Returning to school after 50 years

Recently I was shooting the Malayalam film LITTLE MASTER starring Lal (Siddique) and Lakshmi Gopalaswami, being directed by L.Rajendran in Thiruvavananthapuram . The location was S.M.V. High School which was one of the oldest schools in Thiruvavananthapuram established by the Maharaja Sree Moolam Thirunal and hence the name Sree Moola Vilasam High School.

Shooting at SMV H.S with Lal (Siddique)

During the shooting interval, my friend veteran Art Director and Director Radhakrishnan ( R.K.) paid a visit to meet me. He told me a very fascinating information that he had once been a student at the S.M.V. school 50 years ago and since then nothing had changed much there. The old tiled buildings and even the benches and desks in the classrooms were the very same ones from his times. Those old wooden benches had cast iron frames which were imported from England. He also told me that a portion of the school was formerly used as Police premises and lockup cells were there.

Going back in time he located the class room and the very bench where he sat during his days as a student there.

R.K.in his old seat at school

In his student days he had a leaning towards Communist ideology and became part of the leftist student organisation SF. In his fervour towards the party he had carved the Sickle and Hammer Party symbol on the surface of his bench.

The hand that etched...

Sitting in his old seat and running his fingers over his art work, Radhakrishnan said that he was coming there for the first time, ever since he left the school 50 years ago. It so happened only because I invited him to visit our shooting location. Though he had been living for the past many years in Thiruvananthapuram and passed the school on his way many a times, it never occurred to him to get inside and see the place.

R.K's art work

I am happy that I was instrumental for his reunion with his Alma Mater and was able to record it for posterity.

More about R.K.in THE HINDU newspaper: