GoethalsMemorialSchool- a summary of the website Clem hosted 20 years ago in 1999 reconnecting many people around the world. “The way we were”

Situated high on the foothills of the Himalayas, close to the town of , Goethals was one of many elite schools founded during the British Raj in India by Christian missionaries. Goethals was a boarding boy school. Classes began early March and ended in early December. To graduate, one must pass the Senior Cambridge examinations issued from England.

The school was run by the Irish Christian Brothers, who were dedicated educators.

THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AND EDUCATION Going down memory lane many memories flip past my mind, especially of my school days. Those days are to be remembered the most. Not only the pranks, the achievements, and the failures, but all those things that I learnt. Learning was not only from the books but from those people around me there. "A Christian Brother product" is how I am always described after thirteen long years in St. Joseph's College, Bowbazaar. I had my education, my complete education in SJC. I had seen the Brothers as our Principals, our teachers, and our friends. I had been in school talking to them about almost anything on earth. They had a lot to say and I remember listening to them for hours. I learnt a lot; received a lot of mental and moral support from them. There were times when only words could heal the pain and I always found a patient ear listening to me. I found in them friends, people who went to the extent of teaching me how to live a life. Education; formal education was one of the visible contributions of the Christian Brothers in my life. Education which was not there in any books, which was not examined by any Council or University; education which extended from where the realities of life begin, was imparted by these people through whatever little interaction I had with them. Their words, views, expressions and ideas led to the manifestation of the perfection, which was to be brought out through education. The process of education could be said to be near completion when it was imparted with utmost personal care and a touch of spirituality. I remember those days when we would stand together to pray for the forthcoming examinations, pray for a sick friend, or even pray and ask God to be with us for the rest of the day. The thought of spirituality regardless of religious diversity was embedded into my mind that gave me the strength, the will and a spiritual bent. Formal bookish education was our normal routine, but something more than that was given out by the Brothers. I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to be with them, learn from them certain values which makes one a better man. With their words, their actions, their thoughts, we learnt how to love, how to help, how to share, how to be a friend, how to respect, how to feel for others, how to be compassionate, how to be sympathetic, how to be the strength behind the broken soul and so on. There are a lot more to be added to this list but sad enough that there would be very few words to describe them. Discipline was one of the things which was not only taught to us, but was given a place alongside our lifestyle. I am proud to call myself a Josephite, for we differ from others and excel in this very section of discipline. Apart from being in touch with the Brothers in school, I had them beside me in all possible ways. After I had left school there was a very big gap in my life. It was difficult for me to believe that there would be anyone to tell me to improve my handwritings, there would be anyone saying a short prayer before an examination, there would be anyone who would lent me a patient ear. I received my education in another reputed educational institution in after class twelve, but missed out on certain things like values which were hard to explain. It was regular routine education which prepared me for an examination. This type of education, to me, lacked integrity, the spirit, the essence of building a complete man pure in heart and mind. The working atmosphere, the inspiration from within was missing. This vacuum made me feel the need of the Brothers, their touch in education. I longed to go back and sit at those benches in SJC, to be back into the atmosphere which made me feel at home, which made me feel that I was growing. Keeping pace with the course of events in my life I decided to become a teacher. This was the chance I did not want to miss; to be back with the ever-friendly Christian Brothers. I am back with them here where I have regained my lost days of school, the process of education. striking a perfect balance between discipline, spirituality and values makes my belief even stronger that the spirit which runs through the Christian Brother Institution make the process of education more meaningful and alive. I am proud and happy to be a tiny part of the whole system and would like to ask Him to help me grow with them. Mr. Debasish Bhattacharya GMS Teacher Article published in the 1999 Goethals Magazine

