ZAHIRA COLLEGE MATALE – MY SCHOOL MY PARADISE

By – M.C.M.Zarook, Attorney at Law, CEO Amity Lanka Associates, Founder Centre for Islamic Studies (CIS) and Amal International School. 

Of course, as a boy I was temperamentally hotheaded, violent, fearless, and fought those who fought me. At one point my father said, “if this fellow does not study, he will end up in jail”. That was me in the pioneering days of my life.

Schools are a fountain of knowledge: some students come to drink, some to sip and others just to gargle. To be honest I went to my village school to “gargle.”  As time passed, on I began to “sip” a little. 

Having finished my elementary education at the village school, and passed the junior school certificate, desire to learn English was so intense that I pressurized my parents to admit me to my hometown school Zahira College in Matale where I really began to “Drink.” 

Importantly, after I joined Zahira my hot headedness, fearlessness receded, and my mischievousness continued. I also took part in many sports but never excelled in any. I joined the scout troop that remained there for years began with the tenderfoot badge and ended with the same. Badges were of no importance to me, fun, and frolic were my love. The seven-day camp in the thick jungles of Elahara near a water hole yet etched in my memory.

Matale is a unique town, then and now remains as the   Mecca of Hockey. Crazy People of Matale, become crazier when it comes to Inter School Hocky matches, particularly when it comes to Zahira Vs. any other schools, entire town voluntarily closed and the ground fully packed. This is something that I have never ever seen in any part of our Island then or now.

Recently, Matale the Hockey Land of the Udarata is blessed with the renovated Nandimithra Ekanayake International Artificial Hockey Stadium costing a sum of 110 million.

A stunning view of renovated Nandimithra Ekanayake International Artificial Hockey Stadium, Matale.

Wijeyakone Brothers (Ranjith) and (Douglas) were most popular hockey players, from St. Thomas’, both represented Sri Lanka as much Jayatissa and Rupasinghe brothers from Zahira College.   In school I had a variety of friends from all races, colours, creeds and castes. Never have a I witnessed a display of unity in diversity in such grandeur and glory, so much,   anywhere in Sri Lankan schools today. Today Schools are ethicized by race, religions, creed and caste much to the pains, aches and agonies majority of all communities. 

“People are of two kinds, either your brothers in faith or your equals in humanity.” – Hazrat Ali.  I had plenty as equal in humanity. Daya de Silva – a good sportsman, Syvester Dias, a pace bowler who played for Ceylon with who I had good relationship up until his death, Sangakkara, (beloved father of our cricketing legend Kumar)   Daya Hewapathirane , first to enter the portals of Peradeniya University  , later obtained his PhD. I am much ached and pained to hear of his demise recently. G.H. Jayatissa and G.H. Rupasinghe, S.B. Ekanayake, W.B. Ekanayake , E.M.T. Banda , A.M.T. Banda, R.B. Maningamuwa. Then we had P. Balasubramaniam, Sethuraman alias Wigneswaran, N. Thiagalingam and C. Sathananthan , a great singer of our time. Much to my astonishment now, we had several Buddhist Bhikkhus viz Rev. Ananda of Ukuwela, Nagolla, Pansala, Rev. Ratnajothy of Kaikawela Pansala, Rev. Gnanasiri in school. They were given a separate room for their stay and meals.   

My other good friends were M.M. Jiffri, Attorney at Law, S.F. Zavahir, Attorney at Law, Late. T.M. Abbas  Attorney at Law,  T.M. Razik (   retired from the Department of Inland Revenue    ) S.D. Fower ( Retired Trained Teacher)   Muhuseen (Retired Trained Teacher  )  A.J.M. Farook ( Retired Principal ) S.I. Dasthakir ( successful Jem businessman in Hong Kong ) Al – HajSathkorale MuhandiramalageHabeeb Mohamed Mohamed Irshad  ( Meezan and Co.) Al – Haj Irshad proudly carried his Ge name Sathkorale Muhandiramalage( Muhandiram of Seven Korale) This title was given to his ancestors holding the high office Muhandiram by the Kandyan Kings. He was a great charitable man. He set up a scholarship fund for Medical Students where a large number benefited a great deal. 

I am equally proud we had equally mixed teaching staff with zero discrimination. Some fantastic teachers whose names engraved in my heart are M/s M.V. Oommen, V.C. Abraham, V. Kathiravelu, C. Sivapragasam, C. Munaweera who later became M.P. for Rattota, and Mrs. Nadarajah – a fabulous Tamil Teacher. The teacher who impressed me most was Mr. M.V. Oommen whose forte was Mathematics. What was missing at his house door was “Let no one ignorant of Mathematics enter here.” (With apologies to Plato’s Academy.) You give him a donkey to learn Mathematics, he will deliver it back as a horse. Such was his caliber as a Mathematics teacher.  

