Mrs. Usha Quader
was senior teacher, Hyderabad
Public School. For a while, she
was acting Vice-principal and
also headmistress of middle school.
She was the head of the history
department and was the editor-in-chief
of the annual school magazine
“the Eagle” and the quarterly,
‘The eaglet’
Sheela:
How did you decide on teaching
as a career?
Usha
Quader: I always saw
myself as a teacher. I suppose
it is also because they were so
many academicians in my family
– professors in the university,
etc. My mother was a teacher.
My father’s eldest sister was
the Principal of Nampally Girls
High School and T.T. School in
Warangal. My uncles were professors
of English and Political Science.
Moreover, in those days, there
were very few professions open
to women-nursing, medicine and
teaching.
Sheela:
When did you join HPS-Begumpet?
Usha
Quader: I joined HPS-Begumpet
in January 1963. The principal
then was Mr. Kuruvilla Jacob.
Sheela:
Were you teaching before that?
If so, where?
Usha
Quader: I was teaching
at Baldwins Girls High School,
Bangalore. It was my first job
and I was there for 4 years.
Sheela:
What was the deciding factor in
your joining HPS-Begumpet?
Usha
Quader: I was homesick,
and wanted to get back to Hyderabad.
I worked here at HPS-Begumpet
for the period 1963-1994.
Sheela:
Did you find the two schools very
different?
Usha
Quader: There was a
world of difference and for me
personally it was a big change
because I had studied in women’s
institutions and then worked at
Baldwin’s, which was an all girls’
school. I was used to being obeyed.
Bangalore was more cosmopolitan
than Hyderabad. When I joined,
HPS-Begumpet it was going through
a transition period from being
Jagirdar’s College to being a
‘Public School’ in the fullest
sense of the term. It was a period
of change. A lot of new reforms
were being instituted by Mr. Kuruvilla
Jacob who was a visionary. He
introduced the ‘house’ system.
Sheela:
Were there other lady teachers
at HPS-Begumpet, when you joined?
Usha
Quader: Ladies taught
mainly in the Primary Section.
I joined Middle School. There
was only another lady teacher
with me at middle school. The
librarian was also a lady. There
were no ladies in senior school
when I joined. It was only much
later that ladies began teaching
in the senior school.
Sheela:
What were your interests other
than teaching?
Usha
Quader: I was keenly
interested in dramatics. I even
played the role of Lady Macbeth.
I was a member of the ‘Hyderabad
Minstrels’, which was a very big
choir in those days given to high
quality music. We used to perform
the ‘Gilbert and Sullivan’ operas.
I was pretty good at illustration,
however I was unable to devote
time to painting, once I took
up teaching. I painted the sets
of ‘Mikado’. Mr. Kuruvilla Jacob
later bought these sets to be
used at school for many years.
Mr. Kuruvilla Jacob introduced
the concept of clubs in school
– Dramatics club, Speech club,
Photography club etc. I used to
give speech training at school.
This involved training students
to speak clearly. The emphasis
was on this and not on writing
speeches.
I
love reading. I like fiction
though I have no favorites among
authors. I also like reading
up on history and religion.
I am a ‘pet person’ being fond
of cats and dogs.
Sheela:
Did you ever carry homework
related tensions?
Usha
Quader: No, luckily
for me, I was able to maintain
the distinction between my personal
and professional life. However,
there were times when I would
get up at 2 AM in the morning
and worry about deadlines. I
used to be really euphoric at
the end of successful completion
of deadlines.
Sheela:
Can you recount any memorable
incident at school?
Usha
Quader: I remember
a small, short, chap in 6th
standard. It was the composition
class. There was pin drop silence
in the classroom, I turned and
saw this chap drawing a moustache
on another student’s face. I
made the errant schoolboy stand
on the chair. He immediately
struck a pose, puffing out his
chest and flexing his imaginary
biceps. He said that he was
‘Bheemudu’. I didn’t know whether
to laugh or shout, so I decided
to keep quiet. He too came to
the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
and I related this episode then.
Sheela: Any other highlights that you can enlighten
us about?
Usha
Quader: Well, the
Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
is something that I can never
forget. They had organized classrooms
with teachers and the old students
could come and sit in the classrooms
and interact with teachers.
It was fun and very nice to
see how the little boys had
turned out into what kind of
men. The Finance Minister, Mr.
Ashok Gajapathi Raju also attended
my classroom.
Sheela:
Can you tell us something about
your last years in school?
Usha
Quader: Most of my
colleagues had either retired
or moved to greener pastures.
I was moved to middle school
as Head Mistress and an old
student remarked, ‘all that
ma’am does is arbitrating small
boy’s quarrels’.
Sheela:
Do you believe that a teacher
ever retires?
Usha
Quader: I don’t believe
that teachers retire permanently.
Some one or the other is taught.
I still teach for three hours
a day.
Sheela:
How do you find retirement from
school to be?
Usha
Quader: As long as
I was teaching, my personal
matters and interests took a
back seat. When I retired, I
had plenty to do such as pursue
my interests. Actually, 24 hours
is not enough for all that I
am interested in.
Sheela:
What can you say has been the
greatest reward to you as a
teacher?
Usha
Quader: At my farewell
party given by the staff, I said, “it is a rewarding profession, not in monetary terms but
in job satisfaction. It gives
one tremendous satisfaction
to hear grown up men and women
stand up and say, what they
learn from a teacher. I fondly remember my old students telling me that I taught them
an analytical attitude towards
the subject and not to merely
mug up notes. When students
who studied under me, passed
out of IIT’s and went abroad,
they told me with great pride
that they were able to explain
our historical monuments to
foreigners because of the way
I had taught them in class.
These are the rewards that no
other profession can boast of.
Sheela Mathews passed out
of the school in 1990 from the Commerce
group.
She was the student editor of the
School magazine, ‘Shaheen’ and the
Best English Debater.
She was an active participant in
Dramatics.
