Student
The Story
Government College Kattappana | Reigniting the Pen & Social Pulse
In June 2022, after stepping down from 12 years in the teaching profession, I realized I missed two vital things: the infectious energy of classroom life and my close-knit ‘teacher gang’ of 5–6 friends with whom I used to share heart-to-heart thoughts daily. While I have wonderful neighbours, adult responsibilities and work stress leave little time for deep, carefree sit-downs. Additionally, years in modern digital environments had left me typing endlessly on keyboards, completely disconnected from the joy of writing by hand—even lesson plans had been skipped during my teaching days!
To rekindle this, I made the unconventional choice to enroll as a 1st-year student in the Integrated MA in English programme at Government College Kattappana. I didn't return to college for a degree; I joined to feel the pulse of today's young generation, to relish filling notebooks and writing assignments by hand, and to rebuild genuine everyday camaraderie.
College life is full of humorous and surreal moments
- A Student Becomes a Classmate: Sitting in the first-year class alongside one of my own former school students!
- Old Friends as Faculty: My school classmate, Dr. Reshma Suseelan, is an Assistant Professor of Economics in the exact same college.
- Inverted Worlds: Meeting parents of students who are now my professors, along with familiar faces working in the college offices.
- ‘Sir’ or ‘Bro’?: The HOD initially introduced me to the class as a veteran educator with 12+ years of experience, leading classmates to respectfully address me as ‘Sir.’ But the ice is thawing—the 4th-year seniors who initially approached me out of confusion have become great friends. Best of all? They just call me ‘Bro’—and that is the best feeling in the world.