The day scholars at Bishops

MORE SNIPPETS – THE DAY SCHOLARS AT BISHOPS , PUNE (After the post on the boarders, I have been inundated with requests from day scholars – complaints too with “what about us Sir”! One extra bold chap also messaged me saying that if I did not do an article on the day scholars he would come to Dubai with his wife and kid and make me do one!) So here goes DAY SCHOLAR GENTLEMAN. This one is for you. Cheers! First and foremost - Apologies dear Sirs – I remember many you – not all by name though – you can put it down to Old man / fading memory (not dementia) and all that jazz! So, I joined Bishops in 1981 and was Class teacher of 5A. Believe it or not – there are many from that class who I remember – have met some quite often – am in touch with a few on FB too. As a young class teacher, I guess everyone takes the short cut and the easy way out. So there were some very smart boys in this class who helped me out in a big way – marking daily attendance, calculating the monthly attendance before the register was taken to Mr Beaman , looking after the cupboard, cleaning the black board, keeping the class quiet etc . Boys were also in charge of noting down marks, filling them into the register and helping me make the marksheet and report cards. Mind you these boys must have been around 11 years old but they were so smart. While many of the boarders were ace sportsmen, somehow Academics was not exactly their strong point and studies not their favourite pastime !. In almost all classes, the day scholars were the toppers. On the day of the dreaded mark reading about which I have written before, boarders had a sleepless night prior to the day while the day scholars came into school smiling knowing fully well that they were sure to pass. There was one day scholar who made his mark in football coaching in Bishops and that was Khushru Minocherhomji. He was a regular for some years and the football team did well with his help. I oversaw Debating, Dramatics and Elocution for several years. Surprisingly, these activities were dominated by day scholars. This may surprise you, but there is one boarder I remember who was an ace where dramatics was concerned and he is the very famous Ken Ghosh – Movie Director , script writer , Producer- he also produces TV programmes . It dawned on me quite early that we had an abundance of talent where public speaking and dramatics was concerned so I started a Literary club. I took in just 25 top boys from the school after a thorough selection – this too was dominated by day scholars. I must mention some names that I remember –Vidur Malhotra, Gopal Patwardhan , Nazir Tyrewala, Joydeep and Srideep Ganguly , Riyaz Bharucha, Youhan Doctor , Sajjid Chinoy , Zubin Patel , Vijay Menon , Umeed Kothawala, Krupal Shah, the late Kurush Aga . There were many others too. With these boys in various teams over the years, Bishops reigned supreme in Debating and Elocution. We also put up some great plays. The Literary club was fun – run once a week on Friday evening from four till five thirty pm- we played innumerable Literary games and it was thoroughly enjoyable – the talent was unbelievable. It was because of this that a great Debator – Gopal Patwardhan and I decided to institute an Inter school debating Trophy in Pune and thus was born the Patwardhan Debating competition which I believe is still conducted every year and presided over by the Patwardhan family . Bishops usually walked away with top honours. Bishops and St Helena’s which was the sister school also conducted two socials – one in each school every year. Day scholars ensured that they had new clothes for this big social event – they were also often in school on weekends either learning to dance or teaching some boarders to dance. A few boys later married girls from that school I am told. Possibly the love blossomed at the social – not sure. I am told that some day scholars also came to school at night to take boarders out – some had cars and scooters so that made the bunking easier. There were the kind and generous day scholars too who brought food for the ever-hungry boarders! They did this on weekdays and weekends too. Although it was not permitted, boarders visited the day scholars’ homes on weekends while on permit. Some day-scholars also forged signatures of parents and took boarders home officially for the weekend. Some day scholars’ fathers were doctors in the Command hospital near Bishops and hence staff could go there, be welcomed in warmly and all the treatments ,medicines and procedures were done free of cost ! This surely was a big saving. Dr. Deepankar Ganguly who was a doctor had his two sons in Bishops, and I often went to consult him . Many day scholars owned shops in Main street and other areas of Pune. Ohers had large businesses – The Serum Institute of India, Thermax, The Poonawalla stud farm, Sudarshan chemicals, Eagle flasks, Weikfield etc. What was so good was that parents of these boys were treated like all others