Mr. Azeem's petition to the Trustees, which has gone unanswered
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yogesh saxena
Jul 4, 2010, 12:18:56 AM7/4/10
to rastraveer_maharaja_suheldev
It is a proud moment for all of us that 'Major General Claude Martin
Memorial trust' is now a reality as it was registered on 26th February
2004 under the Chairmanship of Dr R K Pachauri.
The main object of the Trust is to 'Maintain and preserve the
buildings and educational institutions built by Maj Gen Claude
Martin.' So the emphasis would be to preserve all buildings built by
our founder with 'Constantia' being the pilot project.
Not many institutions in the country have so much history attached to
them as LaMartiniere schools. It is the duty of the alumni of these
schools to ensure that the buildings of these institutions are
preserved and these institutes remain the top centers for learning in
the country.
We have recently read in the papers the contribution of alumni in
providing BITS Pilani with crores to get the institute a state of the
art technical Library. We have read Rs 25 crores being contributed by
Infosys CEO for the state of the Art hostel for IIT-Powai. We keep
hearing about alumni of other schools helping their alma mater. In
fact I must mention that a friend of mine, who has studied from St.
Columba's Delhi, and his classmates collected money from amongst their
batch-mates and have come up with a swanky laboratory for the school.
The amazing part was that this was just one batch which collected
lakhs !! It is time that we, the alumni of LaMartiniere Schools
actually start doing something for the schools. The formation of the
Trust is just the first step towards achieving this.
Though the Trustees would shortly be meeting to finalise the plan of
action, I would like to appeal all Old Martinians to start
'networking' and come up with some concrete results so that the
objectives of the Trust are met. All ideas and concrete suggestions
are welcome. We would soon be embarking on a project to make a
worldwide directory of Old Martinians so that each and every
Martinaian could be approached to help the schools.
The Founders day celebration during September 2003 was a grand
success. The seminar was an idea, which I had been working on since a
couple of years. Dr Vijay Kohli has given a complete detail of the
function in this issue.
The chief sponsors of the event held at India Habitat Centre were
Suhel Seth and Amrit Kiran Singh. My personal thanks to both of them
as the event of this magnitude would not have been possible without
their support. I hope that they along with the other contributories
continue to support our Founders dinner each year. It was nice having
Tanmoy Chakraborty from Calcutta who really enthused a lot of alumni
from Cal Mart to come into our fold.
There were many members of our alumni who had good things to say about
the function. There were very many who tried giving me suggestions
during the function. I requested them to give me the feedback/
suggestions in the days following the function so that I can take note
of them and try and implement them at a future date. I have not
received a single suggestion since the event! Please wake up guys and
give suggestions now and don't wait for the day of next founder's
dinner.
My biggest disappointment came at the lack of media coverage to the
event. Considering we have such an impressive list of journalists and
media personnel in our alumni list, the event was hardly covered by
the media. For future events of such importance I would request
someone to volunteer so that the event of this magnitude would get the
attention it deserves.
Please note that as usual we intend having our Founders Dinner
somewhere around 20th September (most likely date so far is 25th
September). If you do not get intimation till 15th September, do get
in touch with us.
Rohin Arora
1971-82, Cornwallis, Lucknow.
Dr Vijay Kohli's Roundup
My Dear Alumnus,
Please accept my apologies for not having got in touch with you
earlier. I do not wish to offer any excuse but take full
responsibility for the delay. Fate has offered yet another challenge
to me, that of setting up the Department of Cardiac Surgery at yet
another Hospital here. I have just joined the upcoming Sri Balaji
Action Medical Institute in Paschim Vihar, New Delhi, as the Head of
the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. This is a 700-bedded multi
speciality facility, starting initially with 400 beds. I have braced
myself up for this new and exciting challenge for which I crave for
your good wishes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Founder's Day Celebrations.
Our last OMA meeting which was held on the 20th September 2003 at the
India Habitat Centre, was a grand success, specially because we were
blessed by the presence of His Excellency, M.Girard, the ambassador of
France to India, our Chief guest M.Caillouet, Ambassador, Delegation
of the European Commission to india, who was the Guest of Honour, and
M.Jean Marie Lafont, the famous French Historian who is an authority
not only on our founder but also on Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Mme Girard
and Mme Lafont graced the occasion and M.Pascal, from the French
embassy was present as well.
The evening commenced with my welcoming all the guests after which M
Girard addressed us and expressed his happiness at being with us. He
said that he was very pleasantly surprised at the fact that the memory
of 'this extraordinary Frenchman is still alive in the hearts of many
of you'. He also informed us that one of the last articles written by
Old Martinian, Dr. I G Khan was presented in Lyon in October
2000,during an International Seminar on Claude Martin and that this
contribution is presently under publication in France. (I would like
to inform you that Dr IG Khan, a classmate of mine, is no longer with
us; he lost his life for standing up for the poor and the downtrodden,
about which I had written in our earlier newsletter)
M.Caillouet then spoke about the role being played by the European
Union towards the development of education all over the world and
mentioned about certain scholarships, which could be developed towards
this end and could be very helpful to Martinians.
Mr Gautam Kaul enlightened us about the historical facts about our
Founder's Will in fair detail in his own inimitable style. You are, of
course, aware that the Delhi OMA, was Gautam's brainchild which he has
nurtured and is now almost 25 years old! I am sure that he must be a
happy man to see his 'child' become a 'strapping adult'!
M.Lafont put forward his idea of creating a database of La Martiniere
alumni from the commencement of these schools to date, and to follow
their evolution and destiny. He suggested that this could be part of a
wide programme, which could be put up to the European Union through
M.Caillouet. He mentioned as an example about Louis Pasteur who
indirectly benefited from Claude Martin's generosity, being a student
of a school 'The Ecole de Chimie' , which had received the money sent
by Claude Martin through the Lyon Municipality.
At this juncture I would like to add that M.Lafont was recently
honoured by the French Government and awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre
National du Marite, which is the French equivalent of the British
knighthood. It was,indeed ,very gracious of him to have invited me for
the function. Our congratulations to him for this achievement!
Dr RK Pachauri then talked to us about the sad plight of our Lucknow
alma mater and stressed upon the need for the formation of a Trust for
the preservation of the school building. He reminded us that 'All his
martial deeds may die lasting still his charity' -we are all indebted
to Maj Gen Claude Martin and must help in preserving what he has
founded. Dr Pachauri told us about the report from INTACH which could
be of great help to us. He mentioned the names of the Trustees as well
as the essential concept of the Trust.
Mr Chandan Mitra spoke very eloquently about Gen Martin. You would be
aware that he was one of the first to have written a book on him,
after a painstaking and lengthy research, which had lasted almost a
year. In this context he mentioned about Jug Suraiya, the legendary
Martinian who is such a renowned journalist. Chandan also felt that
Gen Martin had given his all to India and had been instrumental in
developing education in our country and had never differentiated
between class and creed. It, therefore, behoves us to propagate his
name, and help preserve the legacy we have received from him.
Sunit Tandon then called upon Chandan, Suhel Seth, Prem Behl, Amrit
Kiran Singh and Mrs Hameeda Laljee to present mementos to our esteemed
guests. The Principal of LaMartiniere, Lucknow, Mr Elton D'souza had
very graciously sent special commemorative Plaques for Ambassador of
France and also Ambassador, Delegation of the European Commission.
Mrs Hameeda Laljee is our senior most Martinian from the Girls' School
who has always been very active. She has set an example for other lady
Martinians to follow in her footsteps. I am again requesting our lady
alumni to show more spirit and come forward. In this context I must
mention Madhu Goyal, who has been working extremely hard and we owe
her so much for her help, without which none of our functions would
ever be successful. Madhu has put down her thoughts about the Lucknow
schools in a beautiful manner, which is reproduced later in this
newsletter. In a somewhat similar vein there is a beautiful account of
old Lucknow written by Mehru Jaffer further on in this Newsletter.
Incidentally, Mehru and I were together in the Girls' School so
many ,many years back and is it is simply great to go through her
nostalgic writing.
Rohin proposed a vote of thanks to all the guests, sponsors, Suhel
Seth, Amrit Singh, BS Kohli, Saurabh Sarkar, Kevin Ireland, Prem Behl,
Kaizer Roka, Ajoy David , Anil Grover, Vikram Kaul & DD Mathur without
whose contributions we could never have had such a lovely evening. He
too had a very special 'thank you' for Madhu and for Aditi,
Nandita,Poornima & Archana who have always helped manage the reception
and welcoming all the guests. He then invited us to move over to the
dance floor and to enjoy the festivities. I would like to mention that
BS 'Mad' Kohli sent Rs 10000/-all the way from California. He and DD
Mathur had sent the money even though they knew that they would not be
present themselves! BS sent it spontaneously without being asked for
it. In this context, Suhel deserves a very special 'thank you' from
all of us. Amrit ofcourse is someone whose support we take for
granted.
