Vanessen Tirvassen
25 March 2008
Port Louis — "I went to L'école de La Salle RCA in Port-Louis for my primary education. At that time, it was run by the brothers and I am a Buddhist so by definition pagan. Nevertheless, I still followed a religious education that has allowed me to open up to other religions. Although I had to sit at the back of the class with the other non-Catholic pupils whenever the Catholic ones were having their religious studies, I always took a real pleasure in following those classes.
It also helped me to develop a great tolerance towards the Catholic teachers, especially Mr. Rivière (former president of the MASA) and Mr. Aimé Laval (former deputy mayor of Port-Louis). The latter was extremely religious, punctual and strict but just with every single student. The image of him that always comes to my mind is when he was kneeling down in front of the cross. He did it in such a way as to show how dedicated he was to his religion. When I think of both of them together, I realize that they enhanced the spiritual development of each student.
I then moved on to the Royal College (known as La School in those days) of Port-Louis in 1961, having been one of the winners of 'La Petite Bourse'. Teachers there prepared us to become great citizens of Mauritius.
But the one teacher whom I must mention is definitely my former English teacher Mr. Herchenroder. He had non-conventional, not to say revolutionary, ideas. However, this did not affect in any way the content of his teaching. His critical mind was just fascinating and he would invite questions from us. But what was even more incredible was the fact that we were so interested that we would continue discussing those issues outside class. By trying to contradict him, we would build up our analytical faculties. This is why I remember very well seeing a young Anil Gayan who was very shy starting to emancipate himself and becoming involved in those discussions. I remember Madan Dulloo as well in his youth beginning to develop debaters' talents and an intellectual riguour.
I should acknowledge after all that the one whom I perceived as my 'best teacher' was a French teacher by the name of Roland Kiam Tia. I still recall our very first lesson with him, when he was disparaging towards us regarding the book issue. Indeed, he told us off when he saw us with a lot of books and added that he was against a bookish education. Thereafter, he asked us one by one if we knew how to speak French. Of course, we answered yes. But then, he challenged us while laughing: 'You guys all know how to speak French? Good! If you do not get a distinction in French, make sure you do not come into my class again!' For the record, I managed my A, so he was quite proud of me I suppose.
Instead of using books he would ask us to use two copybooks. Both copybooks were divided into two parts. The first one would be divided between what should be said and and what should not be said. And in the other copybook, the first part would contain expressions, and the second part would elucidate the etymologies and meanings of those expressions.
The second thing that impressed me was the fact that his lesson was so original that it could not have come from a book. For example, if we were to discuss the etymology of a vegetable, the whole lesson would be on cuisine, vegetables, and vegetarians and so on. It goes without saying that the lesson was a bit of a laugh. So much so that it would carry on outside the class. But as for Roland, he would leave the class as if nothing had happened but I am sure he knew how much knowledge he provided us with!"
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