An unending stream of people poured into the funeral service for Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy, fondly known as YGP ma’am or Mrs YGP — their faces either struck with sorrow or sporting bittersweet smiles. Chennaiites share their favourite memories of the educator and her impact on education in the city
CHENNAI: The funeral car beside the stage at Bharat Kalachar in T Nagar has the words ‘Enroute to Heaven’ embossed on the side. Students clad in their school uniform sit before the stage and chant bhajans on salvation and eternal life. The people shuffling on stage are an amalgamation of parents, current students, alumni, teachers, well-wishers, friends and family. Some stood at a distance, mourning her loss as tears trickled down their face. A girl limped onto the stage with a walker to pay her respects. A few brought colourful garlands and wreaths to pay their respects.
Harini, Singer
I was in class 10 when I sang my first song Nila Kaigiradhu for a movie. That I was encouraged to sing by my school is emblematic of the support I received, thanks to Mrs YGP. I still remember fondly how she asked me to sing that song as a curtain raiser on all days of our anniversary programme of that year. She was a dynamic personality who had a special knack for finding and improving students with an affection for arts. I got the Bharat Kalachar scholarship in both classes 11 and 12. The year I was graduating, she started an award for the best outgoing student in the name of the principal of my school at that time, Hamsa Ramadas, and gave it to me.My great grandfather was the second Lok Sabha Speaker of India, Anantha Sayanam Iyengar, and a great friend of Lakshmi ma’am. When he took me and my sister to join the school, she remembered that friendship and immediately told the school to take me in. What is even more amazing is that this memory of hers stayed on for decades when even as late as a couple of months back she identified my daughter as Harini’s girl and wrote in her diary that music is in your blood and that she should constantly practice and improve. I will miss her and the arts fraternity will miss her a lot too.
A Sharath Kamal,Table tennis player
When I saw the news on Tuesday, I needed a few minutes to recover. She was a fantastic visionary and even back then wanted a holistic development for students. Even though the school was into arts and culture, they supported sports and I’m an example of that. For instance, just before writing my class 12 pre-boards, I got an opportunity to travel to Iran for an invitational tournament. She personally intervened and asked me to go because she was of the opinion that other students wouldn’t get this opportunity. She granted me the Iran sojourn based on the premise that I would come back and give my pre-boards in the library. She instructed all the teachers to make themselves free to clear my doubts during the study holidays.
KailashMull Dugar,President of Karuna International
She’s a doyen of education. She has brought the Indianisation of education. We always think of the Anglo-Indian style of education as the best, but Mrs YGP was the one who brought out the importance of a gurukulam style of education with Indian subjects and values, and showed how it can make a man come up in life. She spoke that values are more important than education. She was always kind and considerate.
Anitha Nagaswamy,Parent
My association with ma’am goes back to the time when my brother was a student at PSBB. My uncle and husband studied there. Now, even my children study there. It’s more like a family school for us. Her vision and zest for providing quality education made the institution special. When my kids were in LKG, I had gone to her with a few suggestions and she considered them. She took everybody’s opinion into account if she felt the idea held merit. She instituted parent observation. She has groomed so many generations and would show up even for the smallest of functions. It’s hard to conceive that the iconic woman is no more. The kind of involvement she had is hard to find in many people. What she has accomplished in one lifetime is a dream for many. We will all strive to follow her footsteps and idea of bringing out the best in everyone. She was a woman of the future.
Nitya Dataram,Alumna from the batch of 2014
YGP ma’am emphasised on language and our culture. When I received the news of her passing, I was just so grateful that I got such a quality education. She spoke of women’s empowerment 60 years ago, and had the vision and courage to follow it through. Even at 93, she was active in school activities and anniversary celebrations. The fire never died within her, and that’s something I hope we can take forward.
Shri Varsha, Alumna
YGP ma’am was one of the few people who recognised and appreciated art in any form — be it dance, music, instruments or acting. She was an educationist who treated dance and music just as important as Math and Science. Art is a culture that she has introduced in PSBB and it cannot be taken out of the PSBBians now. If I am a dancer today and decided to pursue it and even thought about taking it as a profession, it is because of her encouragement. She gave me a platform to perform like no other school would. I fondly remember, during one of our school anniversaries I performed as Lord Hanuman. I was in class 4 and had to jump off a five feet wooden tree and give the chunamani to Sita and express how much Rama missed her. While there were bigger roles in that play, she recognised me and gave me the best actor award. She was filled with utmost passion to spread education and culture, and never failed to attend a single programme — if only to come and encourage her children.