This is the first time that we have organized lectures by such eminent
speakers on a Founder's Day celebration and the credit for this goes
to Rohin, who came up with this idea and to Dr R K Pachauri for his
invaluable support, help as well as in getting the glitterati to speak
on the occasion. It is a great pity that Vinod Mehta, one of the
speakers was unable to attend. Perhaps, we will get to hear him at a
later date.
I wish to express my sincere thanks to Sunit Tandon who flew down from
Mumbai (where he was working) to come for this event and to have
compered the show in his impeccable English. He is the only one who
got the pronunciation of the names of all our French guests correct!
He also needs to be thanked for his invaluable suggestions, which I
got from him time to time much before the actual event. You will be
happy to learn that he is back with us in Delhi again.
I am very happy to mention that the OMA Meeting was very well
attended , with a very good representation from the Chandigarh OMA and
we had a lot of Calcutta alumni as well. It was nice meeting friends
after such a long time. Dr Hans Nagar and Dil Raj Bakshi used to be
conspicuously absent from earlier dos but looked happy to be present
this time. Hans' brother, John was also in Delhi that day but
unfortunately could not attend. I just got to speak to him and learned
that his younger brother, Ron is now a joint secretary in a special
cell with the aviation ministry. There were many more Cal alumni which
is very good news but I feel we should have more of them joining the
fold to make it a true OMA! We missed Brig KP Singh-Deo, a Cal
stalwart as well as Dr Vijay Mallya, and Jag Suraiya who were
contacted but unable to attend. Chandan Mitra did not disappoint us,
In fact he has been a great pillar of strength for us as also Suhel
Seth who has been most magnanimous both with the lucre as well as the
Martinian spirit !
There are so many more Martinians floating around who one gets to meet
in parties and functions, like for example Rajiv Ghai and Praphul
Misra,who just have to break the ice and join the fold.
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Maj.Gen Claude Martin Memorial Trust
You will be happy to learn that the Trust has finally been registered
and we are now in the process of working out the modalities of
collection and disbursal of funds. It comprises of Dr RK
Pachauri(Chairman), Gautam Kaul, K Raghunath (Now our ambassador to
Russia), Vinod Mehta, Suhel Seth, Walter Johnson, Rohin Arora, Ambika
Srivastava, and myself, as trustees. Brig KP Sing-Deo ,Dr Vijay Mallya
and Chandan Mitra have also been invited and have in principle agreed
to be trustees. Bryan Cooke, Dr Rosie Llewellyn-Jones, Prem Behl,
Amrit Kiran Singh and Dr SK Pachauri are 'Invitee Members'. We propose
to involve the Principals of the La Martiniere Schools of Lucknow and
Calcutta also and are getting in touch with them.
In this context I think it is worthwhile apprising you about the
present state of our beloved Lucknow Boys' La Martiniere. I received a
letter from Buster MacDonald from the UK ,a copy of which he has sent
to the Chairperson UK OMA. To quote Buster, who visited the school
recently with some friends, 'The Lucknow golf course has somehow
acquired about 50% of the playing fields and some boys told me that
they were out of bounds for them. The old cricket field and athletics
track at Fairy Dale is a quagmire and grazed by herds of buffaloes
belonging I suspect to the 10-12 families who have taken up residence
there. There is a token fence about the field but the gate is open and
so many metal struts have broken that animals and people use it freely
as a short cut towards Hazratgunj. Martin Purwa and Jaimur are now
small towns and rapidly encroaching onto the campus; the edge of Purwa
is about 100 yards from the school gardens, such as they are. The
bottom of the Lat-the square plinth reached by the steps, is now so
covered in graffiti that one need not have recourse to the matrimonial
columns of the Pioneer newspaper to find out who loves whom !I hope
their love does not last as long as the etching on that lovely stone.'
Buster also mentions that he was told by the Office Manager that it
was too dangerous to go above first dorm and that 'the beautiful
stucco ceilings, particularly in the library, are in parlous state as
half the monsoons are finding a haven there.'
Buster goes on to write 'Can the various OMA's worldwide make 2004 the
year we do something for our beloved alma mater? I beg all of you so(I
type this with tears of expectancy flooding my eyes). Please, please
do something for our Founder and in doing so something for all of us
that proudly call ourselves 'Old Martinians'.
More recently, Dr Rosie Llewellyn-Jones visited La Martiniere Lucknow
in February this year. I am reproducing her e mail sent to me:
Dear Vijay,
It was good to meet you again. I am giving a brief summary of my visit
to Lucknow with regard to La Mart.
1.Meeting with Dr RS Fonia, Superintending Archaeologist, ASI at the
Baillie Guard Cottage, Lucknow. Dr Fonia has expressed his willingness
to help with technical advice on restoration of the building ,and in
fact I had arranged a meeting between him and Elton three years ago,
but nothing has come of this. Dr Fonia has made some
recommendations ,in particular ,the passages which have been stopped
up ,should be opened again ,so that the building can breathe properly
and be ventilated. He also observed that some of the boys were using
inappropriate areas as lavatories.
2.Brief meeting with Elton d'souza, Principal. Elton was in the middle
of interviewing the new intake. So we could not talk for long. He said
he had been waiting for Dr RS Fonia to give him the recipe for
preparing lime cement with which to restore the building. He said once
he had that he would get his own staff working on it. But he also said
he could not do anything unless the Trustees/Governors approved.
3.Meeting with Neeta Das, Lucknow, architect and conservationist, who
specialises in the history and restoration of Lucknow's heritage, and
who is presently teaching conservation workshops. She believes that
the La Martiniere really needs is cleaning, that the building is in
good structural condition, and that it is not necessary to spend
thousands of lakhs on restoration.
4.My observation of Gori Bibi's tomb on 13th February 2004. This
certainly needs urgent attention. Bushes are growing out of stucco at
roof level and up the steps on one side. The bushes are quite
substantial and have clearly been there for several seasons. Roots are
penetrating the stucco and will force the lakhori bricks apart if
action not taken this year, I suggest that Neeta Das be asked to
prepare an estimate for cleaning and restoration of the tomb as soon
as possible, and that if her work is found satisfactory(as I believe
it will be),then she should be asked to estimate for cleaning and
restoration of the main building.
5.People have got used to the yellow and white colour of Constantia,
but this was not its original colour. A watercolour painting by Sita
Ram, dated 1814,shows that the building was then a dazzling white,
with the British Union Jack flying above it. I personally think that
the now familiar yellow and white is preferable, but just imagine what
a spectacle Constantia would have been in the early 19th century,
gleaming white across the landscape with the fearsome red-painted
lions on top!
In conclusion,the main aim should be to break the seeming deadlock
between Elton and the Trustees/Governors,to get the Trustees to agree
to the immediate restoration of Gori Bibi's tomb,and to seek an
estimate for cleaning and restoration of the man building. I hope this
is helpful.
With kind regards,
Rosie.
I received a postscript to this letter, which goes on to say:
I also meant to mention Mr. Azeem's petition to the Trustees, which
has gone unanswered. He is very worried about encroachments on the
Martin Purwa lands, and particularly because this means the Martin
Trust is losing land and income that could be generated, if the area
was properly managed. In particular, he notes encroachments by
intruders, some of whom are cultivating land and running a school,
shops and a garage. There are also illegal dairymen on the land.
Mr Azeem is the hereditary daroga of La Martiniere, being a descendant
of one of the Qadir brothers, who were Martin's servants and stewards.
He is a direct link with the Founder, and as such, his views should be
considered, and at least his letter to the Trustees answered.
Rosie.
As I see it, we Martinians who are far away from Lucknow are closer to
it than those living in the school! It is because of this that we feel
so much for our beloved alma mater. On my last visit to the School
last year, I had tried very hard to meet the chairman of the Board of
the School, Justice Sahai but was unable to do so as he was away. I
met Elton also and tried fixing up an appointment of Dr Rosie
Llewellyn-Jones with Justice Sahai but that meeting also did not
materialise. We as responsible Martinians have to take a more active
role in getting Elton and the Trustees to see our point of view and to
somehow coax Elton to take the all-important step forward. I also wish
to point out that we Martinians are all well meaning and the Claude
Martin
Maj Gen. Claude Martin Memorial Trust comprises of Trustees and
members who are absolutely above board and taking time off from their
own vocations for the School, which they are doing only for the sole
reason that they love their school and cannot see it go to seed. I
have the utmost respect for Elton and appeal to him that the OMA as it
exists in Delhi and abroad should be looked upon as friendly
organizations by him rather than as a hindrance.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Visiting Martinians
Bryan Cooke was here from the end of December to mid March on a
teaching assignment in various parts of the country. Bryan was both a
student as well a teacher at the Boys' Mart in Lucknow and needless to
say, highly respected in school (as I gather from my older brother who
met him in Chennai as well as other senior Martinians ). Professor
Cooke developed two very important programmes at UNC in Greeley in the
US; masters in health education in 1971 and masters of public health
in 1987.He has also taught in the college of education and conducted
several summer workshops about cardiovascular health and other topics.
