Received this from Mr. John Tesseyman almost exactly a year ago .... for those who want to contact him by email or snail mail, please leave your comments below and I will forward his details to you. Enjoy!
"I arrived in Mumbai from Sydney on Republic Day 1971, looking forward to teaching at Cathedral School. The next three years were a highlight of my career, and I have so many happy memories. Mr. Kuruvilla Jacob was the Principal, and I stayed with him and his wife at their Malabar Hill home for the first six months, after which I lived in one of the rooms at the top of the school itself.
I was a proud member of Wilson House, and Mr. John Lewis was a great House Master. However, I’m sure that he was disappointed that I was hopeless at cricket, despite coming from Australia! I taught English to Standards 7, 8 and 9, and remember lots of enjoyable lessons, including plenty of laughs as we read Gerald Durrell’s My Family and Other Animals. I also taught Geography to 9th Standard and I remember having to brush up on my knowledge of India’s lakes and mountains!
The staff was all friendly and easy to work with. Mrs. Jefferies cajoled me into taking part in splendid dramatic productions such as Alice in Wonderland and the Taming of the Shrew. Mr. Jacob allowed me to organise groups of students to join YHA treks in north India: to Kapkote and Dhakuri Pass in 1971, and to Kulu/Manali in 1972.
These were amazing experiences for us all. One of the Deputy Principals, Commander de Almeida, ran Duke of Edinburgh Award activities, and I loved going to Matheran for some of these.
Another aspect of school life which I enjoyed was the Interact Club. Manoj Mehra was the President for most of my time, and among other activities we took groups to the Cheshire Home at Andheri for working bees – quite demanding in the May heat! All this helped students develop a sense of teamwork, and an awareness of those less fortunate.
It was a privilege to work in Cathedral School for those three years, and I remain grateful for the friendship extended to me by staff and students. May God bless the school for the next 150 years!
My wife, Roslyn, and I were married in 1978, and we have three boys 29, 27 and 25. We have also looked after three foster children for the past 16 years. They are 22, 19 and 18, and they still live with us.
After returning from Mumbai, I taught in a Technical College and then at St Luke’s Grammar School, from where I retired at the end of 2001. I did a bit of part-time teaching, but am now retired, and enjoying more time at home, reading, gardening and the occasional swim and round of golf. I also help my wife, who on a voluntary basis, runs classes at our local church for immigrants who wish to improve their English. At various times she has had students from 16 different countries, including two from India!
It is always a pleasure to hear from former Cathedral students."
John Tesseyman
Sydney, Australia
31 Aug 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hi Mr.Tesseyman, Behram Gamadia here, its great to hear that you have so many wonderful memories of Bombay, I recall I was one of your more disruptive students and once put on a monster mask as you walked into our Std 9 SLR classroom. Totally unphased you said, "DON'T TAKE IT OFF BEARUM ....ITS AN IMPROVEMENT!" I remember your superb teaching of the Gerald Durrel text as though it were yesterday and your valiant though largely unsuccesful forays into coaching sports(barring rugby!)on Mondays at Wilson house-house-games.I wish you,your wife and all your children continued good health and happiness...God bless you all.
ReplyDeleteThanks Behram, we echo your sentiments! I have sent Mr. Tesseyman details on the school events in Nov, hopefully he can attend. Look for my email to you with his coordinates.
ReplyDeleteHi Sir, this is Hussain Varawalla. I have googled your name several times trying to get in touch with you. I remember being invited by you to your room at the school and wondering what a small room it was. Your classes were the bright spots in my schoolday.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went to residential college I too found out how small rooms can get!
It is wonderful to know about all your kids. You are blessed with them. I never got married because early on just after college I was diagnosed as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia probably because of a love affair with marijuana. I'm much better now, time being the greatest healer.
Sir I want to send you stuff I have written. It would be great to hear from you.
I vividly remember you reading my composition out in class. I'm better at it now.
Warm Regards...
Hey Hussain, good stuff! We'd love to see your work, too. Let me know and I'd be happy to put it on the blog. Will send you Mr. T's coordinates. Take care and see you soon.
ReplyDeleteDear Mr. Tessyman, I was in the ICSE batch of 1974 (Barham House) and remember coming up to your room on Thursdays for Spiritual Union classes and sing-alongs ... I kept my green/white SU badge for a while ! Best wishes, Dr. Naishadh Patil (Naishadh.patil@hse.ie)
ReplyDelete"An interesting, thoughtful story Arun, but definitely not suspenseful"--a treasured comment from Tessey on my ninth-grade effort. Story of my life, although I spent less time at C&JC than he! New Year Greetings to all from a small island in the Caribbean where the memories are still green after 40+ years.
ReplyDelete-GV Arun
Just seen this. I remember being taught by John. Recently was talking to David Hawley who remembers him from Cathedral. My mum was the school librarian. Would love to be in touch again. Sita
ReplyDelete