A ‘Master’ with a Common Touch
Mr. Derek Beaman joined The Bishop’s School way back in 1972. I had the privilege of working with him since July 1981 when I was appointed teacher at the Bishop’s School, Pune.
The first few words that come to mind when I reminisce about Mr. Beaman are ‘honest, God fearing, meticulous, straight forward and hard working’. There are many other traits worthy of mention, but the ones mentioned above, were his most endearing qualities.
As a teacher of English, he was ‘perfection personified’; whether it was vocabulary, punctuation or pronunciation, he knew it all, and as far I know, was never wrong. I could always count upon him to advise me correctly in any difficulties I faced with the English language, at which he was indeed a ‘Master’. His class always enjoyed his lessons, probably aware of the fact that they were being guided by someone who was the ‘very best’.
Mr. Beaman had other interests too, the school choir being one. He loved music and was actively involved in training the school choir for all its performances over the years. Classical music was his forté and he hardly ever missed a good performance, whenever there was one in Pune.
Quizzing was another one of his favourite pastimes and besides training and accompanying the quiz team to various inter-school competitions he enjoyed being the Quiz Master at the Inter-House Quiz Competitions held every year.
Being a bachelor and without encumbrances, the Boarding Section of the school was ‘his family’. He made it a point to attend all the meals in the Dining Hall, and even served the boys himself. He was in his element when school reopened after a long vacation – counting the boys, remarking on those who invariably returned late and on those who were usually homesick.
Mr. Beaman had a remarkable memory that enabled him to remember roll numbers, names etc. He could even tell you the year the boy joined school and whether he was a vegetarian or a non vegetarian!
He was meticulous while checking the class attendance registers, completing house lists and entering the names of new boys in the scholars register. His ability to spot mistakes in numbers and spellings of boys names was phenomenal- if you made a mistake you could be sure C.D.B (as he was often referred to) would spot it.
Another of his outstanding attributes was proof-reading, which, as I am learning through experience, is not only painstaking, but tiring, both mentally and physically. For Mr. Beaman it was just another job which he had mastered to perfection.
He loved animals - dogs, in particular. He also enjoyed reading, listening to the radio (BBC) and going for long walks.
Mr. Beaman led a very frugal existence and was accused of denying himself the good things in life. On visiting his room, one was usually taken aback at its simplicity – one look around told you that this was indeed a simple, God - fearing man, whose one desire was to serve others.
When I think back to 1981, and my first meeting with Mr. Beaman, I remember that he filled me with awe, but over the years that feeling was replaced with admiration and appreciation for a man who truly believed that ‘work is worship’.
To quote Mark Anthony in Julius Caesar:
“His life was gentle, and the elements
So mixed in him, that nature might stand up
And say to the world, ‘This was a man!”.