You will be surprised to learn that he had turned down a job at John
Hopkins!
Bryan was the first person who mooted the idea of preservation of the
school building when we met at Prem Behl's house a few years back.
Prem needs to be thanked again for organizing a grand evening at his
place where he invited some of us to meet Bryan, which was, indeed, a
great pleasure. He showed me a very nice photograph of another teacher
of mine, Sydney Ledlie, whom I have not met since leaving School but
did get the chance to speak to him many years back on one of my UK
trips. Thanks Prem, for making the meeting with Bryan possible!
Kaplesh Kumar a Martinian from Lucknow, now settled in the US was here
at the beginning of the year. We (ie Kaplesh, Brig Mehrotra and I) had
a nice quiet lunch at the India International Centre. I tried getting
Santosh Nautiyal also but unfortunately he could not make it. Santosh,
Ramesh Arora & Brig Mehrotra are batchmates. Kaplesh can be contacted
at kapk...@aol.com
Buster Macdonald and Neville Flemming from the UK were also here but
we were unable to meet.
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Incredible Claude Martin
It was very nice meeting Dr Jones in February. Her account of her
Lucknow visit has already been reproduced. Her latest book 'A Man of
the Enlightenment in Eighteenth Century India: The letters of Claude
Martin 1766-1800' has just been published. We all know about Claude
Martin being a soldier and something about his exploits in the East
India Company but that is about all we know. Because all his
possessions were sold at auction after his death in 1800, including
his library, no single collection of his letters has been passed down
to us. He had no heirs and no family to preserve them. This book has
gathered together all his known letters from different collections and
museums in France and England, including a highly important book of
letters in Persian, in the British Library. Claude Martin was a
prolific letter writer, he wrote thousands of letters from Lucknow,
his home for the last twenty-five years of his life. We have only a
tiny proportion here, 262 to be precise, although there is always the
chance that more may still be found in private collections. And what
these letters do show us, is what a polymath Martin was. He was
capable of turning his hand to anything, including fighting, land
surveying, building palaces, indigo farming, money-lending, designing
puppet theatres, using steam engines, and amassing a huge collection
of curiosities and books. Much more than a simple soldier, he was a
radical figure of the Enlightenment, that spread from England and
France in the 18th century, bringing with it new ideas and new
inventions. Martin was fascinated by the new industrial age and his
work in the nawab's Arsenal at Lucknow reflects this. The basement of
Constantia, where he is buried, has recently been found to contain
iron rods among the brickwork, one of the earliest examples of a
reinforced building in India. The translated Persian letters show him
in charge of a huge estate at Najafgarh, near Kanpur, where he
experimented with growing roses and indigo, weaving silk, and
importing new strains of cattle. Other letters describe his part in
the second Rohilla war, when he was in charge of the nawab's army, for
a brief campaign in 1794. The letters have been introduced and edited
to set them in the context of Martin's exciting life and to show that
he was much more than merely the founder of schools, but a truly
unique figure of his time. Dr Jones has really done justice to this
great man, as in her earlier books. It has been published by Permanent
Black in 2003, the book costs Rs 695, and bears a previously unknown
portrait of Martin on its cover.
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The OMA Website:
Prem Behl has just developed our website www.oldmartinians.com
It has taken a lot of hard work and it is up to us to make full use of
it. You are requested to visit it, and to register on the website. It
also has a Directory, which we need to update. Let us try to make it
more interactive and to incorporate other websites as well. We are
currently in the process of making it more informative for all
Martinians.
In case you wish to enter into a dialogue with other Martinans you can
do so by going on to oldmar...@yahoogroups.com This has been
developed by Shahab Khan and is being used very extensively by younger
alumni who exchange views from Martinians all over the globe. In fact
I have got in touch with so many through this(Tara Gupta, Sandeep
Kumar Dey, Michael Bragga, Alden Fitzgerald, Adheep Guptu ,Swapan
Guha,Ishrat Khan, Ashok Malik, Abhijit Masih etc) and get a lot of
news for example that Richard MacNamara got married on the 29th of
December 2003.Our best wishes to the newly married couple and we hope
that they lead a very happy married life.
We hope to meet again around Founder's. Until then, Au revoir.
Vive La Martiniere!
Dr Vijay Mohan Kohli
Res: A 127 Sarita Vihar
New Delhi 110 044
Ph: 91 11 2694 7407, 2694 9884
Cell: 098 100 25813
E mail: vijaymo...@yahoo.com
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"We reproduce the articles from Madhu Goyal and Mehru Jaffer with
acknowledgement to the Old Martinians Association UK Newsletter No 10"
Schools So Old, Firm and Strong
Madhu Goyal
Bless the Internet! It was instrumental in reuniting old school
friends who had lost touch with each other for nearly forty years. The
reunion took place in Delhi, where Sheila Roka (1965) and I (1967)
live. Subhadra Sharma (1965) and Geeta Chand (1966) came from
Kathmandu, Nepal; Sanyukta (Sanju) Chauhan (1966) from Chennai and
Dawn Boardman (1966) joined us all the way from Perth, Australia. Not
only were we best friends in school; we were also the very successful
basketball team of 1965 and 1966. We never lost a match in those two
years!
One outcome of this momentous meeting of old friends was a memorable
visit to our alma mater, La Martiniere Girls' School, Lucknow, as well
as to the Boys' College. It was an experience of a lifetime. Most of
us had never been back so there was much excitement, great
expectations and some apprehensions. Nonetheless the fun and laughter
began the moment we boarded the train and continued till long after
our return, four days later!
The principals of both schools were most gracious. While they welcome
visits by old students, it would be advisable to write or call ahead
for an appointment.
We went to the Boys' College first, on 13 October 2003. Bouncing
merrily along in our hired Maruti van, singing the half-remembered
songs of our schooldays, it was easy to believe we were once again in
the rickety old school bus on our way to the Boys' College for a
'social'. Lost in the past we also lost our way in the present!
Lucknow has changed a great deal since the 1960s, but the College is
well known and we were soon put on the right track, to arrive well in
time for our appointment with the Principal, Mr Elton de Souza. Our
first sight of Constantia over the treetops and there wasn't a dry eye
amongst us! We shed many tears on this trip: tears of joy, tears of
laughter and tears for our vanished youth.
The van deposited us outside Spence Hall. As we went up the steps I
could almost hear the College band striking up an old favourite, and
the 'teacher-on-duty's' warning not to dance more than two dances with
the same boy. And no 'fast' dances, please! Some girls were very shy
and often declined to get up when asked for a dance. Stranded thus on
the girls' 'side' of the hall, what was a young man to do? The bolder
ones, much to our amusement, would go nonchalantly down the line
asking each girl till one accepted. Sometimes none did. The more timid
boys had to endure their mates' teasing for the rest of the evening.
How many hearts were broken - and as quickly mended - on that dance
floor! How young and innocent we were!
From Spence Hall we made our way to the Principal's office. Elton
received us with obvious pleasure. He is an Old Martinian himself so
we felt completely at ease with him and there was much laughter and
leg pulling. He was a wonderful host and personally showed us round
the school, taking us through the labyrinthine corridors where,
surely, new boys lose their way all the time. Almost every newsletter
of every OMA has an 'Old Boy's' account of his visit to the College so
I will keep this brief. Suffice it to say that Constantia is as
impressive as ever; it quite took our breath away, as did the
magnificent
Lat and the beautiful Chapel. The more intrepid, and more agile, in
our group climbed to the very top of Constantia for a breathtaking
view of Lucknow, and, of course, no tour of the College is complete
without a visit to the crypt to pay homage to the Founder. In the
exquisite Blue Room, we admired Zoffany's famous painting of Gori
Bibi, which is reproduced in William Dalrymple's book White Mughals.
After signing the visitors' book, we trooped back to the office where
we bought as many souvenirs as our van could hold. Then Elton
presented each of us with a College calendar. Next year's calendar
(2004) will feature photographs of Constantia taken by the boys
themselves. We saw some of their work; it was of an amazingly high
standard.
Like all old buildings, Constantia, too, is showing signs of wear and
tear, but on the whole the College and grounds are well maintained.
