Boarding Life – Part I

By Elizabeth Thomas ('85 Batch)

The prayers we recited at the boarding should qualify us an entry in heaven (if St. Peter is lenient with the keys). Let’s list the major ones –

1.  Mass @ chapel ~ 6:00 -6:45 am

        2.  Prayer @ hallway ~ before school

        3.  Prayer @ area between infirmary

        4.  Rosary @ study hall ~ 6:00 pm

        5.  Night prayers @ dining hall ~ 8:00 pm

Besides the above, all meals were flanked by short prayers. And of course, you are also supposed to do your personal prayers before the holy water was sprinkled on you to enable a peaceful sleep at night and after the morning bell was rung to wake you up.  Sunday was a major prayer day. Garmented in white we either made our way to the chapel at MCC or Infant Jesus church (cathedral now).  I have to fess up that instead of paying attention to the mass, my mind often wandered to the flower arrangements and the finery that adorned the MCC chapel, perfectly coordinated with the robes the priest wore. While at IJ church I focused mostly on the choir and their fashionable clothes, hair styles and so forth. 

The study hall of the boarding was supposed to be the center of gravity for us. Between prayers, self grooming, recreation and school, we were allotted at least 3 solid hours per day. That was enough to strike a balance and avoid the ‘all play/all work’ situation. The brilliant ones simple shone in their studies (Preethi). The studious ones had opportunity to study extra hard in the upstairs study hall, sipping the coffee from the flasks which the ‘fans’ made. The not so studious ones would read M&B under the desk (mostly me) or narrate movies over the desk (mostly Veera).  Veera was a fan of actors such as Mithun & Shankar, Shirley – Kamal Hassan fan, Jaya – James Bond fan, Achumma – Amitabh fan.  Then there were the sport freaks like Jeena – fan of Kapil, Ravi Shastri, Azzar. The musically inclined ones enthralled us with live performance upon request – vocals (Veera & Shirley) and guitar (Mary Susan John). Then there were ‘the bold and the beautiful’ whom the not so bold and beautiful would admire (I dare not mention names).

Singing and dancing were very much a part of our life at MCC in preparation for feast days and house competitions. I admired the conducting and choreography by some of the prominent singers and dancers such as Achumma and Veera.  Some were adept at stage dramas such as Lynda – winner of MCC Oscars.