Gowri Mirlay Achanta points to the silver in her hair and says, with a laugh, “Every strand of my grey hair talks of the trauma of teaching 6000 teenage boys.” The effort, clearly, was worth it. Achanta, who has taught history at St. Joseph’s Boys’ School since 1985, was greeted with warmth by the many old boys as she delivered a talk recently on Schooling Bangalore: The legacy of St. Joseph’s Boys’ High School.
Over around 45 minutes of the talk at The Bangalore Room, Indiranagar, punctuated often by applause and laughter, Achanta traced the history of this 166-year-old institution, linking it to Bengaluru’s larger colonial experience, global events, including the two world wars, the complex history Catholic church and the lived experiences of many young men who were educated at St. Joseph’s.
A cantonment town
The year was 1799. Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore, was dead at the age of 47, killed by the British during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. The British took over Srirangapatna and later, in 1809, moved their Cantonment to Bengaluru. “Obviously, a lot of European people settled here. And, once they did, they needed schools, hospitals, markets…,” says Achanta.
The Archbishop of Bangalore approached a certain group of priests, the Missions Etrangeres de Paris (MEP), and asked them to start a school here. “This was in 1858, one year after the First War of Independence,” she says. The school, which was then located at St. Johns Hill, Frazer Town, was named St. Joseph’s Seminary. “They had a seminary, an orphanage, and this little school,” she says.
The school stayed in this location until 1898, going through many changes in these 40-odd years. However, they began finding Frazer Town too desolate and decided that they no longer wanted to stay there. They wanted to move to the cantonment. “So, they bought a piece of land called Rocklands on Museum Road and moved the school there. It has been there ever since,” she says.
A glimpse of the school infirmary. | Photo Credit: St. Joseph’s Boys’ High School archives
Photos and more
Using archival photos, old documents, and the school’s in-house annual magazine, Gowri traces the school’s evolution over two centuries. She begins by showing sepia-toned staff photographs to illustrate how the staff has changed. For instance, a photograph taken in the late 1800s depicts an all-male, mostly white staff dominated by the black-cassocked MEP fathers, while another, taken in the mid-1900s, offers a glimpse of nearly 17 women teachers, two in sarees.
Other exhibits at the talk include photographs of boys involved in sporting activities, images of Josephites who fought in the First World War, a glimpse of the school infirmary, and hat ads in the annual magazine.
Gowri uses these exhibits to deliver many fascinating bits of trivia about the school. For instance, the school, known for its sporting culture, has produced 10 Olympians and a Test Cricket Captain so far. In 1914, when the First World War broke out, the highest number of boys who went to war were from St. Joseph’s school, she adds. “Three hundred and sixty-nine boys went to fight on the war front. The 1916 annual has a report of their send-off going to war. It is very touching,” she says, proceeding to read from a letter written by an old boy, offering an account of his experience of the war front. “When the war ended in 1918, 28 old boys had died,” she says.
Gowri also speaks about the war memorial, erected in 1921 on the school campus, the cost of producing these annuals back in 1919, and how, on the last day of school, some students broke all the bulbs on campus. She admits that much of the information she gleaned comes from the school’s annuals, the first of which was published in 1910. “Every issue since then has been very lovingly preserved and guarded by the Old Boys Association,” says Gowri.
Jesuits in India
In 1937, something dramatic happened in the institution, which was then called St. Joseph’s College. The MEP group didn’t have enough priests to run the institution, so they approached the Archbishop and asked him to find another Catholic congregation that could take over. That is how the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuit Order, began managing the school and other institutions associated with it. “They were already established in education,” says Gowri, adding that this transfer happened in complete secrecy. “They were waiting for the holidays, and when the school reopened, and the boys came in, they found all the old priests gone. It was a complete shock to them,” she says.
The Jesuits, who have run St. Joseph’s since then, were founded by Ignatius of Loyola, a Spanish soldier who had a major spiritual experience after being wounded at war and went on to find the Society of Jesus, explains Gowri. It was St. Ignatius of Loyola who sent his friend, Francis Xavier to India, “the shining star of the 1500s,” to educate and preach, she says of the Catholic missionary and the Saint whose body today lies in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa.
She also brings up the life and work of Roberto de Nobili, an Italian Jesuit priest who is known for the way he preached Christianity, adopted local customs, wrote Tamil devotional songs, and looked at what was common between Hinduism and Christianity. “He wore the clothes of a sadhu, shaved his head, and became a scholar in Sanskrit, Tamil, and Telugu,” she says, showing her audience a picture of the man.
She believes that the Jesuits, in general, are quick to adapt to change and have a deep respect for local culture and values. For instance, “today, every single Josephite sings the Karnataka State anthem every day,” she says.
Gowri M. Achanta at the Museum of Memories | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Recent History
Gowri also delves into some landmark moments of St. Joseph’s more recent history. These include constructing a new building in 1998, a name change in 1968, and the setting up a Museum of Memories in the school’s sports complex last year. Many artefacts, some over a century old, are being housed here, including chairs, grandfather clocks, books and trophies., she says.
She also shows her audience a picture of another ancient object: a copy of an old diary, dated 1938, which she discovered rather serendipitously. A peek into it reveals examination results and a progress report with a rather unfortunate proclamation — “Weak in maths” — an observation that has the entire room in titters. “What has changed with us parents, teachers, and students?” asks Gowri with a smile. “Nothing.”
Published - August 15, 2024 09:00 am IST