The students we met, smartly turned out in their summer khakis, were
well-mannered, well behaved and seemed bright and happy.
Soon it was time to say goodbye. Elton saw us and our booty safely
stowed in the van, then, with directions to the junior school and
promises on both sides to stay in touch, we were off. We had spent a
good three hours with Elton, time enough to see how much he loves the
College and how seriously he takes his job. It can't be easy running
an establishment like the Boys' College in the politically charged
climate of Lucknow, but Elton is managing very well. He is a popular
principal, well liked by students and staff alike. Among the latter
are Old Girls Pammy Maclure and the exceptionally talented and
hospitable Tamanna Qureshi (1966).
Our date with the Girls' School, or College as it is now known, was
for the next morning, 14 October 2003. This time we didn't lose our
way because we had sensibly done a reconnaissance the night before.
Our excitement was palpable, and the 'do you remembers' were flying
thick and fast. Driving through the gates I caught a quick glimpse of
the stone tablet which commemorates the spot where Generals Havelock,
Outram and Sir Colin Campbell met on 17 November 1857. As our beloved
school with its turrets and battlements came into view, I had to fight
back my tears. This was the moment we had been waiting for, the real
reason for our journey to Lucknow. It was well worth it! Like a
dignified old Avadhi Begum, Kursheed Manzil stands proud and tall
amidst lovingly tended grounds, wearing its age gracefully.
We were given a warm welcome by the Principal, Mrs Farida Abraham. She
had arranged a special Assembly for us. The auditorium was under
renovation so the Assembly was held outdoors under the spreading
branches of the old neem tree, as in the days of yore when the
Assembly Hall did duty as an examination hall. The Assembly commenced
with the school prayer, followed by the school hymn Labore et
Constantia. The girls, wearing the familiar navy blue tunics and white
blouses, were a joy to behold. The choir and band - yes, they have a
band complete with a little drummer girl! - presented some socially
relevant songs. The anti-war song was especially moving. How
beautifully they sang! We were good in our time, but not this good.
The six soloists were superb. Then Subhadra and Sheila said a few
words about what each of us had gained from the school; not just book
learning but also people skills, team work, the ability to handle and
overcome difficult situations, loyalty and compassion; qualities
historians tell us our Founder, Major General Claude Martin,
possessed. The Assembly concluded with the school song, which again
had us all in tears.
After Assembly, we accompanied Mrs Abraham to Miss Gresseux's private
drawing room, now the visitors'/music room, to meet and chat with the
prefects and house captains. They are a lively bunch of girls, very
confident and self-assured but also disciplined and respectful. We
exchanged stories of our exploits and discovered to our mutual delight
that they were much alike: midnight feasts, tuck box raids, ransacking
the teachers' dining room! Mrs Abraham joined in the laughter. The
girls did not seem intimidated by her presence. She is their friend
and guide. But make no mistake, she is a disciplinarian and they
respect her for it.
Next on the agenda was a tour of the school. To accommodate the
growing number of students, new classrooms have been built behind the
old music rooms/prep classrooms (now the Gandhi Corner). But the
beautiful view of the main school remains unchanged. The amenities in
the new buildings include a very modern computer lab and an art
studio. I was absolutely amazed by the talent displayed by these young
artists. The new library has more than 3,000 books, videos, CDs and
audiocassettes, and cataloguing is completely computerized. To the
right of the old badminton court, which is now a tennis court, is the
science block with its up-to-date chemistry, biology and physics labs.
La Martiniere Girls', Lucknow, is the only school in India with its
own biotech lab. The lab has been designed to give the students a head
start in the fast-emerging and important field of genetics.
We looked for the swings in the playground near the badminton court
but they are gone, shifted elsewhere: the merry-go-round, the Jungle
Jim, the monkey ladder, the ocean wave … Gone, too, are the little
boys spinning their tops or playing marbles or teasing the little
girls or simply punching each other for lack of a more industrious
pastime; gone for ever from the 'Dames' Mart'.
The old Assembly Hall has been converted into a dance studio where
classical Indian dance is taught during school hours. In the evenings,
it serves as a recreation hall for the boarders. The boys' dorm is now
the 'baby' dorm. The swimming pool looks grand, blue and clean, the
basketball court where we shed so much of our blood, sweat and tears
is always busy, and Miss Gresseux's gardens are as beautiful as they
were in our time. There are even some geese about, but they are
confined to the garden unlike the ones that used to chase us outside
the dressing rooms!
Miss Gresseux's bedroom, the sanctum sanctorum, is used as a storeroom
for confidential files and papers. The principal's office remains much
the same but entry for all is from what was once Class XI and is now
an office-cum-waiting room. The Study Hall hasn't changed at all. The
Dining Hall (including the teachers') also looks the same, though the
food has improved! There is a new, modern kitchen closer to the
pantry. Remember the green breadbox we used to raid? It is still
there, not in the pantry but in the kitchen. A second computer lab
occupies the old library. The hospital has been rebuilt and includes
an isolation ward. To the rear of the hospital are married quarters
for the Principal and the school nurse, a fully qualified Nursing
Sister.
The teachers' rooms and student dorms are exactly as we remembered
them, right down to the end-to-end steel wires for our mosquito nets!
Sitting on 'my' bed in the senior dorm, I wondered about our old
friends the ghosts: the lady in grey who used to haunt the dorms on
dark, moonless nights; the unseen 'thing' clanking its chains up the
stairs! Certainly, even today, the girls will not go to the loo in the
turret at the far end of the terrace alone at night for fear of
running into 'something'. They believe, as we did, there is safety in
numbers! And the famous 'haunted' turret room stands vacant as no
teacher is willing to occupy it.
Tired but happy we returned to the drawing room for a sumptuous tea
the likes of which boarders everywhere can only dream about. Joining
us were all the teachers - and there are many - who are alumni of the
College, like the delightful Mauveen Shaw (1962), and my classmate,
Benu Paul (1967). We were thrilled to meet our English and P.T.
teacher, Mrs Maclure. Though she retired some years ago, she is still
actively involved with the school. We met many of the other teachers
as well. All are highly qualified and, what is very important,
computer literate, an invaluable asset these days. After tea, Mrs
Abraham invited us to sign the visitors' book, an honour indeed. Did
we feel Miss Gresseux's and Mrs Hollow's presence? I believe we did. I
also believe that they are proud of their school.
Mrs Abraham is trying, and succeeding, to instill a social conscience
in her young charges. Members of the Gandhi Corner do community
service among Lucknow's underprivileged. There is also a nature club
called PALS - Protection of Animals and the Surroundings - and members
do their utmost to live up to its motto: 'Save Nature Save the Earth'.
She recently inaugurated the Tranquillity or Meditation Centre, where
students and staff can go for some quiet time if they wish. The old
science room behind the tuck room has been converted into a prayer
room for all faiths. The school regularly participates in state and
national level competitions in sports, debating and choir singing, and
maths and quiz contests. This holistic, all-round approach to
education with its stress on extra- and co-curricular activities,
together with a sound value system, is preparing the students to hold
their own in today's fiercely competitive world without sacrificing
their principles.
Later that afternoon, the more optimistic in our group - Sheila, Sanju
and Geeta - returned to pit their skills against the school basketball
team. After fifteen minutes of enthusiastic play, our ageing heroines
ran out of steam but the score was even. Not bad for fifty-somethings
who hadn't been near a basketball court in decades! But I can't help
feeling the youngsters were being kind and maybe held back just a
little!
What a lovely, satisfying day, filled with nostalgia and a sense of
déjà vu. More than anything, we felt we had come home. For one brief
moment we were schoolgirls again, with not a care in the world save
waiting for the sound of the dinner gong or wondering what to wear to
the next social at the Boys' College!
Our visit must have disrupted Mrs Abraham's schedule but she seemed
genuinely pleased to have us there, patiently answering our
innumerable questions. We were deeply touched by her warmth and
thoughtfulness. She is a remarkable lady, very progressive and forward-
looking, yet she has retained many of the old traditions so dear to
us. She has succeeded in making La Martniere Girls' College one of the
best girls' schools in the country. If I had a daughter, I would be
proud to send her there.
We went to Lucknow to revive old memories and came away with a bagful
of new ones: of the warmth and kindness of strangers; of old friends
rediscovered; of two well-loved schools standing firm and strong; of
bright, confident young girls and boys; and of two principals working
hard to maintain the high standards for which the La Martiniere
schools are renowned.
There is talk of collecting funds to restore Constantia to its former
glory, a welcome move certainly; but let us not forget that the other
three La Martiniere school buildings, beautiful in their own way, are
also old and in need of repair. For example, all the woodwork in
Kursheed Manzil is infested by termites and needs to be replaced. This
is being done but progress is slow because funds are scarce. I hope
the Claude Martin Memorial Trust will look after the interests of all
four schools.
