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Down Memory Lane
Sammy Sadka (V.S. 1932 –
1934)
According to the latest statistics
available and to the best of my knowledge and belief it is now acknowledged
that yours truly is the Elder Statesman of all Ex-Victorians in Calcutta who is
still around and kicking. Alas, though
the spirit makes itself felt in our many get-togethers, the plain fact remains
that the flesh is decidedly weak and the solid legs of which I was once so
proud are now prone to severe and painful bouts of arthritis.
To revert to the core subject, I could
possibly write a novel of my reminiscences covering the period from 1932 to
1960. 1960 was the last year of my
several visits to V.S. and Darjeeling both as a student and as an Old Boy. But that would take up too much time, pen
and ink. Therefore I propose to confine
my memories to some salient features that come to mind as I sit down and put
pen to paper.
To begin at the beginning, when I first
set eyes on Victoria School way back in 1932, I was sure there was some
mistake. At first glance it appeared
more like a Railway Station or even some sort of hospital but certainly by no
stretch of imagination like the famous hill school I had heard so much
about. Immediately I saw a couple of
tin sheds linked together by a one-storied middle portion and surrounded by a
veranda on all sides. I also observed a
very long playing field (length without breadth) and a rather ramshackle
pavilion, which looked as though it would collapse and topple over any
moment. Further, up to and including
1932 the school had no electricity and we managed to make do with petromax and
kerosene oil lamps which always gave trouble during a film show.
I joined the School in Standard VI from
St X’aviers College in Calcutta and I must confess that I was most unhappy and
devastated during the first few months but soon made friends and settled down
to the usual hill school boarding life.
The fare dished out at meals was not to my liking as I did not relish
any kind of meat except chicken in those salad days but somehow we all managed
to survive. On Sundays we would look
forward to a plate of FORCE (corn flakes) in place of the usual oatmeal and an
egg or two. The worst dishes from my
point of view were a lousy kind of beef stew (meat as tough as shoe leather)
and the white blanc mange pudding which tasted like lye (glue). The only meal I really enjoyed was the
“JHUG” dinner when the school went to town and did us proud. I particularly remember the Prefects with
special caps with tassels who were a law unto themselves and woe betide any
unfortunate soul who incurred their displeasure. Then there were the silent meals – any number of them I was sorry
to say – if there was too much noise and merriment going on at the lower
tables.
It would not perhaps be out of place at this
juncture to say something about the monsoon rains at Kurseong. At times it would rain dogs and cats daily
for a spell of 4/5 days at a stretch accompanied by growling thunder and
howling winds. After the downpour when
the sun would peep out of the clouds, the whole school would rally round the
Prefects to go to the Headmaster’s office and request a holiday – more popularly
known in school jargon as “Sunshiner”.
And after the rains everything from clothes to shoes and perishables
would become covered with mildew and cause a lot of headaches.
In my time, strange to relate, Indians
were not admitted as boarders. If fact
there were only three day scholars in the School: -
·
H Roy who I think later joined
the I.C.S.;
·
N Chaatterjee whose father owned
the then Dow Hill Stores situated at the Crossroads, where the road to V.S.
takes off from the main road to Dow Hill, and
·
P T Lama whom I understand is
languishing in Kurseong in a poor state of health.
Now I’d like to present some impressions of the staff during my sojourn: -
1.
Headmaster – Mr E C Hessing – English Public School et al
who tried to introduce a Public School atmosphere into V.S. It did not last very long though he did
manage to introduce Rugby. I can
recollect witnessing a game of Rugger in Calcutta between V.S. and La
Martiniere, which we lost badly. Mr
Hessing was a strict disciplinarian and many were the times I suffered at his
hands literally speaking.
2.
Senior Master – Mr E V Staynor, a brilliant mathematician who in later
years after he had left V.S. became Inspector of A.I. Schools in West
Bengal. He took over as Headmaster
after Mr Hessing’s return to the U.K.
His nickname was Cockles – why I could never find out. I kept up a friendship with his family even
after leaving V.S.
3.
Next on the list was Mr V C Prins
(Verny) who was an
ex-La Martinian and taught us Latin. He
was also Scout Master and organised several outdoor treks for Boy Scouts. His wife was a teacher in the junior
grade. I became friendly with him in
later years and was shocked one day to learn of his sad demise while conducting
a Scouts meeting somewhere in the Chittagong Hill Tracts – struck by lightening
– where he opted to go when he left V.S.
A very able and fine gentleman he was too.
4. I come to Nobby Clark – a whiz in English and Latin – who
left before the war broke out. His
wife, Mrs Clark, was a fine artist and she it was who was responsible for our new
School badge and Motto “Quo Lux Ducit”.
