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THEY CALLED IT PUPPY LOVE AND THEY CALLED IT PUPPY LOVE Dedicated to Roslyn and Sherab Namgyal Mount Hermon has been described in Time magazine as an 'International School'. The description is surely apt, for the school's students come from a wide range of social, racial and religious backgrounds, from within India, and overseas. No doubt other Darjeeling schools could also lay claim to such a title. What really sets Mount Hermon apart from other hill schools, and indeed the vast majority of schools in India, is its being a co-educational boarding school, in a country where relations between the sexes are often regulated by rigid social roles. However there are other influences, mainly what some call the 'Western ideal' of romantic love, and inevitable influence, where young teenagers are concerned, of popular culture. These combine to form a subtle style of "love" that uniquely belongs to Mount Hermon FENCING or WHAT? If a stranger asked who the boy and girl sitting near the monkey ladder were, he would probably be told that they were a couple. A couple? Well, what is a couple? How is that status attained? Mr Moore - the teacher from whom a football took away the little bit of sense he had - called the phenomenon "fencing". A sport it almost is - each generation of Hermonites has its own idiocyncracies and I can only write from the experience of my peers, although I believe that certain traditions are firmly established. YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND As in any honourable society a boy at Mount Hermon who wishes to get to know a girl must declare his intention s either to be her brother or her boyfriend. To be a brother is to be a close friend. These brother-sister relationships extend right through the school and I think are largely responsible for the close family atmosphere in the school. I remember being big brother to some very junior school girls whom I would have died for. But to become a boyfriend is an operation fraught with risk, although the risk can be substantially diminished if the operation is carefully executed. TELL LAURA I LOVE HER I will leave aside the description of the first realisation of love to poets and pop singers. Now I need some hypothetical boys and girls, so since X+ Y = yom? - let X,Y be the boy and his best friend, and P, Q be the girl and her best friend respectively. X tells Y that he "lokes P, and then the object immediately becomes to discover what P thinks. P may suddently find herself being teased about X by all his friends. X will of course vehemently deny that he has anything to do with it although secretly he will be watching her reaction closely for some favourable sign; if actually confronted by her, his beautiful blush may give the whole game away. The lesson for every girl in this predicament is that there is no smoke withoout fire. AS I WRITE THIS LETTER We all know about writing notes in the study hall, although some of us shouldn't. Here is where the final drama takes place. X tells Y to write to P in his name; this is his protective device. The standard form note reads something like this: "Dear P, I like you. Do you like me? Do you want to start off walking round the school? X. P.S. Don't show to anyone OK. TEAR IT UP." An acceptance is normally forthcoming immediately. The standard form of refusal generally reads: "Dear X, don't mind please, my daddy will kill me if I don't study hard. Everybody is my friend, OK. P" In which case X replies: Dear P, what are you trying? I didn't write boy. Also everybody is my friend. X P.S. Don't be so proud. This note hopefully exonerates him unless it is intercepted by a staff member. Mr West was always particularly adept at this. Not only did he leave the study hall doors open so that the tell-tale door opening did not give him away, but he always sat near the back of the room which made beating him extremely difficult. If something ever did give him away it was the clatter of one of his numerous cold cups of tea. ARE YOU GOING TO SCARBOROUGH FAIR? The traditional day for a couple to start off is Sale Day. This is a perfect occasion for a couple. Not too near the beginning of the year so people won't think them 'fast', and not too late in the year when boys are likely to receive 'I have to study hard refusals'. Furthermore it is a day of festivity and colour with everybody in their 'fancies' and crowds of people everywhere making the new couple less conspicuous. The boy can show off his strength and agility by "killing the rat', or attempt the even more difficult task of knocking coconuts off their holders, which are embeded more firmly in the ground each year as the supply of coconuts dwindles. Couples usually end up in the cafe stall which was always set up in the lounge and run by the pop music gurus of the time, where they dedicate songs to each other. I recall songs like "Don't let me down' by the Beatles, 'Let me be there' by Olivia Newton John, 'Everything I own' by Bread, 'Until the Twelfth of ...' by the Osmonds, and many others. WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN The status of being a couple is, however, incomplete until the pair have walked around the school on an ordinary evening. The phrase "walking around the school" is actually innocent, firstly because it is forbidden to walk right round the school, and secondly because couples tend to stand along the fences running on either side of the steps leading down to the gymnasium, or in between the old and the new building - hence Mr Moore's "fencing". Once the step has ben taken both staff and students give the two recognition as a couple. From then on the staff keep a watchful but parental eye on them. IT TAKES TWO BABY Couples should never be described without some mention of their particular friends Y - Q, or in fencing terms their seconds. They play a vital role carrying notes and messages, patching up quarrels and rendering advice with wisdom beyond their years. One of the benefits of being a second is the opportunity to share 'leave day' spoils - the cakes from Glens, chow mein from Shangs, or the latest knick-kacks from Das Studio. Frequently this constant interaction between the seconds (most surprisingly) leads them to pair off too! THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE There were the dainty patterned umbrellas which the girls lent to the boys in the monsoon for the walk to and from Fernhill in the monsoon. Sewing sports day numbers on vests was a task which generous girls friends performed for less practical boys like myself. Then there were the notes, coloured, scented and in all shapes and sizes. An interesting aspect of these notes were the geographical acronyms - one for each fold. Examples are: INDIA - 'I'll never do it again'; ITALY - 'I trust and love you'; FRANCE - 'friendship remains and never can end'; etc. etc. Finally there were the autograph books. At one time charts of best boy/best girl/best food/best actor etc. were very popular but they later disappeared and the proverbial message columns took their place. I'LL NEVER FALL IN LOVE AGAIN While writing I have necessarily had to typify the events I have tried to describe. But the basic traditions serve to protect the fragile feelings of Hermonite teenagers as they encounter students from a host of backgrounds with varying social attitudes. Moreover they draw students into the heart of school life rather than rejecting them. Our staff take a caring approach to the couples and on the whole handle them sensitively when they could easily crush any notion of their feelings. For this they deserve a great deal of respect - here one catches a glimpse of the humanity of the school which covers every activity. Some might question the propriety of writing about 'couples', but surely itis hardly surprising when you consider the startling beauty of our girls. I sould say if definitely makes up for their netball! And this rather prolix piece of prose will end with a nostalgic verse from a song by the BeeGees - "Now we are tall and Christmas trees are small And we don't ask the time of day. But you and I, our love will never die And guess who'll cry come first of May! By : Stephen Murray Graduated : 1964-1975 Date : 5/6/2003 12:1 |
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