The golden Age of Visakha
Today is the 100 birth anniversary of Mrs. Susan George Pulimood,
Principal of Visakha Vidyalaya for 22 years (1945-1967). This excerpt
from the school’s 90th anniversary souvenir is a tribute to her long and
selfless service made to the school and to two generations Sri Lankan
Buddhist girls.
GOLDEN AGE: Mrs. Pulimood’s tenure as principal was the golden age of
Visakha Vidyalaya. No one disputes this. Neither her predecessors nor
those who came after her, have been at the helm as long as she did 22
years.
|
Susan George Pulimood |
Like Miss Pearse before her, Mrs. Pulimood came to the helm in
stages. She joined the staff in 1941 as a teacher of Botany and
Mathematics, was in charge of the Bandarawela branch in 1943-45, acted
as Principal subsequent to Mrs. Motwani’s resignation in April 1945 and
was appointed Principal in January 1946.
In April 1945 the school was still housed in the Mallika Home in the
next lane and some classes were held in a house across the road.
The Government handed back the buildings taken over in the war years,
to the Trustees only in January 1946. Mrs. Pulimood had the cumbersome
task of supervising the shifting and re-settling.
The role of a girls’ school had changed with the inauguration of the
University of Ceylon in 1942. Girls were keen to enter University and
qualify for a professional career, especially as a doctor.
A university entrance class had been started at Visakha in 1943 but
only for arts subjects. Visakhians who wished to enter the science
faculty of the university were compelled to join other institutions to
study science.
It was Visakha’s good fortune that she had Mrs. Pulimood at the helm
at this crucial time, and a Manager, N. E. Weerasooria who supported
her.
Mrs. Pulimood saw the urgent need for the teaching of science, and
knew that unless science was introduced Visakha would lag far behind
schools that had taken the forward step.
With her vision of a new generation of Visakhians, she set about
restructuring the school, to gear it for the future. She was
well-qualified for this task. She came to Ceylon with an MSc and LT from
the University of Madras and had written a book on Botany - The Textbook
of Botany - which became the standard textbook in schools until the
switch over to Swabhasha.
Mrs. Pulimood took two important steps. First she recruited a number
of graduates to improve the quality of classroom teaching in the
upper-school. Secondly, in February 1946, she introduced science into
the curriculum, ‘importing’ graduate teachers from India, as there was a
dearth of women science graduates in Sri Lanka. (She was not in favour
of male teachers at Visakha).
There was only a temporary makeshift laboratory until the permanent
lab was opened in November 1946. These two far-sighted steps elevated
Visakha from B Grade to A Grade in January 1947 - a welcome birthday
gift to the school on its 30th anniversary 16.1.47.
Mrs. Pulimood organised the Visakha Jayanthi, a three-day exhibition
and carnival (Jan. 16, 17, 18) in the school grounds, to celebrate the
anniversary. Visakha had never had such celebrations before and many
more were to follow.
The Principal and Manager working with mutual respect and mutual
trust improved classroom facilities and enthused the staff. The rise in
students’ performance at public exams vouched for the excellent
classroom teaching.
Tuition classes were a long-way off. Students’ performance at
extra-mural activities was no less impressive. They were ‘first’ in
all-island quizzes, inter-school drama competitions (Sinhala and
Shakespeare drama), solo singing, elocution and speech exams.
The negative attitude to sport, undoubtedly influenced by spiritual
mentors who wanted Visakhians to emulate Visakha Devi, who didn’t run
even in a shower of rain, had changed in keeping with the times and
Visakhians were tennis champions, the winners (many times) at AA and
Provincial Sports Meets and one year the Best Athlete was from Visakha -
Chitrangani Herath.
In 1957 Visakha was elevated to Super Grade. As more and more
students sought admission to Visakha, the classes overflowed into
corridors.
The Board of Trustees bought an acre from the adjoining Kathiresan
Kovil land and built a new block for the office, labs and classrooms. It
was opened in 1959. Another acre was brought in 1964 and the foundation
laid for the library, a gift to the school from Mr. and Mrs. H. W.
Amarasuriya in memory of their daughter Gitanjali.
When Sita de Saram Joseph suggested having a school band to play at
sports meet etc. Mrs. Pulimood ‘waxed enthusiastic and gave her
whole-hearted support’. The next year 1963, the Visakha Band was at the
head of the March Past at the sports meet. The Visakha Band was the
first girls’ school band in the island.
The Visakha Geeta Nataka, the school’s own Sinhala operetta, staged
in March 1959, was composed by Sri Chandraratna Manavasingha on the
request of Mrs. Pulimood. It is now part of the school’s heritage.
On 20 December 1961 Visakha Vidyalaya was vested in the Crown. The
number on roll was 2,239 and on the staff 88.
On 16 January 1967, Visakha Vidyalaya’s 50th anniversary celebrations
commenced with a Buddha Pooja at the Bodhi Tree in the land bought from
the Kathiresan Kovil.
At the foot of the tree was the Buddha statue - gifted by the OGA to
mark the school’s Swarna Jayanthi. The Swarna Jayanthi was celebrated as
planned by Mrs. Pulimood, with a week-long carnival and exhibition at
the old race course grounds.
When Mrs. Pulimood relinquished office on 23 July 1967, the number on
roll was 4,327 and the number of teachers 238. The momentum Visakha had
acquired in the Pulimood era kept pushing her up until she reached the
apex of the pyramid of girls’ schools in the island and became the equal
of the best boys’ school. |