90+ and still going strong

by Shobha Menon

Finding a way, that’s her way

Mrs. Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy.

Educationist and Padma Shri recipient Mrs. YGP, a.k.a. Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy, has been primarily responsible for Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan (PSBB), one of Chennai’s premier schools.

I met Mrs. YGP just as she returned from an alumni meeting at the school, all excited to meet her old students and be a vital part of their exuberant camaraderie. “All of us are busy with recordings for the celebration of our upcoming anniversary,” she says. She is ‘in touch with all the PSBB Schools across Chennai’ – five branches with over 8,000 students and 500 staff members – as their Dean and Director, and actively involved in policy decisions, focusing on ‘an application-oriented and not knowledge-oriented education’.

Most times there are at least three official meetings she has to attend in a week, sometimes more. “I enjoy interacting with students and teachers thoroughly! Wherever in the world I am, I run into my students and it is so heartwarming to reconnect with them. I remember how in 1990 in Broadway, New York, on the way to the theatre, I heard a Sri Gurubyo namah (the customary greeting in our schools) and how we enjoyed exchanging notes over the years!”

“Generally, newspaper, bath and breakfast is the routine and after that I get onto each day, in anticipation!” she says with a smile. “Being up-to-date with all the goings-on in the country, the State and elsewhere too is what I enjoy… whether reconnecting with an old acquaintance I read of in the day’s newspapers, or pitching in in some manner to alleviate the distress of a lonely pet dog in my neighbour’s home! Some people may think it is a voice from their past, but well… it is always good to reconnect,” she says with a twinkle in her eyes.

Mrs. Parthasarathy has degrees in mathematics, journalism, education and history and a rich repertoire of interests. Education and these apart, other areas that she is actively interested in are Music, Dance and Theatre. “There are so many interesting things to learn and enjoy, on radio and television too. Whether Carnatic music or the Spic Macay concerts, each session is energising. I also enjoy veteran maestros on the shehnai and the thavil. Every week is meticulously planned, sometimes even a month ahead. Actually, my diary is currently fully booked with appointments for the next two months… weddings to attend, music, drama, the preparations for the YGP Centenary, Bharat Kalachar programmes,” she rattles them off effortlessly. “And, yes, I love to go to the beach whenever possible, for the calm and peace it brings into me!”

“Being able to recognise new patterns in Arts and Literature – Music, Dance, Drama and Education has been greatly refreshing, across all these years. I remember arranging a session where M.S. Subbulakshmi and Balasaraswathi sang Neelamayilvahanan together in 1951! Making the Arts an inclusive process was how the Bharat Kalachar began and we continue to invite some of the best dancers and musicians of the country for the benefit of students, besides offering cultural scholarships to over 500 students,” she says.

“While I used to travel every year to USA and Russia earlier to study methodology of teaching and exchange programmes, a medical condition in the last two years has made it difficult for me to move around on my own, and I have to use a wheelchair. But of course, ‘Never say die’ has been my motto throughout my life. It will be hereafter too!” she smiles. “Philosophical and practical is my way. I believe in taking life as it comes and overcoming obstacles that come up.

“Don’t give up. Find some way, has to be the plan! When at a certain point, the Directorate of School Education said that a woman cannot be a principal of a boys’ school, I was furious. That was the time I happened to meet Indira Gandhi at a conference in Kashmir and I expressed my anguish. She helped me cross that hurdle!! Or when we had to move out of our old school premises when the Valluvar Kottam was built. During its inauguration, one of our students read out a touching poem asking for space for the ‘evicted’ school! And so it came to be… granted by the powers that were!

“My energy levels, I attribute to the happiness I feel when I meet people and through staying connected with everything around me. If it is bad news, I try and help in some way, if it is good news, I am happy to celebrate together. I have no regrets at all because I have made good use of the qualities I had. And I will look forward to take life as it comes,” concludes this ’92 years young’ (as she often says) personality.

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