In and around the campus- The Bishops School, Pune

In and around Bishops …………………….

Established in 1864 Bishops had a cozy campus. After spending 20 years living and working on it I still feel I could still go around blindfolded – something I saw many smaller boarders often doing.

Let’s take a walk around the campus and try and recollect the places and the rooms that many of you will remember. I may go wrong now and then so don’t crucify me!- Its been 12 years since I left but the memory lingers on and yes I do miss Bishops. In fact just the other day I was asked if I would go back if I got a chance to head the school and I did give it a thought and the answer was YES PROBABLY I WOULD CONSIDER THE OFFER SERIOUSLY.

Anyway back to the story…………………..in no order of preference………

THE UPPERS- The uppers was the area between the Library and a building known as Lunn Block. It was a square piece of land- approximately 50 x50 mts . Initially it was stone and mud and later tar was laid and it looked good (Now it has trees as well).

Almost everything happened there- assemblies, special parades and flag ceremonies for flag hoisting / Investiture ceremonies / special dinners etc. On it was the boxing ring – and that was another story. Boarders lined up there for various reasons and the Middle school pupils lined up there every morning before moving for assembly in Harding Hall. The residential staff sat on the boxing ring and chatted in the evening while the kids played around.

It was also the entrance to the school infirmary, Lunn Block, old Biology Laboratory, Nook and Jubilee dormitories, the clinic, the Library, some classrooms and staff quarters.

THE LOWERS- This was the area behind Lunn block – a rough and tumble area – approximately 80x30 mts . It was used by Gopal the dhobi to dry clothes, for boarders to play hide and seek and occasionally by day scholars to play as well. It had rocks and stones protruding and hence was not the ideal area . Senior boys were seen there at times ( it was adjoining St Mary’s wall)

LUNN BLOCK—one of the very well-known areas in the school it housed classes from 5 – 8 , a dormitory for the middle school , the Headmasters office , small staff rooms , toilets( which did not smell too good ! ) and a lovely terrace which was actuall out of bounds to boys but which a few senior boarders slept on when the heat in the dormitories became unbearable ( remember there were no fans in the dormitories ! ).

It also had smooth bannisters which often saw boys sliding down them !

Lunn block was very noisy area and boys could always be seen in the corridors when they were supposed to be in class. After every period boys rushed to the toilet and masters could be seen rushing around with the cane trying to bring order. Yours truly had an office there for some years as well, also lived in two staff quarters in the same building.- and also often stood at the entrance to the building with a cane to catch the stragglers after the breaks ( I apologize -  sorry boys ) .

The block was named after one of the very well-known Principals

Mr.  A E LUNN who headed Bishops for about 30 years and was well loved and respected by thousands of boys- he was truly a legend in his time. I had the wonderful opportunity to meet him on two occasions when he visited the school and he was so warm and friendly – a true Bishopite . When I think of matrons two names come to mind here – Mrs Bajwa and Miss Telang.

CAMBRIDGE DORMITORY- It was the building which housed the dormitory for the Senior most boys in school. It also had the Chemistry laboratory on the ground floor. Boarders and some   day scholars  will remember the names on the ceiling of Cambridge – no idea  how boys got up there to write their names( please enlighten me )

It had toilets from where boarders would peep and shout out to others at times ( you never knew who was shouting ) . The building was wooden and the steps and floor on the balcony old and creaky. I often felt they would just collapse some day !. Mr Beamon lived in the building as well in a room at the far corner – no one ever disturbed him for fear of repercussions later ! one went there to get the log books signed, to get a few permits signed, to give him the bones for the dog at night or to deliver books at times – NOTHING ELSE !  Oh yes – after the holidays a few pupils would bring fruit from their farms so they would visit him as well. Mrs Bajwa Matron looked after the stitching and dhobi clothes in this dormitory. Later there as a bridge between Cambridge and Simba block . It housed the Cambridge class pupils earlier and hence the name.

