15th October 2010 - The Scindia School

QILA QUOTES | The Scindia SchoolFacultyThe 'Ma'ams' atTHE Fort“What’s in a name?That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.”-William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet.Mrs. Vinita PandeThe Scindia SchoolEvery public school has its own lingo; and Scindia isno exception. No lexicographer’s delight, this means ofcommunication has evolved over long years of usage,and consists of a smattering of Hinglish, slang and thecolloquial. It is meant strictly for the off-school hourswhen the boys get a chance to let their hair down. Thus ateacher’s pet is knows as a ‘Laggu’ while one who sneaks onother is known as a ‘Chulli’. The hog at the mess is known‘Hoddu’. Spinning yarns is ‘Fatte dena’ and bullying is ‘Waatlagana’. Juniors are called ‘J.B.s’and in retaliation seniorsare addressed as ‘S.B.s’ Gossiping is ‘Chat kholna’ andduring this a ‘gone case’ is referred to as a ‘Cheapaar’.With such exotic verancular, this school with an Indian ethosprefers to call its house servants as ‘Bhaiyyas’ and its housemaids as ‘Didis’ or ‘Bais’ Then why on earth do Scindianscall their lady teachers as ‘Ma’ams’ ? This is an enigma thatdefies logic. To quote the balding bard once again:-“Nature hath framed strange fellows in her time”The Merchant of Venice”It was not always so. Way back in 1930 the blue bloodedmale bastion of Sardar School was pierced when Mrs.Pearce, nee Anusuya Devi Paranjpe, became the first ladyof the school. An accomplished educationist herself, sheplayed an active part in the affairs of the school, though shenever taught in the classrooms. She was called Mrs. Pearcein the school and Anusuya Bai in the local press. AfterScindia School had been formed, in 1935 the name of alady teacher , Miss E.A. Palmer appeared in the civil list ofThe Scindia School for the first time. She taught English andEuropean languages. In 1937 Mrs. Malti Patwardhan, B.A.,travelled all the way from Rishi Valley school in Madras totake up the charge of house mistress of one of the JuniorHouses. None of these teachers was ever called a ‘Ma’am’.In the medieval times teachers were known as magisters.The very word strikes a cord of respect and authority. Itseems that as male teachers become less stern and ladyteachers softer, their titles too changed to milder titles.The word ‘ma’am’ is derived from the French ‘Madame’,literally signifying ‘My Lady’.The word ‘ma’am’ is becoming passe in the United Statesand Canada, and is out of common usage in Australia, NewZealand and England. Those who cling to the use of theterm tend to address only older women this way, while theyaddress the younger women ‘Miss’. Because of this agedivide most women object to the use of ‘Ma’am’ as there isno formal equal address for a younger man in common use.The innovative Scindians however seem to have worked theirway out of this impasse. They refer to younger ‘ma’ams’ bytheir first names and the older ‘ma’ams’ by their surnames.Thus you have a ‘Puja ma’am’ and a ‘Sangeeta ma’am’ andyou also have a ‘Siriah ma’am’ and a ‘Pande ma’am’. Thereis another very interesting offshoot of this whole business ofbeing a ‘ma’am’. When two ‘ma’ams’ talk to each other whatdo they refer to themselves as? Believe it or not but this istrue. If Mrs. Pande wants to borrow a teaspoon of curd fromMrs. Siriah they address each other as such. But if the topicof conversation veers to the school or the houses then theystart calling each other ‘ma’ams’.The campus cake however goes to the tall mustachioedsecurity guard.Mrs Ahilya Shinde directing a play at the SMOATIn olive green fatigues at the junior campus gatehe accosted the husband of one of ‘ma’ams’ livinginside with the query. “Sir ,aap koon see ma’am keSir ho?” The poor visitor who has been a sticklerfor the Queen’s English all his life was so takenaback that a head squarely stuck on his shoulderfor six decades suddenly seemed unstable.The heady fame was too much for him.ReferenceHundred years of Scindia School- by Dr.Sanjay MajupuriaWikipedia11volume 9 | oct 2010