Fathers Who Art In Heaven

Hallowed Premises of the School

The alumni of the unforgettable School I studied in, St Xavier’s Jaipur, celebrated its Diamond Jubilee some time ago. During a recent trip to Jaipur, a visit to the School was a must in order to go back in time more than sixty years to those wonderful growing up days.

More than anything else, it was the dedication and devotion of the original team of Jesuit Fathers who formed the core of the teaching staff that made the School feel more like home than an academic institution. It was these selfless, committed Fathers who laid the solid foundations on which the School was established and continues to thrive to this day.

Principal and His Unique Punishment

I enter the School premises through the Bhagwandas Road and walk up the steps to the Principal’s office of the majestic sandstone main building which started functioning in 1952 and still looks as good as new. Father Mann, tall, towering and formidable, was the Principal. He was a strict disciplinarian and yet all the students loved him for he had a heart of gold.

Down the corridor is my old classroom of IX and X standards. Our class teacher was the cigar-chewing, bald and bearded Father Pinto. He was thoroughly involved with his students and knew them inside out which perhaps was not difficult considering we had a class of 9! Still, it was his sincerity and undivided attention that earned our respect. We could pull his leg and yet knew not to cross the line. I did on one occasion and was told to report to Fr. Mann and the ‘Rumpus Room’.  Fr. Mann told me to sit on the carpet in his office and handed me a small packet. In those days, a carton of Champion’s Corn Flakes  came with a cardboard cutout of a clown through the hands of which passed a round straw which when twirled made the clown do acrobatics. I was asked to keep twirling the stick through the recess during which junior students walked by and watched me, a senior, being punished in a novel way. I never gave another opportunity to either Fr. Pinto or Mann to repeat the punishment.

In my final year, Fr. Mann was replaced by Fr. Wilzbacher, a modest and pleasing personality but no less an effective Principal. He was a bicycle fan and would cycle down to colonies and villages for charity work.

Cricket, Songs and Movies

Walking out of the building on the left is the Cricket ground where we were coached by Father Mackessack.  Tall and lean, Father Mack was well-known in Jaipur’s cricketing circles and would invite Indian Test cricketers whenever they were in town to spend some time with the School team. There we met our idols like Vijay Hazare, Vinoo Mankad and Polly Umrigar who gave us a few tips about bat and ball as well as tidbits of some of their experiences.

Father Mack was also an accomplished singer with a deep, baritone voice and ran a singing class after school hours. He taught us a number of Scottish, Irish and American folk songs which hum in my mind even now. “When Irish eyes are smiling”, “Ol’ Man River”, “Gone are the days”, “Kentucky home”, “Camptown Ladies” and a host of others can never be forgotten”. A few years ago, when I visited Scotland, I preferred to visit Loch Lomond over Loch Ness so I could view “in purple hue the highland hills” as the brigand did singing “Ye’ll take the high road and I’ll take the low road and I’ll be in Scotland afore ye.”

Across the road from the cricket ground are the Fathers’ Quarters the doors of which were always open to us. I don’t remember any of us employing private tutors as we could freely go to any teacher to resolve our problems. Fathers’ rooms were frugal with only the basic amenities and their never-demanding nature was an example to emulate.

On weekends, picture shows were screened in the Quarters for the students. The affable Fr. Cosgrove was the 8 and 16 mm cinema operator. Cowboy and Red Indian Westerns were the usual fare featuring John Wayne and Glenn Ford preceded by Walt Disney cartoons of  Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.

For photography there was Fr. Willmes who was the School cameraman, developer, printer et al. All the school and class photographs were personally taken by him, mounted and placed on the school walls where they still hang. He was closely associated with the Alumni and I remember meeting him in functions well into the 1990s when he was in his late 80s with his memory intact.

More Sports and the New Complex

Out of the Fathers’ Quarters, I come to the Basketball Courts for which we have to thank Fr. Birney. He was passionately fond of the game and can be said to have brought it to Jaipur and Rajasthan. The School team was formidable in his days and he continued to nurture it literally to his dying day as he actually passed away on the basketball court.

A new complex named Fr. Batson Sports Club including state-of-art gym and swimming pool has come up next to the Hockey and Football fields. This is a fitting tribute to the person who was every inch a sportsman with a passion for Baseball. He was a popular guiding figure for all sports-loving students and never shy of giving errant players the famous ‘bend-over’ treatment which entailed a few smacks on their upraised posteriors!

From the fields towards the main building is the Middle School which has replaced the previous hostel and the 1945 original school building where we cut our kids’ teeth. Sad but then the old must give way to the new.

Across another small cricket field lies the exit towards which I walk with a lump in my throat and misty eyes. I salute the fine institution and remember and thank the legends who must now be looking at their work from up above with immense satisfaction.

A Living Legend

During my stay in Jaipur, a schoolmate of mine invited me to dinner at which was present the ageless Miss Francis. This lady is an institution by herself as she had been teaching junior classes in the school since its inception in 1945 till she decided to retire. Nobody knows her age or first name but everyone knows her and vice versa. She still attends all Alumni functions and is loved and respected by all who were fortunate to have been taught by her.