v‘ ^ JAFFNA COLLEGE I * \ MISCELLANY DECEMBER, 1949. Yale Divinity Library New Haven, Corni. YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 9002 09912 4233 Jaffna College Miscellany Vol. X L IX . No. I. C o n t e n t s Page Editorial Notes ... ... I — X A Christmas Recitative ... ... l The Teacher and His Job ... ... 4 Qwertyuiop ... ... 10 Ancient Jaffna ... ... 13 Camera - Journalism for Pleasure and Profit ... 20 William Butler Yeats ... ... 29 Christianity and Culture ... ... 37 Love Came Down - - ... ^ 44 The Poetry of Burns ... ... 49 ‘lis Music Lends Enchantment ... ... 54 The Jaffna Smuggler at his Best ... ... 5g Blake - The Mystic ... ... gj The Lost Leader ... ... ¿5 Eventide at Jaffna Fort ... ... 66 War and Peace .„ ... 67 Electricity goes Marching on ... ... 73 The Annual Prize - Giving ... ... 77 Prize Winners —1948 ... ... ill President s N otes ... j 120 ii P age Principal's Notes ... — 124 The Y. M. C. A. ... • 128 House Reports ... -• *33 The School Council — — I40 The Jaffna College Undergraduates’ Union > ... 141 The Academy — ••• I43 The Brotherhood ... ••• I44 The Forum ... -• 145 The Lyceum ... ••• 146 The Undergraduate Hostel ... 147 H. S. C. Hostel Union ... ... 148 Senior Hostel Union ... ... 149 Junior Hostel Union ... ... 151 The Students’ Tennis Club ... ... 151 The Scout Troop — - I52 The Girl Guides , — I53 Physical Director’s Notes ... ••• 154 The Round Table ... — 159 Our Jubilarians ... — 161 Our Results ... ... 166 Jaffna College Alumni Day ... 170 Senator Kanaganayagam Feted ... ... 174 AlumDi Association Colombo Branch ... ... 175 Alumni Notes ... ... 176 Jaffna College Building Fund ... ... 185 College Diary ... ... 188 FAREWELL MRS. E. G. DAVID C. fe. PONNUTHURAI, ESQ., M. I. THOMAS, ESQ., (1920—1949) (Former Manager, Miscellany). Jubilarian; 1923—1948. i EDITORIAL NOTES F arew ell These are Notes which should have been normally written last year, for it was then that the College bade farewell to the sub­ jects of these comments. But, as we noted in our last issue, we had too short a notice of their then impending departure from our midst to allow anything more than a mere mention about them in our Notes. We, therefore, hasten to express our appreciation of, and giatitude for, the excellent servi­ ces which these our friends have rendered to our institution. Mr M. I. Thomas left us after serving the Col­ lege for a period of twenty-five years. He was one of the five jubilarians, whose silver jubilee was celebrated by the Round Table at the beginning of this year. In an article appearing elsewhere in this issue one of the Editors of the Miscellany records his appreciation and estimate of the jubilarians. Hence, in this place, it remains for us only to underline all that our colleague says. As a teacher, Mr. Thomas’ worth was truly great. We have heard it witnessed often by the students, who were privileged to learn under him, that he Jiad few equals as a teacher of History It was not his mastery of History alone that gave him this envied position in the estimate of his stu­ dents, but it was also his intimate knowledge of and lively interest in Constitution, Politics, Econo­ mics, and contemporary world affairs. Hardly a period with him was found to be dull. As Patron of the Forum, Mr. Thomas trained his students in the best traditions of Parliamentary convention and procedure and also helped them to become keen debaters— keen on the substance and soundness of their argu­ ments rather than on any torrential eloquence. This is not to say that Mr. Thomas was not concerned with their style of speaking. Himself a turner oi expressive and felicitous phrases, he would insist on his students paying considerable attention and care to their language. As a person, he was inclined to shut himself in his own scholarly retreat and indulge in studious pursuits. He hated to be drawn into the vortex of clashes and strifes of any sort. Always hs loved and wanted to enjoy “peace, tranquility and good government” in his classes, in the meetings of the Forum, in the gatherings of teachers, and in the College life generally—even as in his own home, in his country and in the world outside. We understand that he is enjoying a very well-earned rest in the calm and peace of his own home in Travancore. However, we do hope that that peace will be dis­ turbed now and then, and that his scholarly and studious nature, his keen interest and vital concern for world affairs will find an outlet through some publications of his. This is our wish for him now: that he will turn his serious attention to the wri­ ting of some books, for which he is so eminently fitted. The departure of