Suhasini Mulay: Tears to cheers

“When I was invited to be the chief guest, I had a good laugh. I was a bad student in school, a pretty bad student,” began actor Suhasini Mulay at the diamond jubilee celebrations of her alma mater, Ballygunge Shiksha Sadan (BSS), last month.

Mulay — a National Award winner for her role in Hu tu tu — chose to relive her school days (in the late 60s) rather than her experience before the camera on the occasion.

Being a central government employee, Mulay’s mother got new job postings every two years. The actor travelled with her.

“My mom approached several schools but as I was a bad student, none wanted to take me in. The principal of BSS had also rejected my application initially. That was the first time I saw my mother cry… and I felt bad for her…,” the actor recalled, a trifle emotionally.

Maybe those tears melted the school principal, too, who decided to give Mulay a chance.

But school days were not that bad for Mulay. She fondly remembered her physics teacher, SK Ghosh, who helped her get rid of the fear of formulae. “Thanks to him, I realised that science can be exciting after all. School is also about learning to negotiate life and that was what BSS taught me,” she added.

WELCOME TO OUR WORLD: Students of The Heritage School present an art and craft exhibition on their campus on March 10. Picture by Anindya Shankar Ray

Students past and present descended on the school campus for a grand culmination of the year-long programme.

The evening got under way with a vocal and instrumental duet staged by the students. The stage was also shared by students of BR Ambedkar School, the adopted school of BSS Interact Club, who danced to the tune of Bum Bum Bole from the film Taare Zameen Par.

G.K. Khaitan, the secretary of the managing committee, said: “The school started with only 350 students from a rented premises on January 1, 1950. In those days, the focus was just to educate girls. Now, we try to prepare them for the competitive world.”

The school also released the diamond jubilee edition of its magazine, The Mirror, on the occasion.