“Ay, macha, epidi iruke?”; “Sir, do you remember me?”; “Where are you working?”. Regular greetings that suggest inquisitiveness and warmth. However, recently, for around 50 people on the face of the earth, these greetings were anything but regular. These simple questions opened a floodgates of words and emotions that had been dammed up for decades.
The answers to these questions made for a lovely reunion for the 1972-batch of Kannada Sangam Higher Secondary School, which was meeting after a hiatus of 25 years, on the campus of the school. The reunion, attended by around 50 alumni of the batch, also witnessed the honouring of 20 teachers with mementoes and speeches.
There was one name that recurred through the speeches delivered that day — Saroja Ramani.
Saroja joined Kannada Sangam Higher Secondary School as its headmistress in 1980 and was instrumental in shifting the school from the CBSE to State Board stream, in 1981.
“That was one of my first assignments after taking charge,” she recalls. “We had several children from lower income groups, many of whom could not afford the expenses that came with a national curriculum. Once the school converted to the State board, my next task was to bring on board Tamil teachers. Fortunately, children responded positively to the change and therefore, the transition was smooth.”
In 1992, she introduced Plus 1 and Plus 2, thereby brining the school to Higher Secondary level.
Saroja ensured the students conversed in English. She personally taught them bhajans and introduced scouts and guides.
“I was also particular that my students take up sports. So, I was extremely careful in the recruitment of the physical trainer,” smiles Saroja, who retired in 1997. She had been honoured with Tamilnadu Government award in 1995.
Returning to the school after 25 years, she says, “Like any old-age person, I feel proud of my children, because I raised these students like my own two daughters.”