I had the good fortune to be around in 1933 when the new emblem took
shape.
5.
One of the several masters who
taught me was Mr C A Price (Putto was his nickname), a thorough gentleman if
there was one. He was a bachelor and
lived alone with his old mother. A
great sportsman, he was our spearhead centre forward at Hockey and a remarkably
proficient Tennis player. The only time
I was invited to the Headmaster’s House for a game of tennis in 1948 was when
Putto was Headmaster. He retired soon
after and emigrated to Rhodesia where he passed his last days.
6. Mr Nugent was the Science Master – his two sons were educated in North
Point. His nickname Toady suited him
admirably. Somehow we didn’t hit it
off. He was Headmaster in 1942 when I
visited V.S. as an Old Boy.
7. Next on my list was Mr Texeira, a small made man, adept at Art and Carpentry, both subjects in
which I did not excel. I can never
forget his mannerisms and explanations regarding the “Point of sight” and
“Imaginary Line” in drawing and the correct method of planing a block of
wood. He was a master craftsman.
8. Then we had Pandit Ram Brat
Singh, a venerable Hindi Scholar who was the
author of a Hindi Primer which was used as a school text book in V.S. A simple soul, the boys in his class period
used to take advantage and be up to all sorts of mischief.
9. I must make mention of our beloved Padre Elliot who took the school in community
singing on Saturday mornings. I can
still recollect the words and tunes of several English ballads and ditties,
which he taught us. A bachelor, he was
a very popular and engaging personality, especially if you were among the lucky
few to be invited to his flat for tea and pastries. He became Pastor at St Paul’s Cathedral, in Calcutta, for a
number of years and I can remember a gathering of Ex-Victorians on his lawn at
the Parsonage during the early 40’s.
10. I cannot leave out Mr Berry our P T Instructor. He
really imagined he was training a bunch of raw army recruits. His favourite punishment was “Fatigue Drill”
which comprised of running up and down the khudside, steps, stairs and what
have you until one was a physical wreck by the time it was over. His wife, Mrs Berry, was our Dormitory
Matron and his son Edwin later came out to Calcutta as an Executive in William
Jacks & Co and afterwards took over the post of Bursar of Dr Graham’s
Homes, Kalimpong.
11. Junior School Masters such as Mr Robson, (Bip) whom we school boys observed at dances paying special
attention to Mrs Hessing, and Mr Bailey, (Basu) make up the list. Mr Bailey played the violin and was
instrumental in putting together a 4/5-piece ensemble for special occasions.
12. We had a nice Hospital midway between Dow Hill and V.S. and Nurse McKechnie was the senior nurse for many
years. Regularly every week we were
obliged to swallow a horrible dose of magsulf to keep us in good shape.
13. Last but not least it is my privilege to say a few words about my
very good friend and master, Carl Bloud, who unfortunately came to an
untimely and tragic end in the School Church in February 1978. He is buried in Kurseong town near the
erstwhile Mahtab Club. My first
encounter with Mr Bloud in the J.C. was disastrous. I was a few minutes late for his English Class as I had been
delayed in the Infirmary for my broken wrist to be attended to. Notwithstanding the circumstances, he barked
out “Write out the whole of “As You Like It” and bring it to me within one
week”. After I left V.S. I did meet Mr
Bloud on a few occasions at a mutual friend’s residence. Those days he was quite a lad, all togged up
with his bow ties and suits. In 1941
and 1942 he was absent from V.S. as he had volunteered for the Naval Service. I really got friendly with him in 1945 when
he requested me to share his small place in Commercial. During the winter months he would spend his
vacations in Calcutta and played tennis with us at the Dalhousie Athletic Club
and of course try his luck at the races.
Many are the hard luck stories of how he missed the Jackpot by a whisker. We had quite a gang of old V.S. chaps and
would meet regularly at the India Coffee House or Magnolias. I came to know his family quite well. In those days he would reside in his late
Aunt’s flat at Waverly Mansions (in front of the Calcutta Boys School). His late brother, Ronald, was a keen racing
fan. His sister, Ivy, taught music at
Mount Hermon for some time prior to her marriage and her son, Robin Bird,
attended V.S. as a young boy. Carl was
a good athlete, hockey player and mountaineer and trekked with Eric Shipton of
Everest fame. Carl was also an
excellent footballer. When he first
joined Victoria School as a master, he played the School First Eleven in football
with two or three Second Eleven players and beat them. After he retired from V.S. he fell upon hard
times and developed stomach complaints.
