Miss.Murphy, was our English Teacher, when  we were  in Sainik School, Amaravathinagar, between 1962 & 1966.

Recently, on Oct 6th 2012,  twenty three  Alumnis, belonging to the First Batch of the above school, ( which incidentally completed Golden Jubilee ) , celebrated Ms. Sheila Murphy Cherian’s Birthday, at Hotel Savera, Chennai.

On this occasion, Mr.Jayanth Pooviah, ( presently C.E.O.- Deccan Air ) read out this wonderfull Ode, which moved us very much.

Ode to Miss Murphy.

Oh Miss, where have all those years gone?

Just yesterday we were snot nosed kids

Teary sad and forlorn

And there you were tall and straight

Pretty as a picture telling our parents not to wait

As we were now in good hands.

English, geography, music that is what you taught

But when you smiled at one and not at the other ,

That is when we fought!

Your visits to the MI room to cool our fevered brow

Showed that you cared –and that’s all we needed to know.

You herded us all onto the Madras train

Like a mother hen,

And when we reached home safely our parents marked you ten.

Your gentle ways and winning smile had captured many a heart

This included all us and one teacher apart.

We watched with wondering eyes

As chemistry grew in the physics lab!!

But it didn’t take us long to get wise.

What a handsome couple you made,

Who stood out in a crowd.

This is a match made in heaven

All of us avowed.

Visits to school in later years gave us a lot of pleasure

And seeing you both in your oasis of calm, was joy without measure.

Now there is one person amongst us who is of   the view

That if he has grown so much, it is all because of you.

His mother gave him a tin to ensure that he is fed.

When you asked her what it was ,this is what she said:

My son can only drink his milk mixed with ovaltine

You returned the tin and said to him:

Mister you will take only milk. if you want to see your teens

If you go out just now and look up into the sky,

You will see a single star shining very bright

Telling us with a smile “you boys have turned out right”

As you sit here today miss looking at all of us,

We hope that you’d look back and think it was time well spent

And  oh so worth all the love and all the  fuss.

 By: M.J.Manimaran. Chennai —-For Talkalittledo.

Photo Credit” http://www.rgbstock.com