A Tribute To My Alma Mater

A TRIBUTE TO MY ALMA MATER

Our school was an Elysium. I can never truly describe or express my deep gratitude, love, and appreciation for our school’s commitment to excellence, for helping us in our growth, molding our lives and shaping our destiny.

Whatever we are today, we owe it to our school and our teachers. I am grateful that we had the right mentors at the right moment, in our growing-up years. I hold our school and teachers in the highest esteem, they have most influenced and changed our lives. They have imparted to us life’s most valuable lessons. Truly, our school was a fount of knowledge and experience.

Thank you, Lowry Memorial, for teaching us, guiding us, inspiring us and making us good citizens of this country and good individuals in society and this world.

We stepped out of the hallowed portals of our School into a world which is now increasingly being polarized with religion, hatred, and politics. But our school has imparted good values in our lives. We had SUPW (Social Useful Productive Work) classes. Our classes began with Moral education every day, which has instilled in us, discipline and moral values, helping us to be kind, caring, good individuals contributing to society. I can proudly say we have been taught to uplift the weak, help the needy and build up our society, our country.

Our school, Lowry Memorial was a small world in itself, adorned by red Gul Mohur and purple Jacaranda trees and beautiful Bougainvilleas of all hues, pink, purple, white, orange and yellow. Like a rainbow of colors, our school was a delight to the eyes.

The school had acres of farms, vineyards, vegetable farms of cabbage, cauliflower, Etc. A dairy farm which produced fresh milk, butter, and other dairy products. Healthy cows grazed along the green fields. A bakery which served delicious bread on the Sabbath eve. The school had a well-stocked library. Oh, What rich treasures of books! There was a printing press. A boys hostel and a girls hostel where boarders resided. A Chapel with beautiful colored stained glass windows. A Dining Hall, a dispensary where we had our health check-up, storerooms, Vacation Training classes, Basketball courts, Volleyball/Throwball and Baseball courts. We had a sports room with all sports equipment.

The school had Four Houses, Red, Blue, Yellow and Green, all competing for Sports Day honors. The wonderful March Past on the Republic Day, where the School Captain led the four houses marching to the drumbeats. The Annual Sports Meet was a three-day event which was always eagerly awaited. The competitive inter-house relay races. The Republic Day Floats depicting different states and culture. We had students from all across India. From northern states of India and Southern states. It was a true representation of unity in diversity. Full of fun, frolic, competitions, games, and sportsmanship. I remember the annual cultural competitions, the song, and dance practice, the talent hunts, the debates, the temperance contests, speech competitions, quiz competitions, the Taluk, District and State Level Sports Championship and the Bangalore Schools Sports Meet at the Kanteerava Stadium. We participated in all these with full zeal and enthusiasm.

I also recollect the dramas and plays. Our seniors enacted Shakespeare’s play The Taming Of The Shrew, at the Golden Jubilee Celebrations, which is still etched in my memory. What a classic performance! This inspired me to perform in a few plays, representing our zone at the Interzonal Drama Competition at Rail Nilayam. Hyderabad.

There’s a saying that a good teacher inspires hope, ignites the imagination and instills a love of learning. This saying is so apt for our teachers at Lowry Memorial School. Our teachers always put in their best efforts and helped us generously, with their time and knowledge.

I am indebted to all my teachers. My teachers instilled in me a love for reading, and I recollect that Ms. Geeta Chandies, my English teacher presented me a Junior Statesman magazine, which had excellent poetry, while I was in 8th standard. My passion for poetry thus took root in my school, and it helped me win a prize at the University Poetry competition conducted by Poets International Organization and subsequently publish my poetry book, Colors of Delight. I owe this to my school and my teachers.

Our school fostered our love for sports. Softball games at school helped my sister represent Karnataka at the National Softball Championships, where Karnataka won the championship. She also was the gold medalist in Bachelor’s degree in Arts.She was awarded The Best Teacher Award recently in 2017 by the Karnataka Governor. All credit goes to our school.

We were able to successfully get through competitive exams because of the excellent education that we received at Lowry Memorial. My sister who is now an Inspector of Income Tax will vouch for this.

Recently, in January 2016, we had the good fortune of meeting our beloved teachers and friends at the Lowry Memorial School Centenary Celebrations. It was as if time rolled back. We were overwhelmed with deep affection and gratitude to our school and our teachers. I am filled with a deep sense of nostalgia for those beautiful bygone days, and sweet reflections, reminiscences, and memories created there in my beloved Lowry Memorial School.

“A teacher affects eternity. You can never tell where a teacher’s influence stops”-Henry Adam

This quote aptly sums it up. Truly, our school-Lowry Memorial and our teachers influenced us and will continue to inspire us till eternity.

My Poem Newton’s Law

Newton’s Law

I was inattentive in Science class one day
When the teacher at random looked my way
I didn't look up, I wouldn't dare
There's no escaping that intense glare.

Asked me to explain to the class
Newton's Law of Gravity and mass
My mind was a blank, heartbeats louder
For an answer I started to flounder.

I stood before the class trembling with fear
"Gravity" I said...and then, oh dear!!!
I fell off the stage, on to the floor
How the class with laughter did roar.

The children tittered in great amusement
They didn't know my sad predicament
The teacher said, "You've demonstrated gravity"
"Although you did it with much levity".

At length I returned to my seat
With much applause did they greet
Now I look back upon this and ponder
I decide to listen and not let my mind wander.

(This was recently published in our School magazine and previously published on my blog nandita653.wordpress.com)