsi Ram and Homi who were among our most dedicated class IV staff of those days, who loved working with us and considered it home.  The MEA certainly owes them a lot for their loyalty.

More on my later years with MEA / DTEA to follow…