The beacon of knowledge
CULTIVATING TALENT The 93yearold school has produced alumni that have made a name for themselves; boys are taught to be gentlemen in true sense
SHIMLA: As one drives along Shimla’s ring road on the stretch between Tolland and Bemloe, one cannot help but steal a glance at the sprawling twin grounds of the Milsington Estate that has housed St Edward’s School for 93 years now.
The grounds are rarely vacant, be it summer or winter, vacations or school days, some keenly-fought matches are always underway. Entering the school’s portals, one is left awestruck by the majestic stone and wood façade of the buildings that harken to the 20th century. Two narrow bridges connect two of the school’s oldest buildings. The insignia and name “St Edward’s School” can be seen neatly ploughed onto two small gardens that sit on a small mount on the school premises.
Though St Edward’s for most part of its history has been a day school catering to the local boys of the quaint hill station, it is remarkable to see how many of them went on to carve a niche for themselves both nationally and internationally.
Some of the school’s august alumni include former vice-president Hamid Ansari, Supreme Court judge Justice Deepak Gupta, chief of Army Staff Bipin Rawat, retired judge of the Himachal Pradesh high court and former all-india president of the income tax appellate tribunal Justice DD Sood, Himachal high court judges Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Sureshwar Thakur, senior HP high court advocate Kapil Dev Sood, Panjab University Professor Emeritus at the department of English and cultural studies Shelly Walia and hospitality entrepreneur and owner of a revolving restaurant near Naldehra Yatish Sood.
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Long before St Edward’s came into existence, an all-boy’s St Michael’s School was run by capuchin fathers at the Milsington Estate. A decade later after the division of Simla diocese from the Agra diocese in 1910, St Michael’s School was closed.
In 1911, when the first archbishop of Shimla AEJ Kenealy was addressing the public at the iconic Town Hall on the Mall Road, he was inundated with demands for a catholic school for boys. The British archbishop knew the Irish brothers to be brilliant educationalists, and therefore, wrote to the superior general in Ireland inviting the brothers to start a school in the Himalayan town.
In the fall of 1924, after roughly 15 years of careful deliberations, two Irish brothers sailed to India and met the archbishop at Eagle Mount, near Navbahar in Shimla. The archbishop put Milsington Estate and the area surrounding it at their disposal, and thus St Edward’s came into being.
In the spring of 1925, the school opened its gates for its first batch of 42 students. Initially, the school had a staff of six, including four Irish brothers and two native teachers. In March 1932, acquiescing to the archbishop’s wishes, the school was converted from a day school to boarding.
Renowned paediatrician Dr Kailashnath Sud, who is called a “thoroughbred” Edwardian because of his unspoiled British education, enrolled in the school in 1946 and recalls seeing English boarders enjoying a meal at lunchtime on the top floor of the old building of the school for a brief period.
With the Indo-pakistan war looming on the horizon, parents began withdrawing their wards from the boarding and it was finally closed in 1948. The school has remained a day school since.
DAYS OF YORE
The reputation of the Irish brother’s prowess as educators was not unfounded and soon the name Edward’s became a brand, commanding respect and admiration from all quarters. Professor Shelly Walia of the 1965 batch, who moved from Dalhousie to Shimla when he was eight, says: “The first thing that my parents did was put me into Bishop Cotton School (BCS) and then immediately pull me out. The reason was that the results of the Senior Cambridge at the BCS were not so good and St Edward’s would produce first divisioners. If a student got five points in senior Cambridge, he would get direct admission to Cambridge University.”
“The training provided there was quite vigorous. We had to write two essays a week, the topic for which wasn’t disclosed in advance. We had to read a book over the weekend and speak on it on Monday. We were asked to speak on topics like ‘If Christopher Columbus had not discovered America’ or ‘Why the Hollywood mountains were located where they were?’ Critical thinking was encouraged,” he says.
Manjit Sud, who taught in the school for 38 years, says: “There was an emphasis on personality building in the school. Every day, boys would write a paragraph to improve their handwriting.”
Justice Sureshwar Thakur says: “I still remember the skill with which the Irish brothers taught us the poetry of Tennyson and Keats at the school. College teachers fell short in imparting the sublimity of the work.”
“The school was way ahead for its times. We were introduced to sex education in Class 8. Our syllabus included a book called ‘Who will tell us the truth?’ It was taught in all seriousness without any jocularity,” says Justice Sood.
Senior lawyer Kapil Dev Sood of the 1957 batch says: “The brothers ensured that the talent of each child was cultivated. They would specially train students keeping in mind their ability and interest.”
Justice Deepak Gupta says: “I was around 12 when I lost my father. My younger brother was in Class 5 and my youngest brother was one-year-old. When father Mulligan visited my mother to offer condolences, he handed a letter saying we did not have to pay the fee any longer. This gesture speaks of the brothers’ Christian spirit and integrity than anything else.”
Entrepreneur and alumnus of the 1990 batch Amit Wilson remembers the theatrical productions put up by the boys at the school. “Shakespearean plays were enacted in the original form as boys got to play female roles,” he said. His uncle Arun Wilson says: “We spoke English for five days and on the sixth day we were allowed to speak in our local language.”
THE HAIL OF ‘AAM PAPADS’
An alumnus of the 1976 batch Yatish Sood recalls: “Brother O’sullivan had a cane with a leather strap on one end which was lovingly called the ‘aam papad’ by the boys. In 1971 when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was visiting the school, we were gripped with a burning curiosity to see him and defying strict orders, snuck down to the field. We were of course intercepted on the way. Later, when we emerged from brother’s office, no one could accurately say how many ‘aam papads’ had been dished out to us.”
Science teacher brother O’keefe’s Bunsen burner was also legendary. “One could never predict when one would be whacked by it. Upon delivering a whack, he would nonchalantly say ‘You still haven’t improved a bit in two weeks and walk away’, says Yatish Sood.
Every morning, there was a roll call for all boys who had been larking about the previous day and they were called up on stage and canned with a walking stick,” says Justice Sood.
Justice Deepak Gupta fondly recalls Father Mulligan as the first person to put an end to corporal punishment at the school.
CHIVALRY AIN’T DEAD
St Edward’s would often visit the allgirls school Tara Hall for table tennis, badminton and elocution competitions. The sisters and brothers were very progressive. “After the competitions, boys would shyly sit on one table and the girls on another, while we were served refreshments but mother superior would tell us to sit alternatively so that we would interact with each other,” recalls Professor Walia.
“There was no question of misbehaving at all. The boys were at their best behaviour. The school produced gentlemen. We’d even go to Tara Hall for socials where we would dance with girls,” says Justice Sood.
BE A SPORT
It was compulsory to participate in a sport be it hockey, cricket, football or boxing. There used to be many interschool tournaments with the BCS, St Columbus, Delhi, and other Catholic schools from across the country.
Dr Sud recalls the former vice-president Hamid Ansari and his brother as excellent sportspersons. “We would cheer them with the chant of buck up Ansari from the sidelines.”
“Brother Stein Meyer, who was sixfeet-four inches tall and as broad as a door would join football games and hold laggards by the cuff,” says Professor Walia. Regular bicycle excursions were also organised. “We would trudge up to Kufri on our bicycles and then roll down often overtaking Chelsea’s school bus,” says Professor Walia.
Renowned artist Ashok Sukumaran of the 1990 batch says the school became a second home for students. “The school was an extension of our homes. The camaraderie forged in those days is still intact.”