THE DINING HALL……..The Dining hall was THE PLACE in the school. All meals were served here – a hall 8x20 mts approximately who can forget the long tables, the benches, the MOD table, the gong , the big black dekchis , the bearers , the plastic glasses which did not smell too good , the front verandah where boarders were served the bun and morning tea , the tap in the back room with the sign which read DO NOT WASH YOUR HANDS HERE ( no idea why ) , the big clock which the MOD looked at so as to get the bell rung at the right time, lest Mr Beamon explode ! – and the menu on the various days ( maybe another article ) .The food was ok by boarding school standards but after some time both, the boards and the residential staff got fed up of it – after all how many times can you change the menu during the course of the year. Adjoining the dining hall was the school kitchen where all the meals were cooked and where boarders were not allowed in – officially ! Meals were always hot and always ready on time and rarely did the meal fall short despite the fact that there were aproximatley 225 boarders and about 100 residential meals to be served – the school servants also took home dekchis of left over food !

THE BUNGALOW This was where the Principal lived- in my time Mr B W ROBERTS. A large red building – probably built in about 1870 is what I heard. Many rooms and a verandah which ran right round the house but which over the years was closed in. It had tiles and the whole place leaked – yes it was an old colonial structure .It had a large hall and on Christmas and Easter was very well done up . During summer Mr Roberts and his guests sat out in the compound in the front and drank Rasna and various types of juice and chatted – the place was cool as the Mali watered it down at about 5 every evening.

Mr Roberts had a nice garden as well as a number of potted plants – rumour has it that the bungalow was haunted and at night one could hear the piano playing (please read one of my earlier posts) The white ambassador was parked in the garage and Mr Roberts refused to change it for any other car. Much later the bungalow got gates in the front but they were never closed and boarders ran through the compound quite frequently.

THE BASKETBALL COURT…….. it was tarred and a number  of closely fought matches were payer here. Was also the place for the main stalls during the annual fete and where the chief guest opened the fete and cut the ribbon. Adjoining the basketball court was a cycle stand under an old tamarind tree – the tamarind was broken by boys and was said to be sweet and tasty. Boys lined up on the court to get into the hall- the farewell dinner was also held here. When boys lined up for the Founders church service, they did so here as well. The cycle repairs and carpentry practical exam was also all done on the basketball court so one could say it was well used. Whenever grade 10 had no teacher they were out here playing basketball – a number of old boys would also come in to play quite frequently and no one stopped them from entering.

HARDING HALL     Unmistakably   one of the main areas of he school. Assemblies, functions , Prize days, The Patwardhan debates, The Elocution competition , the mark reading ( dreaded by many ) were all held here. It had the honours boards and a number of old photographs ( no idea if these are still there ) . Old boys- some of them 70 years old would visit this hall- photograph boards talk of the days  when they were in school !

It also had boards for Principals and Head boys of the school over the years . It may come as a surprise to many that 4 Principals covered about 100 years of the school . One was Mr Lunn and another  Mr Roberts – not too sure who the other two were .

During my time I was incharge of the Annual play on Prize day so boarders were responsible – under my guidance to put up the curtains on stage – a long, tiring and tedious exercise which the boarders enjoyed. One of the reasons being is they missed study for 2 evening and nights but full marks to those on this team- they worked hard – the climbed ladders they lifted the heavy curtains and they used nails effectively. The stage always looked so good . We often worked till about 11.30 pm . One year the front maroon curtain was stuck and we struggled till past midnight – the boys then took a chit from me to miss morning tea and study. As I was Headmaster and Boarding Superintendent by then it was not much of a problem.

THE OFFICE   The school office was near the front gate and at the end of the hall. It was small and had a few small rooms . Mr Roberts’ office , the accounts section and the typists. Mr Mogre Sr sat at a table there – almost everyone reading this will remember him. The Prefect on Duty got their POST from the office and gave back the account thereafter. The office was very busy during the time of admissions , after the fete when the accounts were being tallied and staff lined up to hand over the coupons, and during the results when the doors were closed and we did the calculations inside – the Mr Roberts would walk out and usually say ALL PASSED and smile . He would then personally paste the results on the black boards outside.

Some boys would definitely remember being taken into Mr Roberts’ office and being given 6 of the best ! Let me not take names and so if you one of those – then just smile and think of WHY you got it !!