We would meet now and again and have him over for dinner but Carl was a
proud man who wished to keep his self respect and was averse to accepting any
form of assistance from his friends. I
still possess and treasure his special V.S. School blazer with Crest made by
Whiteaways in Calcutta. But he was at
his best after a few drinks and vamping at the piano singing oldies like “The
Sheikh of Araby”, “If I had my way” and other party gems. He was particularly friendly with the late
Charlie Dunne and the Dunne family of Darjeeling. He was a great guy and we all miss his company.
14. It would not be out of place to hark back to a venerable old soul,
the late Father
C J Prior, who adopted the school as his very
own and who somehow contrived to spend a few days at both schools whenever
possible. I struck up a great
friendship with him and he was responsible for maintaining a record of all old
boys’ names and addresses when we formed an “Old Victorian Association”
sometime during the forties.
Unfortunately, all his records were lost when the then Honorary
Secretary emigrated, without prior notice, to the U.K. taking with him all
books and funds belonging to the Association, which then died a natural
death. Father Prior was stationed in
Barisal (now in Bangladesh) and breathed his last over there at a ripe old
age. We used to communicate regularly
with each other and I would attend the Annual Dinner on 6th January
each year at the Oxford Mission, 42 Cornwallis Street.
It is now time to dwell on the Sporting
Activities of the School as I remember them.
Hockey was the prime sport in our day, 6 months out of 9 being entirely
devoted to this game and the remaining 3 months to Cricket and Football. In 1933 I recollect that the Aryans brought
over a Cricket team which included such illustrious sportsmen like Lala
Amarnath, Shute Banerjee and others.
Over to Athletics. Quite apart
from the various Sports Day functions of all Kurseong Schools and the fantastic inter-school rivalry
between V.S. and Goethals and Dow Hill and St Helens (specially in the 220
yards straight and relay races) the highlight of the Athletics season was the
D.D.S. (Darj Dist Sports) to which every one looked forward and gathered at the
North Point ground to witness. We
middle school boys would literally paint the town red on such occasions.
At V.S., we were given a lot of freedom
out of school hours provided one wrote his name in a register and stated where
one intended to go. Needless to mention
Dow Hill, St Helens, and Kurseong Town were out of bounds. In my day I was surprised to find that many
young boys were unable to cope with the tough school life and made several
attempts to run away but they were always nabbed and severely punished for such
escapades.
At this juncture it would be pertinent
to reminisce about our outings to: -
·
Forest School, Bagora, Saddle
and Chimney and the leeches that stuck to our legs like glue;
·
Castleton Tea Estate (just below
the station and now famed for its specially flavoured Darjeeling Tea), Ambhutia
Tea Estate much lower down just above the Balasun River, and Singell Tea Estate
in Kurseong itself;
·
the Shooting Range higher up the
hill;
·
the Cane fields where we used to
make ourselves lovely Malacca canes after cutting our hands rather badly;
·
the Bhoota (corn) fields which
we would raid from time to time, sometimes with dire results;
·
Guru’s Chucks which were dirt
cheap and which tasted, at least to our ravenous appetites, like Flury’s
confectionery;
·
the shops at the village halfway
down the hill near the parting of the ways to V.S. and Dow Hill where we would
oft betake ourselves to partake of paratas and aloo dum to fill our empty
bellies.
In this manner one could carry on and
on reviving old memories like cooking outside the school premises to make
stickjaw treacle toffee and fudge in an old Jacob’s Cream Cracker tin.
I should make mention of some of the
illustrious personalities that the school produced in my time: -
·
H Roy (I.C.S. retired);
·
P T Lama (Kurseong big shot);
·
Maurice Rassaby (now in Sydney,
1st in S.C. West Bengal);
·
Desmond Doig (famous artist
since deceased);
·
General J E R Jacob of
Bangladesh war fame; he joined the BJP,
the ruling party in Indian politics. He
was Governor of Goa for a few years and is now the Governor of the Punjab.
·
A K Moddie, in class with me,
now retired from Hindustan Lever Ltd, as Director, currently living in Mumbai.
The above stand out from the rest. And now we have a new star on the horizon,
Mr Manish Gupta, previously the Home Secretary and currently the Chief
Secretary of the W.B. State Government at Writers Buildings.
As far as I can recollect the first
plane to fly over Kanchenjunga did so in 1933.
There were some very interesting boxing
matches – Ferguson K.O.'d Des Gorey and Hatton beat Lenny Troud – quite apart
from the usual scraps between Elisha Jacob, Gorilla Gasper and Nausher Modi.
In conclusion, I like to state that as
an old boy I visited the School in 1941, 1942, 1945 to 1948, 1953, 1955, 1958
and 1960. Apart from 1941 and 1942 I
always stayed with my good friend, Carlyle Arthur Bloud even for a few days
between visits to Darjeeling and Kalimpong.
Those were the days, my friends!