Memorial trust' is now a reality as it was registered on 26th February
2004 under the Chairmanship of Dr R K Pachauri.
The main object of the Trust is to 'Maintain and preserve the
buildings and educational institutions built by Maj Gen Claude
Martin.' So the emphasis would be to preserve all buildings built by
our founder with 'Constantia' being the pilot project.
Not many institutions in the country have so much history attached to
them as LaMartiniere schools. It is the duty of the alumni of these
schools to ensure that the buildings of these institutions are
preserved and these institutes remain the top centers for learning in
the country.
We have recently read in the papers the contribution of alumni in
providing BITS Pilani with crores to get the institute a state of the
art technical Library. We have read Rs 25 crores being contributed by
Infosys CEO for the state of the Art hostel for IIT-Powai. We keep
hearing about alumni of other schools helping their alma mater. In
fact I must mention that a friend of mine, who has studied from St.
Columba's Delhi, and his classmates collected money from amongst their
batch-mates and have come up with a swanky laboratory for the school.
The amazing part was that this was just one batch which collected
lakhs !! It is time that we, the alumni of LaMartiniere Schools
actually start doing something for the schools. The formation of the
Trust is just the first step towards achieving this.
Though the Trustees would shortly be meeting to finalise the plan of
action, I would like to appeal all Old Martinians to start
'networking' and come up with some concrete results so that the
objectives of the Trust are met. All ideas and concrete suggestions
are welcome. We would soon be embarking on a project to make a
worldwide directory of Old Martinians so that each and every
Martinaian could be approached to help the schools.
The Founders day celebration during September 2003 was a grand
success. The seminar was an idea, which I had been working on since a
couple of years. Dr Vijay Kohli has given a complete detail of the
function in this issue.
The chief sponsors of the event held at India Habitat Centre were
Suhel Seth and Amrit Kiran Singh. My personal thanks to both of them
as the event of this magnitude would not have been possible without
their support. I hope that they along with the other contributories
continue to support our Founders dinner each year. It was nice having
Tanmoy Chakraborty from Calcutta who really enthused a lot of alumni
from Cal Mart to come into our fold.
There were many members of our alumni who had good things to say about
the function. There were very many who tried giving me suggestions
during the function. I requested them to give me the feedback/
suggestions in the days following the function so that I can take note
of them and try and implement them at a future date. I have not
received a single suggestion since the event! Please wake up guys and
give suggestions now and don't wait for the day of next founder's
dinner.
My biggest disappointment came at the lack of media coverage to the
event. Considering we have such an impressive list of journalists and
media personnel in our alumni list, the event was hardly covered by
the media. For future events of such importance I would request
someone to volunteer so that the event of this magnitude would get the
attention it deserves.
Please note that as usual we intend having our Founders Dinner
somewhere around 20th September (most likely date so far is 25th
September). If you do not get intimation till 15th September, do get
in touch with us.
Rohin Arora
1971-82, Cornwallis, Lucknow.
Dr Vijay Kohli's Roundup
My Dear Alumnus,
Please accept my apologies for not having got in touch with you
earlier. I do not wish to offer any excuse but take full
responsibility for the delay. Fate has offered yet another challenge
to me, that of setting up the Department of Cardiac Surgery at yet
another Hospital here. I have just joined the upcoming Sri Balaji
Action Medical Institute in Paschim Vihar, New Delhi, as the Head of
the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. This is a 700-bedded multi
speciality facility, starting initially with 400 beds. I have braced
myself up for this new and exciting challenge for which I crave for
your good wishes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Founder's Day Celebrations.
Our last OMA meeting which was held on the 20th September 2003 at the
India Habitat Centre, was a grand success, specially because we were
blessed by the presence of His Excellency, M.Girard, the ambassador of
France to India, our Chief guest M.Caillouet, Ambassador, Delegation
of the European Commission to india, who was the Guest of Honour, and
M.Jean Marie Lafont, the famous French Historian who is an authority
not only on our founder but also on Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Mme Girard
and Mme Lafont graced the occasion and M.Pascal, from the French
embassy was present as well.
The evening commenced with my welcoming all the guests after which M
Girard addressed us and expressed his happiness at being with us. He
said that he was very pleasantly surprised at the fact that the memory
of 'this extraordinary Frenchman is still alive in the hearts of many
of you'. He also informed us that one of the last articles written by
Old Martinian, Dr. I G Khan was presented in Lyon in October
2000,during an International Seminar on Claude Martin and that this
contribution is presently under publication in France. (I would like
to inform you that Dr IG Khan, a classmate of mine, is no longer with
us; he lost his life for standing up for the poor and the downtrodden,
about which I had written in our earlier newsletter)
M.Caillouet then spoke about the role being played by the European
Union towards the development of education all over the world and
mentioned about certain scholarships, which could be developed towards
this end and could be very helpful to Martinians.
Mr Gautam Kaul enlightened us about the historical facts about our
Founder's Will in fair detail in his own inimitable style. You are, of
course, aware that the Delhi OMA, was Gautam's brainchild which he has
nurtured and is now almost 25 years old! I am sure that he must be a
happy man to see his 'child' become a 'strapping adult'!
M.Lafont put forward his idea of creating a database of La Martiniere
alumni from the commencement of these schools to date, and to follow
their evolution and destiny. He suggested that this could be part of a
wide programme, which could be put up to the European Union through
M.Caillouet. He mentioned as an example about Louis Pasteur who
indirectly benefited from Claude Martin's generosity, being a student
of a school 'The Ecole de Chimie' , which had received the money sent
by Claude Martin through the Lyon Municipality.
At this juncture I would like to add that M.Lafont was recently
honoured by the French Government and awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre
National du Marite, which is the French equivalent of the British
knighthood. It was,indeed ,very gracious of him to have invited me for
the function. Our congratulations to him for this achievement!
Dr RK Pachauri then talked to us about the sad plight of our Lucknow
alma mater and stressed upon the need for the formation of a Trust for
the preservation of the school building. He reminded us that 'All his
martial deeds may die lasting still his charity' -we are all indebted
to Maj Gen Claude Martin and must help in preserving what he has
founded. Dr Pachauri told us about the report from INTACH which could
be of great help to us. He mentioned the names of the Trustees as well
as the essential concept of the Trust.
Mr Chandan Mitra spoke very eloquently about Gen Martin. You would be
aware that he was one of the first to have written a book on him,
after a painstaking and lengthy research, which had lasted almost a
year. In this context he mentioned about Jug Suraiya, the legendary
Martinian who is such a renowned journalist. Chandan also felt that
Gen Martin had given his all to India and had been instrumental in
developing education in our country and had never differentiated
between class and creed. It, therefore, behoves us to propagate his
name, and help preserve the legacy we have received from him.
Sunit Tandon then called upon Chandan, Suhel Seth, Prem Behl, Amrit
Kiran Singh and Mrs Hameeda Laljee to present mementos to our esteemed
guests. The Principal of LaMartiniere, Lucknow, Mr Elton D'souza had
very graciously sent special commemorative Plaques for Ambassador of
France and also Ambassador, Delegation of the European Commission.
Mrs Hameeda Laljee is our senior most Martinian from the Girls' School
who has always been very active. She has set an example for other lady
Martinians to follow in her footsteps. I am again requesting our lady
alumni to show more spirit and come forward. In this context I must
mention Madhu Goyal, who has been working extremely hard and we owe
her so much for her help, without which none of our functions would
ever be successful. Madhu has put down her thoughts about the Lucknow
schools in a beautiful manner, which is reproduced later in this
newsletter. In a somewhat similar vein there is a beautiful account of
old Lucknow written by Mehru Jaffer further on in this Newsletter.
Incidentally, Mehru and I were together in the Girls' School so
many ,many years back and is it is simply great to go through her
nostalgic writing.
Rohin proposed a vote of thanks to all the guests, sponsors, Suhel
Seth, Amrit Singh, BS Kohli, Saurabh Sarkar, Kevin Ireland, Prem Behl,
Kaizer Roka, Ajoy David , Anil Grover, Vikram Kaul & DD Mathur without
whose contributions we could never have had such a lovely evening. He
too had a very special 'thank you' for Madhu and for Aditi,
Nandita,Poornima & Archana who have always helped manage the reception
and welcoming all the guests. He then invited us to move over to the
dance floor and to enjoy the festivities. I would like to mention that
BS 'Mad' Kohli sent Rs 10000/-all the way from California. He and DD
Mathur had sent the money even though they knew that they would not be
present themselves! BS sent it spontaneously without being asked for
it. In this context, Suhel deserves a very special 'thank you' from
all of us. Amrit ofcourse is someone whose support we take for
granted.
