Chemistry Blues

By Sherene Dcruz alias Mary Bennet (’89 Batch)

Bunsen Burners and Test Tubes! I remember the long hours we had to spend learning our chemistry tables and being bored to death by them. Then the day finally arrived when we got to go to the chemistry lab.  There was excitement all around. Imagine you get a Bunsen burner and test tubes all to yourself!! Not all experiments are successful, you end up with strange residues of all forms and colours, mini explosions, burned plaits, strange smells! Then there are the bottled specimens kept in formol which gives an eerie atmosphere to the lab and for a first timer it’s like being in a funeral parlour. I can still smell the sulfuric acid hitting my nostrils. We never got to go there as often as it was reserved more for our responsible seniors.

After the experiments, we were supposed to hide our testubes in the drawers, but somehow they always seemed to disappear. So my friend Rachana decided that it would be a better idea to take them home. You just can’t put test tubes in between books that weighed a ton and then board a very crowded bus home. Well, she ended up with powdered test tubes!!!

The Anatomy of a Frog

By Sherene D'cruz alias Mary Bennet ('89 batch)

Science was not exactly my favourite subject, though I ended up drawing diagrams of cross sections for my friends who hated drawing. Strange enough, today when I go to pick up some reading material from the local book store, I always end up with a copy of ‘The Scientific American’.  Looks like I love science after all.

Back in school when Mrs. Cabot informed us that we would be dissecting a frog the following week, I’m sure the future surgeons and doctors may have rejoiced, but there were those of us who felt our stomachs churn.  Mrs. Cabot kept a close eye on everyone. As the brave cut them open we could feel our breakfast rising to our throats.

  
Strangely enough the chloroform began to wear off and the frogs with open bellies started to wake up. This caused a general panic and Mrs. Cabot went around with cotton dipped in chloroform to put them back to sleep. Once the entrails were examined, the beating heart, the lungs and diaphragms drawn and lessons learnt, the question that popped in our mind was, ‘do we stitch up the belly just like real surgery?’ Unfortunately no needle and thread was available as this was no SUPW class. Mrs. Cabot must have surely wondered why we were being so ridiculous. She asked us to just dump them in the garden for the birds and cats to eat. Now if we were in France someone would have taken them home to prepare some delicious ‘fried frogs legs’ (sorry my vegetarian friends!). Hands were washed thoroughly but somehow no one was in a mood to eat their lunch that day. I wonder why?

(Frogs are protected species, so try to stitch them up next time. Don’t forget the needle and the thread!)

The SUPW Garden Plot

By Sherene D’cruz  alias Mary Bennet ('89 Batch)

It all began in the best of spirits and ended in the worst! Each class of our batch was divided according to houses and each house was allocated a little plot. Everyone dug their hands in except for a few who did not want to damage their well manicured nails. With scientific precision the plots were measured, fences were built and plants were sneaked in from mom’s vegetable garden or what was found on the roadside - begged, borrowed or stolen! No one had time for games anymore during the breaks as everyone rushed to their plots to take care of their precious plants. Lunch was gobbled up quickly, no time for small talk.

It was just loads of enthusiasm and itching green fingers. While you worked on your plot, you enviously eyed your neighbour’s plot.  Every detail caught your eyes, trying to steal ideas, hey? No way! But how come everyone ended up putting together the same little scarecrows to ward off the birds that were fond of the ripe tomatoes. The plants were suffocated with love. How come no one thought of playing music to their plants?  They say plants grow faster when they hear music! Anyway the plants had no choice but to yield the very best!

Wonder where the vegetables finally ended up, most probably in one of mom’s casseroles. Everything was shared fair and square, at least the first season! Summer went by, the plants were neglected during the holidays. The first day of school everyone arrived early to check their plots.  Even though some of the enthusiasm had died, they were still a few brave who cleaned the plots and planted anew.  No one could predict the damage the torrential monsoon rains would do to their precious plants.  Boundaries got smudged, plants and houses intermingled and finally it was "that’s our tomato plant, no it’s ours". Now, it was just one big floating vegetable garden in a sea of reddish water. Complaints were made, fights had to be dealt with while the vegetables rottened away!

Then there was the calm after the storm - when a new SUPW project was suggested, something for all seasons! This time with wonderful Miss Braganza, cross stitch and crochet, there was no rivalry, coz everyone had their own patch!

In school I was known as Mary Bennet. Sherene is what friends and family call me!!