 NOOK & JUBILEE DORMITORY    The smallest boarders were housed here. Nook was earlier in a rather dilapidated stuffy dormitory near the old book stall near grade 9 and near the library. The matrons and ayahs did a good job of looking after them- they were bathed, dressed etc. Greta to see them line up and go to and from the dining hall. Then they were put to bed and tucked under the mosquito nets. There were no fans and I now wonder how hot it must have been and how stuffy as well. I also feel sad at the fact that a number of them wet their beds – they probably were far too scared to go to the toilet at night! The matrons and the ayahs definitely did a terrific job and were mothers to the little ones ( I am sure all the boarders remember their first matron – do you ?)Just two names come to mind – Matrons- Mrs Prema D’Monte and Mrs Brown .

THE JUNIOR SCHOOL- The Junior school was always a buzz of activity. There was a gate – a small opening in fact when you come to think of it – it should have been bigger – and boys were always streaming in and out. Some wooden planks placed just outside prevented boys running on to the road- an ingenious idea if there was one and the brainchild of none other than Mr Roberts !.

Well back to the Jr school – Mrs Roberts had an office at the entrance and it housed classes KG till grade 4. There were also two dormitories, a few staff quarters , a smallish staff room and the usual toilet bocks which once again did not smell too good .

The Juniors had their assembly in the area between them and the Lunn  block and a number of Sr boys went to help with the same – usually the gentle senior boys were sent there or someone who one could be sure would not beat up on of the smaller rascals as they could be a handful at times.

Many of you would have also helped the teachers with the exhibition and assisted them in doing up their class rooms. Those were big exhibitions indeed during Founders week. Classes were always in progress and the Jr teachers did a good job with the youngsters.

NEW UPPER & NEW  LOWER DORMITORIES    These were in the Junior building and one on top of the other on different floors. Strangely the names were New and then NEW NEW later changed to New Lower and New upper for obvious reasons. Classes 1- 5, if I remember rightly were in these two dormitories. As usual like all dormitories there were Dormitory Masters, a matron and dorm prefects in charge. Each dorm had anywhere between 40- 50 pupils. The pupils in these dormitories put up amazing dormitory feasts and their creativity and ideas during the plays were just WOW!!

CLASS ROOMS      I must remind you about the classrooms – quite spacious with furniture that was solid and old- the desks had definitely been there ages and had names and years carved all over. I once say a desk with the name of a pupil and 1949 carved beneath it ! Grade 10 A B & C faced the basketball court and gave the pupils a good view when ladies/ girls passed by. I distinctly remember having to make boys pay attention to the lesson when that happened and then there was laughter, some sly comments about various boys etc.

 10 B & C had a verandah outside the classroom where in the early 80’s there was  a black and white TV- everyone – boarders, residential staff and servants gathered there to watch TV .! There was no TV anywhere else in the school. In fact when I joined Bishops in 1981 it was the first time I saw TV !

10 A was further in and the view was not so clear!

At times when a teacher was absent Mr Roberts would rush into the classroom and do a Physics lesson!

THE LUNCH SHED     Stone tables and stone benches, under an asbestos roof was the lunch shed near the office. By noon servants would start coming in on cycles with the tiffins etc. During the lunch break the boys whose food had been sent from home would go there to eat lunch- a few day scholar friends would also tag along for a taste. A large number of crows flew around feeding on scraps and left overs. The lunch shed was also the venue of the SUPW cooking examination.

THE SERVANTS QUARTERS     these were behind the Junior school – most of the school servants lived here – Das, Ramdas, Shivaram, Gopal the washerman and Eeta Bai and her family. Pupils were not permitted to go there but boarders went in and out to get / give their clothes. Smaller boarders were sent by the Prefects to do these errands. These servants were very loyal , devoted and hard working and many had been there for generations.

JEEJEEBHOY GROUND/ SIMBA FIELD      The field on which we had sports and all games. A lot of SUPW was done on this field and it saw terrific matches, the AI football tournament, sports days, heats, PE classes etc (any of you remember the 2 sports meets that were washed out due to torrential rain ? It had a 100 mts straight and a 200 meter track as well. Mr Roberts and many classes did SUPW here to remove rubble when the old Simba Dorm on the field was pulled down. Once again a job which Mr Roberts enjoyed and something he can still be very proud of- it was due to him that the filed is there.

Maybe some more on this topic later ……………………………CHEERS !

( do feel free to add in your information as well )