This is the first time that we have organized lectures by such eminent
speakers on a Founder's Day celebration and the credit for this goes
to Rohin, who came up with this idea and to Dr R K Pachauri for his
invaluable support, help as well as in getting the glitterati to speak
on the occasion. It is a great pity that Vinod Mehta, one of the
speakers was unable to attend. Perhaps, we will get to hear him at a
later date.
I wish to express my sincere thanks to Sunit Tandon who flew down from
Mumbai (where he was working) to come for this event and to have
compered the show in his impeccable English. He is the only one who
got the pronunciation of the names of all our French guests correct!
He also needs to be thanked for his invaluable suggestions, which I
got from him time to time much before the actual event. You will be
happy to learn that he is back with us in Delhi again.
I am very happy to mention that the OMA Meeting was very well
attended , with a very good representation from the Chandigarh OMA and
we had a lot of Calcutta alumni as well. It was nice meeting friends
after such a long time. Dr Hans Nagar and Dil Raj Bakshi used to be
conspicuously absent from earlier dos but looked happy to be present
this time. Hans' brother, John was also in Delhi that day but
unfortunately could not attend. I just got to speak to him and learned
that his younger brother, Ron is now a joint secretary in a special
cell with the aviation ministry. There were many more Cal alumni which
is very good news but I feel we should have more of them joining the
fold to make it a true OMA! We missed Brig KP Singh-Deo, a Cal
stalwart as well as Dr Vijay Mallya, and Jag Suraiya who were
contacted but unable to attend. Chandan Mitra did not disappoint us,
In fact he has been a great pillar of strength for us as also Suhel
Seth who has been most magnanimous both with the lucre as well as the
Martinian spirit !
There are so many more Martinians floating around who one gets to meet
in parties and functions, like for example Rajiv Ghai and Praphul
Misra,who just have to break the ice and join the fold.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maj.Gen Claude Martin Memorial Trust
You will be happy to learn that the Trust has finally been registered
and we are now in the process of working out the modalities of
collection and disbursal of funds. It comprises of Dr RK
Pachauri(Chairman), Gautam Kaul, K Raghunath (Now our ambassador to
Russia), Vinod Mehta, Suhel Seth, Walter Johnson, Rohin Arora, Ambika
Srivastava, and myself, as trustees. Brig KP Sing-Deo ,Dr Vijay Mallya
and Chandan Mitra have also been invited and have in principle agreed
to be trustees. Bryan Cooke, Dr Rosie Llewellyn-Jones, Prem Behl,
Amrit Kiran Singh and Dr SK Pachauri are 'Invitee Members'. We propose
to involve the Principals of the La Martiniere Schools of Lucknow and
Calcutta also and are getting in touch with them.
In this context I think it is worthwhile apprising you about the
present state of our beloved Lucknow Boys' La Martiniere. I received a
letter from Buster MacDonald from the UK ,a copy of which he has sent
to the Chairperson UK OMA. To quote Buster, who visited the school
recently with some friends, 'The Lucknow golf course has somehow
acquired about 50% of the playing fields and some boys told me that
they were out of bounds for them. The old cricket field and athletics
track at Fairy Dale is a quagmire and grazed by herds of buffaloes
belonging I suspect to the 10-12 families who have taken up residence
there. There is a token fence about the field but the gate is open and
so many metal struts have broken that animals and people use it freely
as a short cut towards Hazratgunj. Martin Purwa and Jaimur are now
small towns and rapidly encroaching onto the campus; the edge of Purwa
is about 100 yards from the school gardens, such as they are. The
bottom of the Lat-the square plinth reached by the steps, is now so
covered in graffiti that one need not have recourse to the matrimonial
columns of the Pioneer newspaper to find out who loves whom !I hope
their love does not last as long as the etching on that lovely stone.'
Buster also mentions that he was told by the Office Manager that it
was too dangerous to go above first dorm and that 'the beautiful
stucco ceilings, particularly in the library, are in parlous state as
half the monsoons are finding a haven there.'
Buster goes on to write 'Can the various OMA's worldwide make 2004 the
year we do something for our beloved alma mater? I beg all of you so(I
type this with tears of expectancy flooding my eyes). Please, please
do something for our Founder and in doing so something for all of us
that proudly call ourselves 'Old Martinians'.
More recently, Dr Rosie Llewellyn-Jones visited La Martiniere Lucknow
in February this year. I am reproducing her e mail sent to me:
Dear Vijay,
It was good to meet you again. I am giving a brief summary of my visit
to Lucknow with regard to La Mart.
1.Meeting with Dr RS Fonia, Superintending Archaeologist, ASI at the
Baillie Guard Cottage, Lucknow. Dr Fonia has expressed his willingness
to help with technical advice on restoration of the building ,and in
fact I had arranged a meeting between him and Elton three years ago,
but nothing has come of this. Dr Fonia has made some
recommendations ,in particular ,the passages which have been stopped
up ,should be opened again ,so that the building can breathe properly
and be ventilated. He also observed that some of the boys were using
inappropriate areas as lavatories.
2.Brief meeting with Elton d'souza, Principal. Elton was in the middle
of interviewing the new intake. So we could not talk for long. He said
he had been waiting for Dr RS Fonia to give him the recipe for
preparing lime cement with which to restore the building. He said once
he had that he would get his own staff working on it. But he also said
he could not do anything unless the Trustees/Governors approved.
3.Meeting with Neeta Das, Lucknow, architect and conservationist, who
specialises in the history and restoration of Lucknow's heritage, and
who is presently teaching conservation workshops. She believes that
the La Martiniere really needs is cleaning, that the building is in
good structural condition, and that it is not necessary to spend
thousands of lakhs on restoration.
4.My observation of Gori Bibi's tomb on 13th February 2004. This
certainly needs urgent attention. Bushes are growing out of stucco at
roof level and up the steps on one side. The bushes are quite
substantial and have clearly been there for several seasons. Roots are
penetrating the stucco and will force the lakhori bricks apart if
action not taken this year, I suggest that Neeta Das be asked to
prepare an estimate for cleaning and restoration of the tomb as soon
as possible, and that if her work is found satisfactory(as I believe
it will be),then she should be asked to estimate for cleaning and
restoration of the main building.
5.People have got used to the yellow and white colour of Constantia,
but this was not its original colour. A watercolour painting by Sita
Ram, dated 1814,shows that the building was then a dazzling white,
with the British Union Jack flying above it. I personally think that
the now familiar yellow and white is preferable, but just imagine what
a spectacle Constantia would have been in the early 19th century,
gleaming white across the landscape with the fearsome red-painted
lions on top!
In conclusion,the main aim should be to break the seeming deadlock
between Elton and the Trustees/Governors,to get the Trustees to agree
to the immediate restoration of Gori Bibi's tomb,and to seek an
estimate for cleaning and restoration of the man building. I hope this
is helpful.
With kind regards,
Rosie.
I received a postscript to this letter, which goes on to say:
I also meant to mention Mr. Azeem's petition to the Trustees, which
has gone unanswered. He is very worried about encroachments on the
Martin Purwa lands, and particularly because this means the Martin
Trust is losing land and income that could be generated, if the area
was properly managed. In particular, he notes encroachments by
intruders, some of whom are cultivating land and running a school,
shops and a garage. There are also illegal dairymen on the land.
Mr Azeem is the hereditary daroga of La Martiniere, being a descendant
of one of the Qadir brothers, who were Martin's servants and stewards.
He is a direct link with the Founder, and as such, his views should be
considered, and at least his letter to the Trustees answered.
Rosie.
As I see it, we Martinians who are far away from Lucknow are closer to
it than those living in the school! It is because of this that we feel
so much for our beloved alma mater. On my last visit to the School
last year, I had tried very hard to meet the chairman of the Board of
the School, Justice Sahai but was unable to do so as he was away. I
met Elton also and tried fixing up an appointment of Dr Rosie
Llewellyn-Jones with Justice Sahai but that meeting also did not
materialise. We as responsible Martinians have to take a more active
role in getting Elton and the Trustees to see our point of view and to
somehow coax Elton to take the all-important step forward. I also wish
to point out that we Martinians are all well meaning and the Claude
Martin
Maj Gen. Claude Martin Memorial Trust comprises of Trustees and
members who are absolutely above board and taking time off from their
own vocations for the School, which they are doing only for the sole
reason that they love their school and cannot see it go to seed. I
have the utmost respect for Elton and appeal to him that the OMA as it
exists in Delhi and abroad should be looked upon as friendly
organizations by him rather than as a hindrance.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Visiting Martinians
Bryan Cooke was here from the end of December to mid March on a
teaching assignment in various parts of the country. Bryan was both a
student as well a teacher at the Boys' Mart in Lucknow and needless to
say, highly respected in school (as I gather from my older brother who
met him in Chennai as well as other senior Martinians ). Professor
Cooke developed two very important programmes at UNC in Greeley in the
US; masters in health education in 1971 and masters of public health
in 1987.He has also taught in the college of education and conducted
several summer workshops about cardiovascular health and other topics.
