YEAR END ANDNEW YEAR MUSINGS The New Year actually begins on another date aftermonths in all states in India according to their calendar. All states celebrateNew Year on those dates with very pomp. Stillthe English New year is also considered as New Year for decades, even in giving prophecy nowadays.
Some interesting English New Year musings came to me.Nothing very important other than some interesting information in this posting . Somejoyful and nostalgic gatherings R Gopalakrishnan,former ITS dated 30-12-2021. 1 Primary andmiddle School days. During my primary school days the class teacher wouldannounce the New Year. With seriousness or authority the class teacher would announce it. He may explain the importance andwish happy New Year. Students will smile. No reciprocating with thank you andall on those days. Probably among teachers there could be reciprocation. Howeverevery teacher had to tell happy New Year to Head master, probably a patternfollowed from British days. English New Year meant purchase of new calendar in thefamily. Mostly Calendar Mathrubhoomi was purchased from stationery shops. WithMalayalam New Year in August month Almanac/Pechanga was available at that time.It was available in biweekly markets also. Panchangam was more referred forbirth days and annual srardha days of the departed in the family. Panchangamhad many more details like Rahu kalam, Yamakandam, Muhurtham days, certain prophecies. Purchasing new dress was with Christian friendscelebrating Xmas on 25th of the year. 2. High schooldays By the time 8 years have passed and it was customaryto wish happy Xmas to Christian friends. To say frankly even in high schooldays my thinking was just like Onam celebration on different days in the years,Xmas too was on different days in December. Very late I understood it is 25thDecember every year, a fixed one. New Year wishes were exchanged between students,teachers would come with smiling face and start class after wishing happy NewYear and we all reciprocated with medium voice Thank you. However there werestudents who just moved lips with those teachers whom they had disliking.Students had personal liking with teachers for their manners or mingling withstudents. An incident from my personal life. After my graduationin June 1964, immediately I joined as high school assistant to teachMathematics and Physics in a school at Kothamangalam near Alwaye in Kerala. Ihad my liking to teach Malayalam, in the absence of Malayalam teacher I used toteach Malayalam in any standard in the high school. I had applied for clerical post in P &T department while I was studying 1st year of BSc andI got a selection order in September 1964 after years. Including the headmaster, being aided school, initially reluctant to relieve me telling the opportunitiesof promotions, vacation, tuition, and state Government pension. However apostal inspector working below our residence with office persuaded me to joincentral government job irrespective of cadre telling future promotionalavenues. Probably the fate would have been that, I resigned the job and jointedMadras CTO as clerk and within 2 years got selected as junior engineer, afterbeing telephone inspector, and was getting salary during training…. Though quite new to teaching, I was admired more theway I took class. Many students personally came to me telling asking me not togo resigning the teacher job… The teacher job is like that. 3. Collegedays. No person can forget nostalgic memories of collegedays. Even in frag end of life college days are full of nostalgic memories, veryfew may be sad incidents. Students greeted among themselves, lecturers seen onthe way, some took opportunity of the occasion for prolonged time spending with girl/boy co-students. Lecturers used to go and greet Professors andprofessors went to greet Principal. All lecturers and professors greeted students in thelecture class and students reciprocated. Somehow principal used to wish all making all to assemble in assembly hall somewhere in the afternoon. It was in addition to the typed greeting byhim in notice board. Principals used to take a few classes in English for firstyear students. While I was studying in college, pre-degree hadalready introduced replacing intermediate and it was in college and not plus IIin high school as of today. Every student used to wear new or somewhat new dresson the New Year day. Whatever was the difficulty in home, children studying incollege were provided with more dresses. At least every two days washed and newdress was worn by students. Some wealthy students had different dresses every day.Shirt and double dhoti was male student dress whereas half sari/ full sari was wornby girl students. There was somewhat mingling among students, still girlstudents had desks and back bench in one side. Many love affairs flowered, mostcompleted after graduate/post graduatestudies. Most lecturers dressed in pure white dhoti and shirt,some lecturers from Nagerkovil side started wearing pants. Some lecturersmarried girl students after completing graduating. There was no barring likestudents should not marry lecturers. The time spending by some girl students inlecturer room was an indication of beginning of love affair. I will continuewith official decorum on New Year day inwork place in next posting -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1043056715.4256969.1672404800211%40mail.yahoo.com.