and no special treatment was given either to them or to their wards. The respect accorded to the faculty was also exemplary and one could be sure of meeting a few day scholars in Main street any time one went there. I taught grade ten for many years & had the pleasure of getting to know many boys well. Some of the sections each year always seemed to have some typical boys in them – so you would have a class of super intelligent ones , another with all the top sportsmen , some with conspirators and good lookers and the like who were always distracted ( the last group know who they are ). The various army bands that we got to play for sports days etc were all kind courtesy of some day scholar’s parent or the other. There were a large number of army officers sons in school and I know that one thig the school did was to help them with admission , even if they arrived late in Pune on a transfer- the rapport was very close and I presume still is . Many day scholars came by bicycle to school while some were dropped by car or two-wheeler. Some came in army and air force buses . A large number came in auto rickshaws and if you saw them arrive or depart , you would surely wonder where and how the drivers fitted so many kids into one small vehicle ( sometimes 15) – along with their school bags, tiffins , water bottles etc . If you are from Pune, you would know that rain is unpredictable and at times when it rains, it pours. Often it would suddenly rain at around seven or eight in the morning – it would be a deluge and hence impossible to open school. One would then see day scholars soaking wet, running about in the rain near the school gates which would be locked – the watchman would just turn the boys away. Strangely all boys would reach home safely. No one was molested or kidnapped, no one got lost, and no one complained about getting a cold because they got wet in the rain, no one wrote in to the Principal to say that their ward had to walk home - The school gates were closed – find your way home - end of story ! No article about Bishops is complete without a mention of Mr Roberts, the Principal, and the incident I am about to relate is with due respects. Everyone, including his family, knew that If there was anyone who was determined, headstrong and rather stubborn it was Mr Roberts. If he made up his mind about something, no one could make him change it (Mrs Roberts and I often tried and failed). She was his wife and I was the Headmaster but when he said NO to us, we slunk away and dared not question him. Well it was the day of the PE display – Founders day. The March past and PE display was scheduled to begin at two in the afternoon. That morning when we woke, it was dark and there were thick black clouds above. By mid-morning, the clouds looked threatening and there was thunder too. A few of us who lived on campus went down to meet Mr Roberts and we suggested the obvious – Cancel the function. Mr Roberts in his typical style looked up at the clouds , shrugged , sort of snorted and said – “no we will not cancel – it will not rain” Mind you the newspapers predicted precipitation caused by low barometric pressure coupled by strong winds but the prediction was often wrong so Mr Roberts joked about that as well saying that the word “cancel “was not in his dictionary . By around noon, day scholars started arriving and by then it had got darker and the sky looked ominous. There were boys in full white uniform and others in white shorts or trousers, white socks, white keds and game shirts in the house colours- Red, Yellow Green and Blue ( Mansfield , Bishops , Arnould and Harding ) . By then it was far too late to cancel the programme and we prayed for the clouds to blow over as they often did. By 1. 45 pm, the stadium was full of parents, the four houses were lined up ready for the march past, the field with its flags, white chalk markings , points board etc looked lovely , band was lined up and the captains with their flags were all set . The clouds were on standby two. Every little while people glanced up at the sky for obvious reasons. In the centre of the field were the tiny tots, super excited & ready for the first few drills- all in fancy costume made of coloured crepe and kite paper.Their parents were straining their necks to try and spot them. To the side of the field were around two hundred boys of the middle school – about to do a poll drill – their wrists had ribbons round them and the same were attached to large ribbons draped down from the top of the poll . The chief guest, who was an army general arrived promptly at 1. 