You will be surprised to learn that he had turned down a job at John
Hopkins!
Bryan was the first person who mooted the idea of preservation of the
school building when we met at Prem Behl's house a few years back.
Prem needs to be thanked again for organizing a grand evening at his
place where he invited some of us to meet Bryan, which was, indeed, a
great pleasure. He showed me a very nice photograph of another teacher
of mine, Sydney Ledlie, whom I have not met since leaving School but
did get the chance to speak to him many years back on one of my UK
trips. Thanks Prem, for making the meeting with Bryan possible!
Kaplesh Kumar a Martinian from Lucknow, now settled in the US was here
at the beginning of the year. We (ie Kaplesh, Brig Mehrotra and I) had
a nice quiet lunch at the India International Centre. I tried getting
Santosh Nautiyal also but unfortunately he could not make it. Santosh,
Ramesh Arora & Brig Mehrotra are batchmates. Kaplesh can be contacted
at kapk...@aol.com
Buster Macdonald and Neville Flemming from the UK were also here but
we were unable to meet.
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Incredible Claude Martin
It was very nice meeting Dr Jones in February. Her account of her
Lucknow visit has already been reproduced. Her latest book 'A Man of
the Enlightenment in Eighteenth Century India: The letters of Claude
Martin 1766-1800' has just been published. We all know about Claude
Martin being a soldier and something about his exploits in the East
India Company but that is about all we know. Because all his
possessions were sold at auction after his death in 1800, including
his library, no single collection of his letters has been passed down
to us. He had no heirs and no family to preserve them. This book has
gathered together all his known letters from different collections and
museums in France and England, including a highly important book of
letters in Persian, in the British Library. Claude Martin was a
prolific letter writer, he wrote thousands of letters from Lucknow,
his home for the last twenty-five years of his life. We have only a
tiny proportion here, 262 to be precise, although there is always the
chance that more may still be found in private collections. And what
these letters do show us, is what a polymath Martin was. He was
capable of turning his hand to anything, including fighting, land
surveying, building palaces, indigo farming, money-lending, designing
puppet theatres, using steam engines, and amassing a huge collection
of curiosities and books. Much more than a simple soldier, he was a
radical figure of the Enlightenment, that spread from England and
France in the 18th century, bringing with it new ideas and new
inventions. Martin was fascinated by the new industrial age and his
work in the nawab's Arsenal at Lucknow reflects this. The basement of
Constantia, where he is buried, has recently been found to contain
iron rods among the brickwork, one of the earliest examples of a
reinforced building in India. The translated Persian letters show him
in charge of a huge estate at Najafgarh, near Kanpur, where he
experimented with growing roses and indigo, weaving silk, and
importing new strains of cattle. Other letters describe his part in
the second Rohilla war, when he was in charge of the nawab's army, for
a brief campaign in 1794. The letters have been introduced and edited
to set them in the context of Martin's exciting life and to show that
he was much more than merely the founder of schools, but a truly
unique figure of his time. Dr Jones has really done justice to this
great man, as in her earlier books. It has been published by Permanent
Black in 2003, the book costs Rs 695, and bears a previously unknown
portrait of Martin on its cover.
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The OMA Website:
Prem Behl has just developed our website www.oldmartinians.com
It has taken a lot of hard work and it is up to us to make full use of
it. You are requested to visit it, and to register on the website. It
also has a Directory, which we need to update. Let us try to make it
more interactive and to incorporate other websites as well. We are
currently in the process of making it more informative for all
Martinians.
In case you wish to enter into a dialogue with other Martinans you can
do so by going on to oldmar...@yahoogroups.com This has been
developed by Shahab Khan and is being used very extensively by younger
alumni who exchange views from Martinians all over the globe. In fact
I have got in touch with so many through this(Tara Gupta, Sandeep
Kumar Dey, Michael Bragga, Alden Fitzgerald, Adheep Guptu ,Swapan
Guha,Ishrat Khan, Ashok Malik, Abhijit Masih etc) and get a lot of
news for example that Richard MacNamara got married on the 29th of
December 2003.Our best wishes to the newly married couple and we hope
that they lead a very happy married life.
We hope to meet again around Founder's. Until then, Au revoir.
Vive La Martiniere!
Dr Vijay Mohan Kohli
Res: A 127 Sarita Vihar
New Delhi 110 044
Ph: 91 11 2694 7407, 2694 9884
Cell: 098 100 25813
E mail: vijaymo...@yahoo.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"We reproduce the articles from Madhu Goyal and Mehru Jaffer with
acknowledgement to the Old Martinians Association UK Newsletter No 10"
Schools So Old, Firm and Strong
Madhu Goyal
Bless the Internet! It was instrumental in reuniting old school
friends who had lost touch with each other for nearly forty years. The
reunion took place in Delhi, where Sheila Roka (1965) and I (1967)
live. Subhadra Sharma (1965) and Geeta Chand (1966) came from
Kathmandu, Nepal; Sanyukta (Sanju) Chauhan (1966) from Chennai and
Dawn Boardman (1966) joined us all the way from Perth, Australia. Not
only were we best friends in school; we were also the very successful
basketball team of 1965 and 1966. We never lost a match in those two
years!
One outcome of this momentous meeting of old friends was a memorable
visit to our alma mater, La Martiniere Girls' School, Lucknow, as well
as to the Boys' College. It was an experience of a lifetime. Most of
us had never been back so there was much excitement, great
expectations and some apprehensions. Nonetheless the fun and laughter
began the moment we boarded the train and continued till long after
our return, four days later!
The principals of both schools were most gracious. While they welcome
visits by old students, it would be advisable to write or call ahead
for an appointment.
We went to the Boys' College first, on 13 October 2003. Bouncing
merrily along in our hired Maruti van, singing the half-remembered
songs of our schooldays, it was easy to believe we were once again in
the rickety old school bus on our way to the Boys' College for a
'social'. Lost in the past we also lost our way in the present!
Lucknow has changed a great deal since the 1960s, but the College is
well known and we were soon put on the right track, to arrive well in
time for our appointment with the Principal, Mr Elton de Souza. Our
first sight of Constantia over the treetops and there wasn't a dry eye
amongst us! We shed many tears on this trip: tears of joy, tears of
laughter and tears for our vanished youth.
The van deposited us outside Spence Hall. As we went up the steps I
could almost hear the College band striking up an old favourite, and
the 'teacher-on-duty's' warning not to dance more than two dances with
the same boy. And no 'fast' dances, please! Some girls were very shy
and often declined to get up when asked for a dance. Stranded thus on
the girls' 'side' of the hall, what was a young man to do? The bolder
ones, much to our amusement, would go nonchalantly down the line
asking each girl till one accepted. Sometimes none did. The more timid
boys had to endure their mates' teasing for the rest of the evening.
How many hearts were broken - and as quickly mended - on that dance
floor! How young and innocent we were!
From Spence Hall we made our way to the Principal's office. Elton
received us with obvious pleasure. He is an Old Martinian himself so
we felt completely at ease with him and there was much laughter and
leg pulling. He was a wonderful host and personally showed us round
the school, taking us through the labyrinthine corridors where,
surely, new boys lose their way all the time. Almost every newsletter
of every OMA has an 'Old Boy's' account of his visit to the College so
I will keep this brief. Suffice it to say that Constantia is as
impressive as ever; it quite took our breath away, as did the
magnificent
Lat and the beautiful Chapel. The more intrepid, and more agile, in
our group climbed to the very top of Constantia for a breathtaking
view of Lucknow, and, of course, no tour of the College is complete
without a visit to the crypt to pay homage to the Founder. In the
exquisite Blue Room, we admired Zoffany's famous painting of Gori
Bibi, which is reproduced in William Dalrymple's book White Mughals.
After signing the visitors' book, we trooped back to the office where
we bought as many souvenirs as our van could hold. Then Elton
presented each of us with a College calendar. Next year's calendar
(2004) will feature photographs of Constantia taken by the boys
themselves. We saw some of their work; it was of an amazingly high
standard.
Like all old buildings, Constantia, too, is showing signs of wear and
tear, but on the whole the College and grounds are well maintained.
The students we met, smartly turned out in their summer khakis, were
well-mannered, well behaved and seemed bright and happy.
