Ruth took her lead from a visit to London of Chelladurai Williams, the secretary of the Chennai chapter of MCC. At the Indian YMCA in Central London after a sumptuous lunch, which proved to be a planet away from Nair's mess (literally) hall concoctions that passed for food, after introductions all round, Chelladurai acknowledged that the Chennai chapter, too, was constantly looking for ways to rejuvenate itself. Listening to Chelladurai in the 40-strong audience were former residents of Heber, Thomas's, Selaiyur and Martin, and veteran IGs, whom many a hall warden would have dearly liked to garrotte with his dhoti.
Soon enough the euphoria was riding a crest and a committee was duly elected. Presiding over MCC Europe is Jacob Tharakan (1967-1969, Selaiyur); his deputy, George Oommen (67/70, Selaiyur); secretary Ruth Kattumuri (80/96, Martin); and committee members Rohini Thomas (1996-98, Martin), Rabi David (89/91, Heber), Anoop (91/94, Heber), Daniel Ponnuraj (94/97, Thomas), Jeeva Daniel (87/91, Selaiyur), Jayavelan (1991-94, Selaiyur), and Anbarasan (1988-94, Thomas). It was a mix of seniority and impetuous youth, which even Solomon in his wisdom would have approved of. What was most telling of the new spirit was the desire of the youth to serve as office bearers. With Jacob in the chair, open discussions ensued and one of the first decisions adopted was to call ourselves MCC Europe, rather than to ghettoise ourselves to one metropolitan city. A pan-European alumni association offers a richer tapestry of cross-cultural contacts, and could possibly lead to a joint tamasha in, for example, Paris or Amsterdam. While forever remaining umbilically linked to our Tambaram alma mater and the motto "In Hoc Signo" (In This Sign), in a historical context it was this new footprint for the future that marked this meeting as one of a kind.
The winter dusk fell swiftly but the flow of chatter would not subside, and a substantial number adjourned to the more convivial setting of the Mortimer's Arms to continue conversing over a few jars of beer. New contacts were made, calling cards were exchanged and invitations proffered for home visits. One alumnus, studying for his Masters of Law, was immediately put in touch with an old boxer from Selaiyur who could furnish him with source material for his dissertation. The value of such meetings spoke volumes.
If the proof of the pudding is in the eating, the emails that buzzed the next day were evidence of the success of the enterprise. On logging-on at work on Monday, a first message flashed: "It was absolutely terrific meeting with all of you and I look forward to doing this more often in future. I will try and organise a small binge at my place this summer for all. Will let u know dates etc after the sun starts shining." A second said: "The spirit of MCC seems to bring a bonding between people, even when we were meeting for the first time. Look forward to more great times." The third was from the newly elected President: "It is all giving a good feeling. After all MCC must have been a powerful place to experience, what else can explain that rather instant bonding we all felt in London on the 10th of March. Thank God for MCC, thank God that we all went thru that campus." That, in essence, says it all.
By mattkaimmannilgeorge
|
|
