Miss Marjorie Suares - 87 Years Young
by Heera Nawaz
For 40 years, Miss Suares focused all her verve, tenacity and energy in being a physical education instructress at Bishop Cotton Girls’ School – a post she held until she retired at the age of 60, nearly thirty years ago.
Apart from successfully honing the sporting skills of several national athletes, such as Nandini Prasad, Preethi Joseph and Loretta Wate, Miss Suares had a brilliant sporting career in her own right:
In the 1948 Lucknow Olympiad, she became the first woman to break the 16 ft record in the Long Jump event in India. A few years later, at the 1952 Asian Games, she won the Bronze in the High Jump event.
She was the 100m and 200m State Champion, and was also Captain of the Karnataka State Hockey and Basketball teams – positions she retained for several years.
Miss Suares was also a born leader and a confident administrator. She started the State Women’s Hockey Association and for 15 years held the prestigious position of Secretary of the Bangalore Schools Athletic Association. She was also a member of the Old Cottonians’ Association and the school’s Parent-Teacher Association.
Recently, a group of Old Girls visited Miss Suares to share past memories and reminiscences of life at Cottons with her, and found that she only appears to be growing younger and even at the age of 87 is active, mobile and enthusiastic. Perhaps being a physical education teacher for so many years may have something to do with her active and lively persona and sparkling mind.
The best thing about the rendezvous was that it enabled us to see the person behind the successful careerist. Always a `live wire’ bursting with dynamism, Miss Suares was also known to be very strict and an ardent disciplinarian. However, when she let her guard down, it is evident that she is also a very kind and compassionate person.
She is a sterling example on ageing gracefully. As she says, be grateful for each day, every day. She has obviously proved that harbouring prejudices and having a faulty attitude are definite no-nos for longevity.
Miss Suares was full of praise about the “good old days”. About Bangalore, she has this to say: “Bangalore has grown so much in the past years, yet I would like to remember the way it was thirty or forty years ago, at that time it truly was a Garden City and a Pensioners’ Paradise.”
Amen to that, Miss Suares!
By Heera Nawaz
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