Soon it was time to say goodbye. Elton saw us and our booty safely
stowed in the van, then, with directions to the junior school and
promises on both sides to stay in touch, we were off. We had spent a
good three hours with Elton, time enough to see how much he loves the
College and how seriously he takes his job. It can't be easy running
an establishment like the Boys' College in the politically charged
climate of Lucknow, but Elton is managing very well. He is a popular
principal, well liked by students and staff alike. Among the latter
are Old Girls Pammy Maclure and the exceptionally talented and
hospitable Tamanna Qureshi (1966).
Our date with the Girls' School, or College as it is now known, was
for the next morning, 14 October 2003. This time we didn't lose our
way because we had sensibly done a reconnaissance the night before.
Our excitement was palpable, and the 'do you remembers' were flying
thick and fast. Driving through the gates I caught a quick glimpse of
the stone tablet which commemorates the spot where Generals Havelock,
Outram and Sir Colin Campbell met on 17 November 1857. As our beloved
school with its turrets and battlements came into view, I had to fight
back my tears. This was the moment we had been waiting for, the real
reason for our journey to Lucknow. It was well worth it! Like a
dignified old Avadhi Begum, Kursheed Manzil stands proud and tall
amidst lovingly tended grounds, wearing its age gracefully.
We were given a warm welcome by the Principal, Mrs Farida Abraham. She
had arranged a special Assembly for us. The auditorium was under
renovation so the Assembly was held outdoors under the spreading
branches of the old neem tree, as in the days of yore when the
Assembly Hall did duty as an examination hall. The Assembly commenced
with the school prayer, followed by the school hymn Labore et
Constantia. The girls, wearing the familiar navy blue tunics and white
blouses, were a joy to behold. The choir and band - yes, they have a
band complete with a little drummer girl! - presented some socially
relevant songs. The anti-war song was especially moving. How
beautifully they sang! We were good in our time, but not this good.
The six soloists were superb. Then Subhadra and Sheila said a few
words about what each of us had gained from the school; not just book
learning but also people skills, team work, the ability to handle and
overcome difficult situations, loyalty and compassion; qualities
historians tell us our Founder, Major General Claude Martin,
possessed. The Assembly concluded with the school song, which again
had us all in tears.
After Assembly, we accompanied Mrs Abraham to Miss Gresseux's private
drawing room, now the visitors'/music room, to meet and chat with the
prefects and house captains. They are a lively bunch of girls, very
confident and self-assured but also disciplined and respectful. We
exchanged stories of our exploits and discovered to our mutual delight
that they were much alike: midnight feasts, tuck box raids, ransacking
the teachers' dining room! Mrs Abraham joined in the laughter. The
girls did not seem intimidated by her presence. She is their friend
and guide. But make no mistake, she is a disciplinarian and they
respect her for it.
Next on the agenda was a tour of the school. To accommodate the
growing number of students, new classrooms have been built behind the
old music rooms/prep classrooms (now the Gandhi Corner). But the
beautiful view of the main school remains unchanged. The amenities in
the new buildings include a very modern computer lab and an art
studio. I was absolutely amazed by the talent displayed by these young
artists. The new library has more than 3,000 books, videos, CDs and
audiocassettes, and cataloguing is completely computerized. To the
right of the old badminton court, which is now a tennis court, is the
science block with its up-to-date chemistry, biology and physics labs.
La Martiniere Girls', Lucknow, is the only school in India with its
own biotech lab. The lab has been designed to give the students a head
start in the fast-emerging and important field of genetics.
We looked for the swings in the playground near the badminton court
but they are gone, shifted elsewhere: the merry-go-round, the Jungle
Jim, the monkey ladder, the ocean wave … Gone, too, are the little
boys spinning their tops or playing marbles or teasing the little
girls or simply punching each other for lack of a more industrious
pastime; gone for ever from the 'Dames' Mart'.
The old Assembly Hall has been converted into a dance studio where
classical Indian dance is taught during school hours. In the evenings,
it serves as a recreation hall for the boarders. The boys' dorm is now
the 'baby' dorm. The swimming pool looks grand, blue and clean, the
basketball court where we shed so much of our blood, sweat and tears
is always busy, and Miss Gresseux's gardens are as beautiful as they
were in our time. There are even some geese about, but they are
confined to the garden unlike the ones that used to chase us outside
the dressing rooms!
Miss Gresseux's bedroom, the sanctum sanctorum, is used as a storeroom
for confidential files and papers. The principal's office remains much
the same but entry for all is from what was once Class XI and is now
an office-cum-waiting room. The Study Hall hasn't changed at all. The
Dining Hall (including the teachers') also looks the same, though the
food has improved! There is a new, modern kitchen closer to the
pantry. Remember the green breadbox we used to raid? It is still
there, not in the pantry but in the kitchen. A second computer lab
occupies the old library. The hospital has been rebuilt and includes
an isolation ward. To the rear of the hospital are married quarters
for the Principal and the school nurse, a fully qualified Nursing
Sister.
The teachers' rooms and student dorms are exactly as we remembered
them, right down to the end-to-end steel wires for our mosquito nets!
Sitting on 'my' bed in the senior dorm, I wondered about our old
friends the ghosts: the lady in grey who used to haunt the dorms on
dark, moonless nights; the unseen 'thing' clanking its chains up the
stairs! Certainly, even today, the girls will not go to the loo in the
turret at the far end of the terrace alone at night for fear of
running into 'something'. They believe, as we did, there is safety in
numbers! And the famous 'haunted' turret room stands vacant as no
teacher is willing to occupy it.
Tired but happy we returned to the drawing room for a sumptuous tea
the likes of which boarders everywhere can only dream about. Joining
us were all the teachers - and there are many - who are alumni of the
College, like the delightful Mauveen Shaw (1962), and my classmate,
Benu Paul (1967). We were thrilled to meet our English and P.T.
teacher, Mrs Maclure. Though she retired some years ago, she is still
actively involved with the school. We met many of the other teachers
as well. All are highly qualified and, what is very important,
computer literate, an invaluable asset these days. After tea, Mrs
Abraham invited us to sign the visitors' book, an honour indeed. Did
we feel Miss Gresseux's and Mrs Hollow's presence? I believe we did. I
also believe that they are proud of their school.
Mrs Abraham is trying, and succeeding, to instill a social conscience
in her young charges. Members of the Gandhi Corner do community
service among Lucknow's underprivileged. There is also a nature club
called PALS - Protection of Animals and the Surroundings - and members
do their utmost to live up to its motto: 'Save Nature Save the Earth'.
She recently inaugurated the Tranquillity or Meditation Centre, where
students and staff can go for some quiet time if they wish. The old
science room behind the tuck room has been converted into a prayer
room for all faiths. The school regularly participates in state and
national level competitions in sports, debating and choir singing, and
maths and quiz contests. This holistic, all-round approach to
education with its stress on extra- and co-curricular activities,
together with a sound value system, is preparing the students to hold
their own in today's fiercely competitive world without sacrificing
their principles.
Later that afternoon, the more optimistic in our group - Sheila, Sanju
and Geeta - returned to pit their skills against the school basketball
team. After fifteen minutes of enthusiastic play, our ageing heroines
ran out of steam but the score was even. Not bad for fifty-somethings
who hadn't been near a basketball court in decades! But I can't help
feeling the youngsters were being kind and maybe held back just a
little!
What a lovely, satisfying day, filled with nostalgia and a sense of
déjà vu. More than anything, we felt we had come home. For one brief
moment we were schoolgirls again, with not a care in the world save
waiting for the sound of the dinner gong or wondering what to wear to
the next social at the Boys' College!
Our visit must have disrupted Mrs Abraham's schedule but she seemed
genuinely pleased to have us there, patiently answering our
innumerable questions. We were deeply touched by her warmth and
thoughtfulness. She is a remarkable lady, very progressive and forward-
looking, yet she has retained many of the old traditions so dear to
us. She has succeeded in making La Martniere Girls' College one of the
best girls' schools in the country. If I had a daughter, I would be
proud to send her there.
We went to Lucknow to revive old memories and came away with a bagful
of new ones: of the warmth and kindness of strangers; of old friends
rediscovered; of two well-loved schools standing firm and strong; of
bright, confident young girls and boys; and of two principals working
hard to maintain the high standards for which the La Martiniere
schools are renowned.
There is talk of collecting funds to restore Constantia to its former
glory, a welcome move certainly; but let us not forget that the other
three La Martiniere school buildings, beautiful in their own way, are
also old and in need of repair. For example, all the woodwork in
Kursheed Manzil is infested by termites and needs to be replaced. This
is being done but progress is slow because funds are scarce. I hope
the Claude Martin Memorial Trust will look after the interests of all
four schools.
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