St Mary’s Convent in the sixties was not a very big school .But it was a very good school .I have very vivid memories of my stay in the school .I studied there till the fourth standard and later shifted to another school ,St Josesphs Academy .And the reason for that, was the fact that St Mary’s was only upto the 5th standard .
Our house was just about 500 metres away from the school ,and my elder and younger sisters walked with me to school everyday .The Principal of the school was a tall and lovely looking Italian Nun ,Sister Amelia ,who had come on a transfer from a unknown ,village called Gurgaon!!! .She had headed a school there by the name of “Our Lady of Fatima”.She looked completely in control –very clear headed and very strict .But when she smiled ,she took your heart away .I have always felt ,that good looking Principals have a great advantage over the not so good looking Principals .At the end of the day ,the personality has a great role to play –maybe more than intelligence .Sister Amelia had both .She was blue eyed ,tall and slim .And she would take rounds and talk to us frequently .Once she asked me “What do you want to become when you grow old?A doctor ,like your Dad?”. “No sister ,I don’t like blood ,and as a doctor I will have to see it often”,I answered .As a young child ,there were innumerable occasions when people were brought home for treatment –sometimes bleeding profusely .It always put me off . “You want to become a soldier like Surenders Dad?”,she asked ,referring to Surender Sharmas’ Dad ,who was a officer in the Army(Surender happened to be my best friend ,and continues to be one even now after nearly 50 years !!). “No sister,I don’t want to be a soldier .I don’t like blood”.Again , blood being spilled was something we saw in war movies of the sixties .And the sight of bullets piercing through a persons chest or legs was something that put me off .And then she would look very mischieviously at me and ask “But Kulbhushan ,if young boys like you don’t want to be either doctors or soldiers ,how will India survive ?”.I still remember the answer that I gave Sister Amelia as she stood in front of me –tall and inspiring . “Sister ,I will become a Principal like you”.!!I must admit ,that becoming a school teacher or a a school Principal ,never crossed my mind after I spoke those words .But circumstances and destiny pushed me into a profession which I will never exchange with anything else .If I am reborn a million times ,I would like to be a school teacher and a school Principal .The words I spoke to Miss Amelia ,ring in my mind very often –especially during times when I am in ecstasy or agony .Dont know why .
There were other teachers as well .I don’t recollect the names of most of them ,but the one name I will never forget is Miss Kaura .Miss Kaura belonged to a distinguished family of Clement Town and her siblings were friends with all of us .Her two brothers went to school with me –Deepak and Ashok (Guddu),and both are IITians .Miss Kauras’, younger sister Asha ,is a great friend of the family ,and her elder sister Shiksha was also a very dedicated teacher (died of cancer in the UK).Miss Kaura (Shakuntala),was a wonderful teacher ,who told us tales from Grimm brothers and Aesop .I imagined myself as Thumbelina flying in the air at times ,and sometimes like Jack in the tale “Jack and the beanstalk”.!!And sometimes I even imagined myself as Cinderella (I know some of you must be giggling ).Miss Kaura used to tell us wonderful fairy tales .One of the greatest contributions that any teacher can bestow on any child is the gift of imagination .Even today ,among my greatest strengths would be the power to imagine .Thank you Miss Kaura .It was you who bestowed upon me the gift to imagine –and no one has been able to kill it .
Miss Amelia left ,and sister Beatrice took over .She was a rather strict looking lady and unfortunately the boots she stepped into were a size too big for her .However ,she was a dedicated teacher cum administrator ,but lacked the charisma .
Day after day ,we went to school .There were many boys and girls who I befriended .Many names stand out –Surender Sharma ,Digvijay Singh ,Pradeep Sachdev,Hafizullah Khan,Margaret,Lorraine ,Vinod ,Chanda,Surajmaan Rai ,and many others .We used to play a lot on the swings and the seesaws .There were a number of children in the hostel from Thailand ,and they were later to join St Josesphs with me as well .I started taking a keen interest in cricket at a very early age –maybe 7 or 8 years of age .I distinctly remember that by 1964/65 ,I was a cricket addict .In particular ,I remember the MCC Cricket Teams tour of India under MJK Smith .It had such greats in it as Ken Barrington and Colin Cowdrey .The young and dashing MANSUR ALI PATUADI had taken over the reins as the Captain of India.And I remember Hanumant Singh scoring a brilliant century on his test debut at the Ferozshah Kotla ,Delhi .About two years back I went on a inspection of a school to Banswara ,in Rajasthan .Hanumant was from the royalty of Banswara .I went specially to his palace –of course by that time he and his brother Suryaveer had passed away .But i still felt a strong connect with the place and my life as a schoolboy in St Mary’s .
I was not brilliant in my studies .But I was sharp .I did not have the ability to stay focused for a long time on a text book .But I was a voracious reader .From a early age ,I had read nearly all Enid Blyton and W.E.Johns (Biggles ).I could write ,read and speak English fluently .I found it a fantastically easy subject .Not so Maths .I struggled a bit with it .Became averagely good ,but by the time I was in senior classes –very good .I did my homework regularly ,and never stole and never cheated in school.I was popular .i was fat .I was polite .I was never beaten by either a teacher or a fellow student .
But the time to change school was approaching .In anycase ,I would have had to leave after the 5th standard .My father decided to shift me to another school after the 4th .My cousins –Munish ,Mahesh ,and Anil Joshi were shifting to a school which was about 10 kms from our house .Their father –Swarup Uncle –told my father to do the same with me “They will be together”,he said .And my father agreed .
Thus in 1965 ,I landed up in St Josesphs Academy .I stepped into one of Indias best schools (just go to Wikipedia and you will realize that I am using their terminology)Dehradun it was said consisted of children who were either in St Josesphs or not in St Josesphs .The divide was that sharp .It was in St Josesphs that my eyes and ears were exposed to a different world .It was in St Josesphs that I learnt to compete ,win and get to leadership positions .After 7 years of blood ,sweat ,and tears ,it was in St Josesphs that I was to be crowned the Headboy .It was in St Josesphs that I went through the turmoil of adoloscense ,and of the pain of death and tragedy .But it was also at St Josesphs that I would receive colours as Academy Captain,Tennis ,and Cricket .It was at St Josesphs that I confronted the mike and pumped words into it with passion and became a debator .These things created “me”,as I am today .For people like me ,St Josesphs was not just a school –it was a way of life .But more of that in my next blog .