As a teenager my school life was an important chapter in a progressive passage into adulthood. Literally, school was the essence in which I grew up. I had such a wonderful time in school that it created a lasting image in me. So much so that if I were to call any corner of this world my own paradise it is none other than Zahira College Matale. Of course, mentors who greatly influenced me were my principal, Mr. M.V. Mathai, Vice Principal, Mr. S.H.A. Wadood, and Mr.  Zavahir Omardeen. Particularly I must make special mention of Mr. M.V. Mathai and Mr. S.H.A. Wadood who were great feeders who impacted and moulded me for the future that without their ingraining in me I would not be what I am today in terms of what I have achieved in life.

ABOUNDING LOVE FOR BOOKS.

Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan Series, War and Peace,

I, along with my classmate M.M. Jiffry were voracious readers at school and close friends who in time would be a twosome venturing into the legal profession.

Coming back to square one of my narrations on my school life and Jiffry, my classmate, we were a twosome of abounding love for books, particularly the entire works of D.S. Lawrence, Somerset Maughan, Pearl S. Buck, and a good part of Shakespeare. There are a few incidents that come to mind. While reading D.H. Lawrence’s ‘Sons and Lovers’, the opening chapters were so boring that I returned the book to the vice principal, Mr. S. H. A. Wadood. He was to shoot back, “What reading for you. Leave the book and go.” So, I took it back feeling within me that there was something in the book by then. After I had crossed 100 to 125 pages it was impossible to close the book and sleep. Another unforgettable day was the Fort Railway Station experience reading Dale Carnage.

“MISSED THE TRAIN.”

Many wonder what to do “having missed the Bus” in life. Having purchased a ticket for the Kandy bound train I was perched on a bench engrossed in Carnage’s, ‘How to win friends and influence people’ that it took me overboard forgetting what was happening around me. After some time, I lifted my head up to find the entire place was empty. Not knowing what had happened I went to the ticket checker inquiring about the Kandy train only to be informed that it had already come and gone. I had to alternatively trudge my way to the Pettah bus stand and board a bus to Kandy. Reading  Harriet Beecher Stowe”s  , ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ was to have an emotional effect on me. I was quite young then that I was shedding tears as I continued to read. Even now, I wonder why I cried. About a few years back, I bought the same book and read it hoping to find out why I cried. But no tears came and only then I realized that as a small boy I emotionally became part of the main character in the book.

Uncle Toms Cabin is an anti-slavery novel by  Harriet Beecher Stowe. The novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U.S. and is said to have “helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War“. The sentimental novel depicts the reality of slavery while also asserting that  love can overcome slavery. It has all the ingredients to stir the emotions of readers. The impact attributed to the book is great, reinforced by a story that when Abraham Lincoln met Stowe at the start of the Civil War, he declared, “So this is the little lady who started this great war”. If I were to meet her today I would say “You are the little old lady who made me cry when I was young”, Reading Uncle Toms Cabin.

 

As I have emphasized, my school life has stayed with me to this day several decades after. In school, I was the most mischievous one can ever find. As much as I laughed and danced about, I got on my back a dime a dozen canes. Another memorable event was the five-day cycle tour on push bicycles covering Dambulla, Sigiriya, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, and it was not a well-arranged tour. Before leaving, we had been warned by our teachers not to cycle at the night because of roaming elephants. But we were compelled to do so because we could not find a proper place to spend the night. The camaraderie at that time between the people and the police was so nice that we spent one night in the police station. We had never realized that cycling for five days was no mean task. By the third, fourth and fifth days our backs were so painful that we were unable to sit on the floor or any hard surface. Looking back, what is painful is that none of the children of today’s generation would have experienced this kind of adventure. The annual school tour climbing Wilshire Mountain at Matale from where you could see the glittering town with all its beauty and glittering colours was another memorable event in the school calendar. All the tours lasted a minimum of five days and we experienced some of the most enjoyable and exciting times. Mostly my two teachers were great navigators and even though in school the closest I came to was 14^th, the desire to achieve something was there.

I completed my GCE (O.L) and was doing the GCE (A.L) to enter university and my ambition was to become a journalist. But destiny beckoned otherwise.

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE.

It was the year 1959, the year of my destiny. Caught up by the exuberance of youth, for no particular reason rebelled against the Principal trying to oust him from his post. I was able to penetrate the minds of most of the gullible. At the end the news broke out, I along with two of my friends paid the price. I was expelled from school along with two of my classmates M.M. Jiffry and S.F. Zavahir, – both lawyers now. But even today I am at wits end as to why I did it when there was no real reason. This development caused me to venture to Colombo in search of a job, but I was unsuccessful. I tried my luck with Customs and that too was a failure as were all my efforts even to secure a clerical job. It led me to recall a chat I once had with my father who voiced that I should do law. But I am a little stammerer, I didn’t take a shine to the prospect of becoming a lawyer as it meant having to do a lot of talking. Alternatively, I took to teaching for about five or six years in Colombo at Valamboda, Hunupitiya later Hameed Al Hussenia and ultimately making up my mind to enter Law College in accordance with my father’s wish.

My Mentors.