Girija Krishnamoorthy, Former Sanskrit teacher at PSBB
The children in my family have been studying here since 1983. My daughter was in a different school, and to date she thanks me for shifting her to PSBB. I was also asked to join as a teacher. I have grown more confident under Mrs YGP’s tutelage. In my first year, they wanted me to write a script in Sanskrit for the school’s anniversary. I didn’t even know how to write a script. She had a way of pushing you by giving you goals that you think you cannot achieve, but in the end you do. She gave us the freedom to do anything extra-curricular. But she was also firm about academics — she was always involved. She was always thinking ahead.
Ramya Venkataraman, Alumna and current teacher
D r Mrs YGP ma’am was the most spirited people I have come across. Recently, I had the opportunity to work as a teacher in my own alma mater. I was excited to meet YGP ma’am for a meeting regarding the anniversary celebration. I was in awe of the way she participated in the meeting. She called me and said, ‘You are the youngest mind in this room and your opinion will be similar to how this generation thinks.’ Till her last breath, she made sure that she attended all events and meetings irrespective of her health problems. She was the epitome of determination.
Abhinav S Krishnan,Class 12 student at PSBB Siruseri
The first time I saw ma’am in class 3, there was an aura of confidence around her. Whenever she came on stage, there was silence as we all had so much respect for her. Whenever ma’am gave a speech, it was always worth listening to and always had a takeaway. She made us relate to her words and made us laugh. She has made education more holistic. All the great sportspersons from PSBB have always thanked YGP ma’am as she always gave importance to both academics and co-curricular activities in our school.
Arun Nirmal,alumnus and parent
She had an amazing personality. I joined PSBB in 1984. I was one of the first kids to join their kindergarten section. Her presence in our batch was felt more. In 1998, I was in class 11 and we had a farewell for class 12. She had so much of energy that she got on stage and started dancing. I was amazed by the energy she carried. Four weeks back, we ran into her at Marina Beach. She was by herself and enjoying the waves. I introduced her to my son, who is in class 6 at PSBB. My son spoke about his dreams of becoming a cricketer and she had a few pointers to guide him. I was amazed by the clarity of thoughts she held at that age. I went to pay my obeisance last night and was thinking about loads of memories associated with her. I haven’t met many who have lived larger than life but she’s one such.
Nandini Ashokumar, teacher
I studied till my middle school at PSBB. We enjoyed the freedom to express whatever we had in mind. We had no fear. My child also studies here. It’s been a decade since I took up the role of a teacher. She was impressed with the way I had delivered the speech at a valedictory function. I’ve been connected with the production for all our school events. We got to interact with ma’am personally — right from coming up with the theme to organising cultural functions. She constantly updated herself on the advancements in other parts of the country. She was fond of saris and accessories. She liked dressing up and posing for pictures. Even during our annual teachers meeting, she’d take part in games, dance, and role play. She was sportive and exuberant. Her principles were futuristic. She emphasised on accountability, integrity and responsibility. We felt motivated often. She made you feel important and that was the best thing about her. It was a morale boost. We will miss having meetings with her.
YG Madhuvanthi,Granddaughter
My association with my grandmother has been since age three. She’d take me to every concert, dance, theatre, temple or movie. All my firsts have been with her. She used to let me in the corridors of those concert halls and imitate the performers. She never stopped me from doing so in the name of disturbing them. She kindled the artiste in me. The most important lesson I have learned is to be strong, resilient and to catch the bull by its horns. That’s the only thing I’m trying to do from the legacy she’s left behind for our family.
Sheela Unnikrishnan,dancer and teacher at Bharat Kalachar
I joined the school in 1992 straight after college. This was my first job as a dance teacher. I was young and intimidated to talk to ma’am. Her enthusiasm and command amused me. She asked me to join as a coordinator at Bharat Kalachar after I quit teaching at the school. Every event at school used to be challenging. She attended every art event in the city. It’s a big loss to the field of fine arts and education. Her principles are etched in our heart and we will do our best to live up to her expectations.
Amrutha Vassan, alumna from the batch of 2014
YGP ma’am was one of the reasons I wanted to join PSBB. She was a huge promoter of debate and public speaking. I got to go to many countries for debates, thanks to her. One of my favourite memories was when velcro saris and veshtis were introduced. Our school is big on traditional clothing. Talking about it, she told me, ‘You shouldn’t waste time on all this. Just wear this, it’ll make life so much easier!’
Inputs by Arunkumar Sekhar, Rochana Mohan, Roshne Balasubramanian, Swaroop Swaminathan and Vaishali Vijaykumar