MEMORY BANK.

THE PARLOUR

Rita Robinson the girl from Gomia who used to sing the song, "Mere Dil ka quarter car lo occupy, mat dena pyaare rent ki single pai!" Pamela Patrick a slim tall girl, Joan Rawlins who later migrated to Australia, Alice Soosai, a boarder, Sunetra Bijapurkar, Kokila Patel, Sunanda and Shaila, the two Bharat Natyam sisters, Sukhwant Kaur from Jamshedpur, Nalini Sinha, Susamma Kurien, whose father was my dad's friend,suddenly all these names have come tumbling out of my memory bank.

Hemlata Sunda, Kalyani Singh, Ajanta Patro, Aruna Murgai, all of these names were lying tucked away. Suddenly that particular cell of my brain has woken up and I recall the full names of the girls! I also remember that there was a film actress called Vijaya Chowdhry who was also from our School.

No, it is not my second childhood, and I am have not becoming senile. I am not loosing my present day memories and remembering things of long ago!

THE SCHOOL BUILDING & PORTICO AT THE BACK

School and its memories were neatly stored away in my brain, That compartment was not opened ever, as my life got busy with many other things. It's only a month more before I return to the gates of MCC, so I am very excited! We used to sing, "One day more, where shall I be, out of the gates of MCC!" My school was then called Mount Carmel Convent(MCC). This song was because I was a boarder and that was how we used to count our days to our holidays when we would leave the gates of MCC!
I still remember the little open space between the Boarding House and the refectory. There were two steps that led to the verandah. When it rained a bit too hard rainwater used to fill  in that area and then we would float paper boats in it.

Before sleeping we used to sing,

"I lay my body down to sleep,

I pray to God my soul to keep,

And if I die before I wake,

I pray to God my soul to take"

I now think that was rather morbid, but then I used to love to sing it with full faith. Death was so far away and God was only my keeper, who would look after my soul!

Before eating also we said Grace,

" Bless us Oh Lord, 

For these thy gifts,

......

The next two lines evade me.

We were always thankful and grateful for what we got to eat! Maybe that is why we never grumbled about the food. Talking at the Dining Table was always in whispers.

THOSE GORGEOUS TREES!

Those golden days of childhood, where my entire being was moulded, never left me. What I am today, is what I was taught to be.

Those reprimands, that strictness, the falling in line, the discipline is what moulded me to be neat, tidy, caring for others, consideration for the next person, systematic, and grateful for what I have.

Thank you MCC. I have lived my life as I was taught. I left my School 49 years ago, but what the School taught me, never left me!
PS
I have to thank my brother Sunil Uke for these photographs that he took.