M.V.Mathai – Principal

Mr. Mollaponu Varkey Mathai was truly the centrepiece to my hurly burly years at my Alma Meta Zahira College the forming fountain to my early youth to stepping out to the world at large. Indeed, Mr. Mathai was literally the fortress that dictated the way and the path to shaping lives at Zahira. Born on April 1^st, 1908 at Needumprayar Maramon, Kerala, the first impressions of the top mentor was of ideally standout tailor made school master personal appeal and character.  Gigantic six-foot physical attributes accentuated by a handsome facial and smart as ever outlook fine edged in tussore suit and matching tie, hands often clasped behind with cane tucked inside the coat sleeves stamped the authoritative stern as ever school masterly no-nonsense characteristics to calling the shots. He was ideally the essence representing the school periphery, the guiding light to making men out of students that set out Zahira College, Matale, as one of the leading Muslim educational institutions along with Zahira College, Colombo, to polishing up uncut gems to becoming men of stature. This is aptly demonstrated by the fact that Zahira has produced top intellectuals in diverse fields who have served society not only in their motherland, but globally as well. Punctuality was his essential character written in the stern, no nonsense expression at the gate by 8 a.m. to the dot. I cannot remember a day he was absent from school.

Mr. Mathai was called to rest at Tiruvella, Kerala, India on March 23, 1982, just a week from his 74^th birthday. But what he sowed on Sri Lankan soil at Zahira remains a lasting monument to his mighty works which are manifested in what the school is today. I and those students who passed his hands solemnly bow in saluting our beloved principal in gratitude for making worthy citizens out of us. May his soul rest in peace.

Like all big things in life start in a small way, so was my Alma Mater Zahira. It took off as “Ismaliaya School” under Msrhoom Ismail Alim at Gongahawela Road, later renamed as  “Matale Educational Society”, finally bloomed into Zahira College, Matale under the able stewardship of Mollaponu Varkey Mathai. Up until it shifted to Tharalanda it waslike a long railway compartment without seats, but with long benches and equally long desk, with a mega bougainvillea tree eternally blooming with red flowers. Life here was not that eventful as the space was much limited.

Zahira shifting from Gangahawela, ramshackle railway compartment style to Taralanda, a sprawling 12-acre land is like a journey from Log Cabin to White House.

Taralanda is verdant jungle with plenty of coconut and varieties of other trees a haven for all sorts of insect species, snakes, and scorpions in abundance.

Cassim buildings was the first to come and thereafter many more with a magnificent playground overlooking Whilshire mountain.

It was challenging to build Zahira at Taralanda, converting a verdant jungle into an excellent educational Centre.

The need of the hour was dedication, commitment, love which Mr. M.V. Mathai had in plenty. The great disciplinarian that he was he taught us the rules of how to convert failure into success. His attitude towards life, qualities and character impregnated my small mind at that time.

S.H.A. Wadood

Al Haj Shahul Hameed Abdul Wadood remains an illustrious son of Matale and a father figure to Zahiran’s. My memories of him carry a personal tinge of gratitude. For, it was Al Haj Wadood who admitted me to Zahira when I left my village school yearning to learn English.  

To him, Zahira College was his second home, spending the entire day at school, even on weekends.

Mr. Wadood had his education at Vijaya College, Matale, and became the first Muslim graduate from Matale.

The fascination with the “now” often has a way of edging out the “sweet yesterdays”. In some cases, however, the regenerative memory of iconic teachers like Mr. Shahul Hameed Abdul Wadood who taught English Literature at Zahira College, Matale, remains with the students all their lives.

Al Haj Wadood has found a special space for cherished memories of the years I was at Zahira College. He was a tremendous inspiration.  He was my connection with the passionate world of books, words, and emotive intellectual delight. He brought into the classroom the world beyond the walls of Zahira College and intellectual pursuits beyond that of a restricted society. He widened our understanding of politics, reading Sunday Observer, particularly globally renowned Tarzie Vittachi’s comments on “bouquets and Brickbats”, and “Fly by Night”, particularly proceedings and speeches of the likes of Colvin R. de Silva, N.M. Perera, Peter Kahneman etc. were an essential part of the educational dispensation.

When it came to books on literature, he was a walking encyclopaedia, a wordsmith par excellence. None could subterfuge, bluff him and get away with – a great lover of the English Language and phonetics. I had the toughest time keeping pace with my reading habit and phonetics. Whenever I think of him what comes to my mind is Professor Higgins teaching Cockney flower girl Eliza Dolittle how to speak English in My Fair Lady adaptation of Pygmalion, a play by George Bernard Shaw.

Al Haj Wadood was as much a great lover of sports, particularly football, and hockey. History of Hockey in Sri Lanka is incomplete without reference to Matale, as much as Hockey at Matale is incomplete without reference to Mr. S.H.A. Wadood.

He was a social youth activist, a remarkably close friend, and admirer of A.M.A. Azeez, Ceylonese Civil Servant, educator, social worker, and member of the Senate of Ceylon who went on to become the Principal of Zahira College, Colombo. During his tenure as Chairman of YMMA, Colombo he played a vital role in promoting the cause of YMMA, later becoming its patron, and founding the Matale branch of YMMA.

On First December 2003 he answered the call of the divine, departed this world to the world of eternal bliss, and let flights of angels bless thee to thy rest in Jennathul Firdous.