Rev. Fr. Basil Corera S. J.

Fr. Basil Corera S. J.
Courtesy : Aloysian Centenary Souvenir

Dr. V. Venkateswaran recalls:

"Fr. Basil Corera, a dynamic tall athletic Jesuit, was our class teacher (Form 1A) who had studied for his BSc at St Josephs’ in Trichy, India.

Given half a chance he would wax eloquent how St. Josephs’ was 10 times the size of our College. We were not impressed. But he was proved correct; fifteen years later when I went to Trichy and saw the institution. 

After morning prayers he would sit down, take out a wooden block, place the watch on it and start the class. For a whole year for literature we studied “Wreck of the Schooner Hesperus” It was a nightmare. 

At the end of the class he’d take out a roll of paper, roll out a cigarette, tie his watch and when the bell rang light his cigarette. 

During the hot afternoons we would go down to the graveyard behind the cathedral, sit on the headstones and have our literature class taken. Later on, classrooms were built here. But we were polite. Before sitting on any headstone, we said a small prayer!!"

========

Another short poem/nursery rhyme he taught us was " Who killed Cock Robin? This was made interesting by asking each of the students to recite aloud one line in turn & this provided us with the opportunity to improve our spoken English. 

We had a great respect for him.

P.S.

During the course of the year, a new boy joined the class & sat at the back. He was a priest from an East European country, & he was in the class for the English period only , to learn English. He was Rev. Fr. J. Pogany S. J. , who taught us Mechanics a few years later, & eventually became the Rector of the College.