Mr, C. S. Ponnuthurai has left a void in the life of the College hard to fill. It is difficult to fill this gap as it is difficult to assess, within the space available in these Notes, the remarkable contribution Mr. Ponnuthurai made to the College during the eighteen years he was with us. In the class room he was a teacher whom the stu - dents loved deeply. He was able to arouse ever their interest in the subjects he taught - English, " Mathematics and Botany-and, what is more, satisfy and maintain it. He also made them to come out of their cells and get interested in the world around them. He it was who organised large scale excur­ sions to places of interest, importance, and historicity iii in the Island. For this the students owe him a debt of gratitude which cannot be adequately expressed- His leadership they always found exhilarating. One of his admiring students expresses his gratitude in the little poem in this Number : ‘The Lost Leader.’ He threw himself completely into all the extra­ curricular activities of the College, We cannot think of any of the activities which did not claim his at­ tention and earn his support - be it Sports, the Y. M. C. A., Literary Associations, Dramatic Perform­ ances, Excursions and Exhibitions. It is really hard to find a teacher who could make himself so use­ ful—we may even say indispensable—in all these varied activities, and also one who could have the same attraction and appeal to the students of the lower classes as to those in the Collegiate department. A special word of thanks is due from us for the efficient manner in which he functioned as Man­ ager of the Miscellany for several years. The wri­ ter of these Notes is very grateful for the invalu­ able help he received from Mr. Ponnuthurai, as he is also grateful for being pulled up by him for his lazy and leisurely ways. The success of the Jubilee Number of the Miscellany issued in 1947 was in no small measure due to the many hours of patient and hard labour, careful thought and planning which Mr. Ponnuthurai expended over it. We teachers have lost in his departure a much valued colleague and a trusted and loyal friend. The Round Table, which he served as Secretary and President at different periods, greatly benefited from his organising powers. Though one was occasion­ ally irritated by his uncompromising sternness on many questions, one always found it a pleasure to work with him, because one found that personal prejudices or animosities or ambitions did not con­ tribute to that sternness, b iv We did not grudge his leaving us — indeed we felt happy—when we learned that he was going to take up the Principalship of a College in Colombo, a post for which his long experience, initiative, leadership, organising capacity, energy and drive, eminently fitted him. But now we are borry that he has preferred the position of an assistant mas­ ter though in one of the leading Colleges in Col­ ombo. We wish him well there, but still we feel convinced that he can use his varied talents ior the benefit of his community and Church much better if he is in a place like Jaffna College. Miss Leela Ponnambalam had a most difficult task before her when she joined the staff. As the first lady teacher on the staff of the Upper School, she had no traditions to follow; on the other hand, she had to establish a tradition. That she has left behind her a tradition worthy to be followed by her successors, is the verdict of all those who have judged her work here. We know that Miss Ponnam­ balam, coming fresh from the Ceylon University without any previous teaching experience, felt a lit­ tle nervous about tackling H, S. C. students, but this nervousness disappeared soon and she proved herself to be an able teacher of Ceylon History in the top classes of the College, even as teacher of English and Tamil to the younger students. She had another difficult and responsible task as the Warden of the Women’s Hostel - which task she performed very well indeed. The girls now miss her understanding leadership and friendship. And the boys miss her equally. It is a matter of great regret that she had to leave for family reasons at a time when she was beginning to shed her benign influence in the total life of the College. We do hope that time and again her heart yearns after her Alma Mater, which educated her in her school days and gave her the first experience as a teacher. Our best wishes always go with her. Our New Senator S. R. KANAGANAYAGAM, ESQ. V Our Jubilarians We offer our felicitations and congratulations to the five jubilarians who completed their twenty- five years of service in this institution at the end of last year: Messrs.