The tree-lined alley midway between 1st and 2nd grounds
I can’t forget my school even after 2 years of leaving it. St. Lawrence is in my soul, in my heart. The sprawling green fields, majestic trees, lush greenery are ever fresh in my memory. I remember the first day in school. I was awe-struck by the size of the campus and its charm and beauty. The pleasant fragrance of the white-flowering tree that stands in front of the primary building pervaded my senses and I was transferred to a magical world. I listened with rapt attention to the accented words of foreigner Fr. Wavreil as he asked my dad – “Now give me the birth certificate and the transfer certificate”.
Next we moved to the primary building as the large green field left before my incredulous gaze. Next suprise for me was Fr. Bouche, a foreigner sage. He is the best teacher I have seen. He taught us English grammar and those classes were too good to be real. Even at his old age, he was bubbling with playful energy and was busy playing with kids. Unfortunately Fr. Bouche is no more.
The best thing about St. Lawrence is the very long lunch break of a whopping 55 minutes. Another short break of 10 minutes is there as well. 😀 We played all kinds of games – cricket, football, table tennis, carrom, chess, hand-cricket, basketball, danguli and what not, treaded every inch of the campus and all this probably made us bond with our school more than anything else.
I was the most wanted story-teller in my class. Sometimes, there was 5-10 minutes left in a class and things were in a relaxed mood my friends would demand for a break from studies – a story had to be told or some game to be played. If it was story then it was most of the times me who had entertain my friends. I told whatever I read. I had a nice collection of jokes as well which my friends wanted to hear from me again and again.
The days at school were really very bright and colourful. The timing was 10 a.m. – 3.45 p.m, got changed to 9 a.m. – 3.05 p.m. when I was in class 9. The unit tests, each of 10 marks, were serious affairs. After a week about a test when Sir/Miss would return the checked copies one by one, we awaited our turn with bated breath. The terms or block tests were the more challenging ones of course but the instant reward associated with unit tests was something delicious to savour.
