"CANDID CONNECTIONS" - REMINISCENCE OF A PAST PUPIL
1944 TO 1954

by

C. Sathiyamoorthy,
Past Pupil: St. John's College.
Jaffna (1944-1954)

It was just an ordinary day in January 1944 when as a nine-year old I accompanied my mother, together with my trunk full of clothes, books and sweets on a short journey. I was on my way to St. John's. Though I was full 2f apprehension, new books and more sweets at Bastiampillai's the book sellers calmed me down.

I was introduced to the late Mr. and Mrs. E.M. Ponnuthurai who were in charge of Evans House. The late Mr. AC. Canagarajah was our house monitor. He was kind to all of us except when he rang his "wake up" bell every morning at precisely 5.45 am. A quick wash in cold water and I was off on my long walk to the Dining Hall to study all my new books. From the early days of 1944 to the last days of 1954 bells dominated my life: Meals, studies, assemblies, prayers, first and second study were all regulated by the bell. Our dining hall had a peculiar bell-a gong -a corroded, shapeless piece of H-iron!.

The years in Evarts House (1944 to 1948) were very happy ones. Rushing around, looking after your clothes, your bed and your friends (Machans) as they were called affectionately, took a lot out of you. Random check up of finger nails by Miss Vanden Driesen, blue shorts and white shirts, well buttoned up were the order of the day. We may have looked smart but we were too busy to think about it. We played Kiddu between two Mahogany trees and young Jayakandan from up-country excelled in this game. Samuel Selvadurai use to bowl bouncers me, little did I realise that he was aiming at DRO Balachandran's mango tree. We thrived on soft ball, cricket, paddle tennis and foot ball.

Figg Hall reminds me of Mr V C Canagaratnam, an imposing figure! Whenever,, we heard the swish of the cane we tended to hide behind one another. Seba (Mahen Sebaratnam) presently an active member of Chundikuli St. John's Past Pupils Association, UK, was one of the lads who hid along with me. George Vancuylenberg (affectionately known as Paana) kept all the teachers busy with his pranks. Mrs. D.C.Arulananatham taught me English. Mr. Charles taught me Geography underneath a tree and Mr.Chinniah (affectionately known as pudaiyan) taught me PE or drill as it was called at that time. The enjoyable occasions were when Mr E M Ponnuthurai gave our weekly tuck shop coupons as we were not allowed to use money. The other occasion I looked forward to was when the late Mrs Pushpam Arulanantham made us sing hymns and songs during the exeat week-ends in the Principal's bungalow. We were rewarded with milk and sweets for our singing efforts. These were wonderful days in Evarts House.

In January, 1949, I moved to Thompson House to start my teenage days of adolescence. The late Mr. Rajasekaram was our . Thompson House boarding master. He was strict but a kind figure, whose nasal tones made him to be affectionately known as "Mookaas". Learning Latin from the late Mr "Kadavul" Subrarnaniam was a privileged experience. He and Captain Gopalapillai were my heroes when they defended the portals of our boarding establishments during the infamous football clash with the supporters of St. Patricks! During my last days in Thompson House we were given publicity by the local media as the "poisoned boys" of St. Johns. Poor John, our tuck-shop boy made ice cream with ingredients kept overnight in the ice bucket. We became willing victims as we indulged in large quantities of ice cream. However, there was a happy end to this escapade as we were saved by the late Mr Devadason our Chemistry, teacher who fed us with an antidote. Those who did not take this antidote ended up in Jaffna Hospital with severe stomach spasms. In January 1952 we were getting bigger in size and I had to move to Fleming House. We had an understanding and responsible senior boarding master in the person of Mr Ernest Champion. He recently retired as a Professor of the Ohio University, USA and he has kept a close relationship with me. We did reminisce of our days in Fleming House.

Athletics, Football and the Cadet Corps dominated my life during my Fleming House days. As boarders. Tharmavarathan (Varathan), Kasinathan (SK), Visvanathan (Cracker) and I played. Football together. Tharmavarathan would shout "Pass-La". "Pass-La" on the Football field causing confusion and laughter. "Pass-La" is a Malay-slang for pass the ball. Mr Tharmavarthan is the current President of the Chundikuli St. John's Past Pupils Association in the UK.

Handy House was invincible in the fifties and we had an outstanding athlete in the late Mr G G Gnanasegararn. I was proud to have captained Handy House in 1953. The late Mr Peter Somasundaram was our house master. He told me, "You do the running and I will do the cheering". He gave me enough money to buy glucose and . eggs for our boys. Looking back, glucose and eggs appeared to be bribes to make our boys run faster. There, were Jega Tissanayagam (Doctor in UK) and the twins Ramachandran and Balakrishnan who performed so well for Handy House. Another teacher (Vice-Principal) who was very popular was the late Mr Sivapragasam affectionately remembered as "Vambas". He was a kind and a sensitive person who was approached by all the pupils, particularly the boarders with all their problems. He had a high sense of humour which he used to his lessons so much so that few played truant.

This account will not be complete without mentioning our dear Principal, the late Rev. J.T. Arulanantham. He was my Principal, mentor and father rolled into one. He guided me during those fabulous ten years at St. John's. JT as we fondly remember him used to shake his head from side to side on his daily walk from his office to his bungalow. This was a familiar sight to all the boarders. His last bit of advice to me was to snip the curly hair on my chin and not shave with a razor. I appreciated this piece of practical wisdom. He will be fondly remembered by many Johnians. If any Johnian happens~to read this, let me state that you are a lucky one to be associated with St. John's. So Johnians play the game and keep your crest high where ever you may be.