55 pm in a green ambassador – they are never late. On the dot of two ,the PE teacher gave the commands- he was loud and clear ……… “School stand at ease. School Attention. The school will march past by houses. School- By the left, Quick March” As if by command, three things happened almost simultaneously – the band struck up, the march past began and the heavens opened. Sheets of water poured down. It was a deluge of magnanimous proportions. The timing was perfect - Boys ran helter- skelter, kindergarten teachers tried to usher a large number of five year olds off the field to safety- the kids clung to the teachers and many were crying - the naughty middle school boys who were bound to the polls tugged in vain to free themselves while young masters ran around trying to untie the knots , the boys were quite enjoying the fun - staff and parents were soaked to the bone and in a matter of a few minutes the entire field was like a large swimming pool . Mr Roberts, myself and many other staff tried to marshal the crowd with little success . There was slush, there was rain, there was a wild , freezing breeze blowing , there were children crying, mothers and fathers shouting while searching for their wards , umbrellas turning inside out due to the strong wind – if ever there was confusion , this was it - pandemonium prevailed . Many of those who had costumes and head gear made of coloured paper, had the colour streaming down their cheeks and clothes and looked like wet little peacocks. Hoards of pupils, parents and staff then attempted to leave the field by two narrow gates and cross over to the main school building where there were two more gates to enter. The road between the field and the main school was narrow and congested due to innumerable auto rickshaws, army trucks, cars, cycles & two wheelers parked haphazardly all over. Within half an hour of it starting, the rain ceased- so typical of Pune. As if by a miracle all day scholars left the campus quite soon and got home safely – do not ask me how they found their transport or how those who had come to pick them up, found them but it happened. Once again – no complaints were received the next day. If ever I saw the tenacity and resilience of our day scholars, it was that evening. Bishops, like any other school had boys of all religions, castes, and creeds. I shudder to think of something similar happening in this day and age. Founders week was the highlight of the year and it commenced with a solemn church service attended by the senior school and staff. This service was held at St Marys church next door to the school and every year , the Bishops boys and staff ensured that the church was cleaned , wooden pews and brass items polished , and the church itself swept and swabbed . The church was over one hundred years old and by the looks of it , Bishops did the annual cleaning ! No questions for guessing who undertook this mammoth task – yes, the boys and many day scholars too. It was purely voluntary. Religion and caste did not matter. When boys were asked to volunteer, there were hundreds of hands up. Finally, around forty boys were chosen, and they spent around a week every afternoon, cleaning, sweeping, scrubbing, removing cobwebs and polishing both the wooden and brass items. It was a big job and not a very clean one at that. By the end of each day they were exhausted, and their white uniforms looked filthy. I often wondered what their parents had to say. The boys however took immense pride in helping with the cleaning. I vividly remember the large eagle on the altar and the candelabra. They were all made of brass and polished to perfection! However once done, the church looked immaculate . That was unity and harmony of the highest order and something which filled us all with immense pride and joy. Socially useful productive work was a requirement of the ICSE and the day scholars were enthusiastic about the same. Pulling down old buildings with rope, carrying bricks, removing stones from the field, cutting grass, clearing thorny patches, sweeping classrooms etc were all jobs the boys were called upon to carry out the same. For the board exam they also had to either cook a few dishes, repair a bicycle, or do some repairing & polishing of furniture. Most of the day scholars opted to cook. They would arrive with utensils, a stove, crockery, cutlery, tablecloth etc and some of the dishes they cooked were tasty. When they were laid out, it looked like the work of a professional chef and this is no exaggeration. The boarders would wait patiently and as soon as the teacher had given the marks for the same, they would swoop down like vultures and finish the meal in a matter of minutes. Often the cooks themselves never got to taste the dish. I left Bishops in 2001 and till this day, whenever I go down to Pune , I meet many old boys who are based in and around the city and who are ever ready and keen to help me in some way or the other . When time permits, we meet up and sit and talk about school obviously- I am often called upon to regale them with a few stories. I meet wives and children too – time does fly! In fact, wherever I travel, all I do is put it up on Facebook and some one or the other plans and meets me. I enjoy the interaction as much as they do. I am very active on social media and it surely has helped me keep in touch. Play up Bishops – never let your colours fall.