They were once tots too: Famous Bishop Cotton Alumni

Prestigious schools in the city, Bishop Cotton Boys' School and Bishop Cotton Girls' School turn 150. As the schools and the Old Cottonians' Association celebrate the landmark event through the year, Vidya Iyengar brings you some rare photos of eminent personalities who sat on those benches.

POWERPUFF GIRL J. Jayalalithaa (66) Fatima Jaffer, 68, 7th from left, standing in first row) was a class four student in the early 1950s at the Girls' School. Her classmate was Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who studied only in junior school. "I think she was a good student, though I didn't know much about her. We studied together for a very short time," she says. Apparently, Jayalalithaa and Jaffer were admitted to the school on the same day — sometime in January (the term back then was between January and December) On Jayalalithaa's birthday in February every year, sweets are distributed at the school.

FERTILE MIND Dr Kamini Rao (60) Taken in the garden of the Girls' School in 1962, this photograph of Dr Kamini Rao, the pioneer in the field of Assisted Reproduction in India, shows her in class two. The photograph was taken on Prize day, when she was awarded five prizes. The bright and ambitious student was allowed to come to school in "colour dress", she recalls, for her outstanding performance.

CHEMICAL POTENTIAL Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (61) We dug out this picture from the school magazine of the '60s, which mentions that the Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon, Kiran Mazumdar was a senior prefect in 1968. She was part of the games committee (hockey). The 1967 records mention that she was also a junior prefect of the school.

A FLAIR FOR DRAMA Gautami Tadimalla (45) A ctress and Kamal Hassan's partner, passed out in the early '80s. Gautami Tadimalla studied until high school in Bishop Cotton Girls' School. She was a boarder at the school because her doctor parents practiced in Vandiperiyar, Kerala.

INFORMATION-BOUND Nandan Nilekani (59) This is a class photograph of Std 5 B from 1965 which was the centenary year of BCBS. Can you spot business tycoon Nandan Nilekani? Recalling his classmate, CN Kumar (first on the last row), remembers Nilekani as a bright student who'd always stand first in class. He joined in class four from St Anthony's School. He was part of the Pakenham-Walsh house. "He was there until class six or seven after which he went off to Dharwad," he says.

MIND OF STEEL General Thimayya The late General Thimayya is a soldier of the Indian Army who served as Chief of Army Staff from 1957 to 1961, the years leading up to the conflict with China in 1962. This picture was taken when the general visited the school circa in as CAOS and met with Rev IL Thomas, Warden, BCBS. A few years later, on retirement from the Indian Army, he went on to command the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus, where he died of a heart attack (1965).

WINNER Lalit Rai (58) A batchmate of Nandan Nilekani, Lalit Rai was a soldier of the Indian Army, who had the task of capturing the strategic heights of Khalubar in the Batalik sub-sector during Operation Vijay in the Kargil War. He was well-known as a football player. Joining the school in class five, he was there until class 10. He was part of the Pope house. Fun and mischievous is how C N Kumar recalls the colonel.