"How green is my College"

The title has its inspiration from an evergreen classic movie that I always enjoyed, “How green was my Valley!”

The novel ‘How Green Was My Valley’ written by Richard Llewellyn in 1939 was later  made into a movie under the same title. Directed by John Ford the film was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won five including one for the Best Picture in 1941. The movie is remembered by all for its "cultural, historical values and aesthetically significant presentation. In 1990, the Library of Congress recommended this movie for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

Thanks to Professor V. Srinivasan for his email highlighting a news item that appeared in The Hindu (dated 6.8.2012 page:5)  entitled ‘A movement to recapture a green past’. The news item laments on the scarce greenery of the present day Madurai and the need and ways to improve it. The article observes that only a few areas in the city like the American College and Railway Colony are green now.

Yes, our college is green now, literally. 

Metaphorically I wish to utter with a sigh, “How green was my college…..”

Peekay

Here is the content of the letter written by Professor V.S (Former Professor and Head, Dept. of Physics, The American College) to his former colleague and friend Prof. Richard P. Riesz  (Chairman Board of Trustees, The American College and Former Head of the department of Physics, The American College) about the news item in The Hindu..

Dear Dick:

After many years, a good news about The American College has appeared in The Hindu this morning and I thought I will share it with you.

The news item with the attached picture says that the only two green patches in the city of Madurai left as seen from the air are The American College campus (you can barely see the Chapel dome and the roof of Main Hall in the picture) and the Railway Colony.

The American Missionaries and the British Railway Engineers can take credit for this. I don’t think any new trees were planted in the last few decades. It is good news that the people who have spoiled so many good aspects of the college have not succeeded in spoiling the green cover the College has acquired over the years.

I am proud of this.

 

Seenu

P.S: Let the followers of the blog may feel happy that at least the green cover of the College has been saved – V.S