Mrs. Alexander I think I was among the multitudes in A and B dorms to be terrified with her. I don't recall her smiling one bit. Everything about her signified authority, strictness and woe betide any poor soul who fell in her bad books. A booming voice accompanied by a sharp whack on the bottom would result in tears and pain that could not be forgotten in a hurry. All tuck brought from home would have to be deposited with her and she would keep it in an enormous wooden cupboard outside the dormitory. If anyone wanted to eat some of their tuck, one would have to approach her with much trepidation and after summoning up all the courage possible in a little body, ask if it one could have some of his tuck to eat. I think the huge cupboard would only be opened once a week, on Fridays I think. Then all those lucky enough to own some tuck would line up and she would hand out what she considered a fair amount for the day. Friday also used to be the day when we got our weekly pocket money- Rs. 5, I think(which used to, mind you, stretch quite a bit those days) and then there would be a mad rush to the tuck shop below, opposite Mr. Mathai's office. One of my best friends, Anil Bhartia, used to have these delicious triangle pedas (indian sweet meat) white in colour and wrapped in silver paper sent from home regularly. He used to give them to me and I relished them very much. Another trademark of Mrs. Alexander was her fingers which had yellowish-brown from years of smoking. She was a chain smoker. Whenever I was playing as a kid in the quadrangle I used to look up and she would always be there looking down from her window with a cigarettle in her fingers. As small boys, we used to be so afraid of her that we even began to hate her and I even thought that when I grew up I was going to beat her up as in revenge. Lest some of you have other ideas, please read the rest. As we grew up, we began to feel that Mrs. Alexander was just doing her job as a matron and a good one at that. In us she instilled conformity, respect for authority, respect for rules, fairness, cleanliness and to be fresponsible for one's stuff. After all, 'A' dorm was our introduction into 11 longs years of living as boarders in the east wing of the Main building, Stewart building and finally Fern Hill. In retrospect, I suspect she loved us little brats(even though we did not know it at that time) and she sure knew how to mould us into responsible adolescents. Through firmness of nature, guidance and love, part of what we are today and what we stand for and believe in is by her grace. The day I heard that she died, I felt a lump in my throat and a tinge of sadness and her memory came backe to me many years back. I shall always remain thankful to her because one lesson that I learnt from her is to be firm and uncompromising. Be strict with your kids. Love them but don't indulge them. Be firm and they will respect you. Because we as parents, like Mrs. Alexander, are doing everything to make them better and happier human beings.Amen. By : Sonam Dorjee Pasang         Graduated : 1965-1976 Date : 11/8/2003 6:53