Nostalgia trip in gorgeous cloisters off Sterling Road

Loyola College's rich history and vibrant campus life recounted through memories of alumni and iconic moments.

A few days ago, Sterling Road, that leafy artery in Nungambakkam, was abuzz as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and his entourage rushed towards a stately congregation of buildings nestled within a green expanse. The Chief Minister was at Loyola College to inaugurate the institution’s centenary year celebrations that will happen through the year.

Founded in 1925 by the Society of Jesuits, Loyola has drawn students cutting across social and geographical boundaries. Back in the early 1990s when Chennai was Madras, the commute to Loyola was split into two-wheelers, some cars, Pallavan buses and suburban trains, while the Nungambakkam station buzzed with Loyola students.

While those who came by road entered by the main gate, the railway season ticket-holders scurried in through the side gate. Often the walking speed slowed down as the laws of attraction reigned and entries were timed to coincide with visual communication girls sauntering into their classes.

Back in those days, Loyola was largely a male bastion with girls being admitted to only the postgraduate courses and in the undergraduate section, only visual communication had a co-ed scheme. The college was mostly about boys, classes, and the caffeine and nicotine fix in the bunk shops outside the campus.

Academics reigned supreme but if a professor was absent, especially in the afternoon, plans would be made to rush to Devi for the 1 p.m. English movie slot. The preferred bus was one that went past Women’s Christian College and Ethiraj College before the lads alighted at Mount Road. Often day scholars would use their hostel-mates’ guest coupons for a hearty meal at the mess, else the regular staple at the canteen would be washed down with a glass of fountain Pepsi, a first in south India back then.

Celebrity spotting was inevitable too as an emerging actor Vijay was sighted while lecturers would casually drop names like Arvind Swamy in random conversations. Weekend and summer breaks meant that the campus became a backdrop for movie shootings and Kajol danced on the main block’s wooden stairs, while Rajiv Menon directed Minsara Kanavu (Sapney in Hindi).

The annual cultural event was Down Sterling, which later was rechristened as Ovations. However, Down Sterling still continues as the name of a pub close to Loyola. And middle-aged men, high on nostalgia, tend to gather there to discuss their college days, old skirmishes with rival college boys, first love angst (often centred around a Stella Maris girl) and present career dilemmas. For those who keep wanting a slice of the Loyola pie, there is always the 1925 shop inside the campus, selling college merchandise.