‘Born in La Martiniere’: A unique fundraiser
In a first of its kind initiative, the La Martiniere College Lucknow Old Boys Association has come up with a unique fundraiser plan. A fictional crime thriller, Born in La Martiniere, will serve the cause as some amount of money that comes from selling the book would be granted for the progress of the institution.
This initiative is perhaps the first of its kind taken by any school in the country.
The crime thriller written by Ajit Chak, a journalist, is set in the year 1971 when war breaks out between India and Pakistan. “Chak was in my batch (year 1979) who penned this book which will be released shortly at a function to be held at the college,” says Carlyle McFarland, principal of the college.
Rajnish Chopra, president of the Alumni Association and Lucknow’s leading lawyer Jaideep Mathur, who played a major role in the entire fictitious affair are part of the plot too. The book, priced at ` 400, has been brought out by Elite Publishers Lucknow.
Chak says the book is dedicated to some of the best teachers of La Martiniere College like Mrs Simlai, Mrs Lila Rawat, Mrs Mark, Allan Baker, Nelson Maclure, Douglas Ireland, Colin Lawrence, Charlie Gardener, Edmund Myall, Hugh Elmore Dignum, Elton De Souza, Mrs Keelor and the list is endless.
La Martiniere College Lucknow stands for many firsts of a kind. It is the only school in the world to have been given military honours and has produced some of the known personalities exemplary in their respective fields.