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On some Sundays the Prefect would announce that we would be going to Lands End for an outing. We knew what it meant, so we had old jam bottles ready. Then we treked in orderly lines in pairs on Hill Road towards St Andrews Church and along the sea face to Lands End. Once there we went onto the Rocks and looked for black maulies, found them and managed to get them into the jam bottle along with the sea water. These were our pets and every day we rubbed two guttlies to gether to drop the crumbs into the…

Father Bulchand was a rare individual. The first impression I had of him was that he appeared to be bundle of energy. That energy seemed to come out from his stare which seemed to go right through you. He was our high school maths teacher, and though he was brilliant in the subject, he presumed you were equally good at the subject. This is where we developed a mutual dislike. He eventually informed me that since I had no brains, it would be better for me to take up an apprenticeship in a garage. I didn’t believe him, or for…

The SSESA has kept an extremely low profile, almost invisible — I cannot recollect hearing of the SSESA when I finished high school in 1977 (higher secondary in 1979). But then I may have been dreaming and not really bothered about that. (Mind you, there was this immense, “free at lastâ” feeling that prevailed at the time, and I sense I am not alone in the invisibility of SSESA nor the lack of interest in SSESA at end of schooling). But its more interesting to ask why SSESA was allowed to be invisible? Could it be because no one actually…

We know what a bank does, or a car manufacturer or a telecom operator. But what deos an ex-students association do? In the steps leading to the creation of the SSESA portal, we did a simple search on what a few ex-student associations did in India and abroad. There seemed to be a similar pattern of ‘remembering the past’, ‘rebuilding old friendships’, ‘growing the network’ or “giving back” in some way or form. I could not recall any ex-student association that did not have ties to the school and almost all had some form of annual celebration — a ball, dinner or…

More names keep popping in my head. There was Thomas Marshal, who I know became a really good commercial artist. Then there was Reggie, who I thought looked always very sleepy. There were the brothers Sabu and Franklin. Both were hansome, one was short and stocky and the other was thin and taller. Now come to think of it, Franklin resembled the singer Prince. There was John Carvallo who was very studious and a damn good hockey player. Frank (Butler) was another good hockey player. Among Fathers and Brothers, there was Fr. Donelly, Fr. Soler, Fr. Barjao, Fr. Cassale, Fr….

I am trying to remember people, places, things and events that are almost half a century ago. So if I falter, bear with me, correct me, remind me. People, well there is Brian Edwards, Kevin Wade, Manek Despande, Joseph D’souza, Bedford, Derek Andrade, Bernard Rodricks, Frank, and a whole lot of a hundred and fifty others who for the life of me, I can’t recall. Brian had been my buddy from day one until we parted when leaving school. Kevin was wild when he joined, and I mean really wild. Then he sobered down and I got to know him…

Ever hear of the Binaca Hit Parade. No! Neither did I, until a kind adopted Uncle living on Bazaar Road just behind the Boarders Dormitories decided that the least he could do was to play that hit parade real loud for us boarders. And so, we learnt about Frank Sinatra, Pat Boone, Jim Reeves, Cliff Richard, Connie Francis, and of course Elvis. From Sinatra we learnt to do it our way; from Pat Boone we learnt about Wishful Thinking; from Jim we learnt about our Precious Lord; from Cliff we learnt that the Young ones are never afraid; from Elvis…

Come to think about it, I was destined to school in St. Stanislaus High School. My bond with the school goes back way before I was even born. My maternal Uncle, Henry Scott was a boarder there and was well liked by Fr. Ribot. And my parents were married there in 1942. So when I became unmanageable in 1950, my mother contacted my Uncle and there I was, a boarder. One thing I could and did boast about was the list of sudents names just outside the principal’s office. My Uncle’s name was clearly mentioned. Well, Henry Scott was an…

If there is anything about my life as a boarder that I will remember in vivid detail for the rest of my life, it will be the Holy Week. It is not because I have any pretensions about being religious, rather it was because of the great Good Friday ritual. Ever since I finished schooling, I have never witnessed anything like the very long, very ceremonial ritual performed around the Crucifixion. Believe me, I was an acolyte (one among many) on several of these rituals (once I even blacked out on my knees). Right up and at the back was…

Some years ago when I was in Mumbai to visit my Mother and sister, the Bandra Fair was on and I thought it would be a good idea to go around and remember old memories. I was so badly disappointed that if I ever go again it would be only to visit Mother Mary on the Mount. However Bandra Fair of old was an event to look forward to. We, especially the boarders looked forward to the week in September. If we were lucky enough to have saved any pocket money with our Prefect, it would be doled out on…