Saikat Sarkar 87 I was quite "thrilled to see GMS on the net. I just got my account at home and was surfing at leisure and out pops "Good Old GMS" on the net. I was so excited, I managed to scare my wife with my screams and antics. It was pretty nice of her to patiently sit with me and bear with me while I took her on a grand tour of the school - thanx to your photos. Memories just came flooding back to me - and especially two items on the site just swept me off the floor - one was the School Crest and the other was the pix of Br. Fitzpatrick. Ever since I learnt the meaning of "OMNIA BENE FACERE", I have carried it (the crest or the monogram as we called it) with me personally wherever I have gone. I retained my crest from my school blazer (one I can no longer wear) and it is currently pinned on my softboard at my office desk. I also managed to create a "GOATS.BMP" file for it once I gained sufficient expertise and currently I use it as my wallpaper and screen saver. And Br. Fitzpatrick's photo was an added bonus. All we students have this habit of "piling on" about our profs and teachers while in school and college and we also have these "fancy" nicknames and stories about each of them - each fancier than the earlier. Br. Fitzpatrick sure had his share too - but two things that I remember about him is - when he was the Principal HE USED TO KNOW EVERY STUDENT IN THE SCHOOL BY NAME - right from Class 3 to Class 10. And it was not only the name - he also used to know their family background !!! His interaction with us all thus had a personal touch which was very comforting. Almost 13 years after leaving school when I have quite a sizeable number of people in my team, I try to emulate his skill but, sadly I never manage to do it with the same finesse with which he used to. The other thing I will be forever grateful to him for is his parting words when I was leaving GMS. In June 1987 when he handed my ICSE results to me and congratulated me he said that "It doesn't matter which school or how big the school is where you have studied, what you do in life JUST DEPENDS ON YOU!!!" He probably told me this considering the fact that I was going to a big city for the first time having spend all my life in small towns and villages and as something which he expected a teenage boy to forget as soon as I was out of Kurseong down the Punkhabari road to Siliguri - if not earlier. But personally for me it has had quite a profound impact. I have faced a few personal difficulties in my career, but have always managed to come out of it on the strength of what Br. Fitzpatrick told me that day. In all these years if I have anyone to thank other than my parents and family for giving me strength, it is Br. Fiotzpatrick. I would like to thank him personally - would you have his e-mail drop or can I get it from the Alumni list (I havent checked yet). Sorry, if I sounded very emotional in this message - but GMS after 13 years - this IS INCREDIBLE !! Would be looking forward to hearing from you. Its a long time since I have communicated with a Goethalite. AND THANX A TON FOR CREATING THIS SITE.

Mohan Shivdasani 62 Strange how maudlin one can get on a combo of a good single malt, Danny Boy and words that leap out at you from your "obits." page! Moved to tears. (Good job)! The good Brothers never played favourites, but "callow youths (sic)" that we were, 'fraid the same could not be said for us students. Sure, we respected (and feared?) them all, but a few have special places in our hearts for a word or a gesture that touched us especially. There's something karmic in my life, that the ones I remember most, are visiting the Man Upstairs! (Boy, have the angels got their hands full)! Bro.O'Malley was my 1st class teacher (Standard 6---1960) and NOBODY typified the "jolly Irishman" as he did. Bro.Dineen was a master of "gentle persuasion". Raspberries are an anathema since the day we "cut" and were going ape raiding the khud, when out of the mist, on a rock F- A - R above us, came a disembodied voice : "Trust you've reserved MY share"! HOW much more effective than a caning!” Bro.Moynihan gave me the only quality of an otherwise mediocre life---a decent command of the English language. He introduced me to Alistair Maclean ((through "HMS Ulysses", in my Senior Cambridge year) and launched 1000 sleepless nights of voracious reading. Sister Felix made it POSITIVELY a pleasure to fall sick! "Ministering Angel" falls TERRIBLY short of describing her! God keep them all, bless their souls and I frequently wish (as a good Hindoo) that I have truck with them all in some future incarnation. Of course, if the Christian view prevails, I take solace from the fact that I'll share a with them, soon enuff.

Memories of my Class teachers in GMS by Dr Mushtaq A Khan I joined Goethals in 1953 in KG and passed out in 1962 after my Sen Cambridge. I don't remember my KG class teacher though I have some names in mind - Mrs Sweeny, Mrs Gomes etc. My class teacher in Std I was Miss Plant, a really beautiful lady, though quite strict at times. She had the habit of punishing us by using the wooden ruler at the back of our hands (knuckles). She had a habit of giving us a word like ELEPHANT & asking us to make any number of words out of the alphabets in this word. She also gave us prizes for the maximum words made. Miss C Kingsley joined us in Class II & was also there in Class 3. She was a very nice & gentle lady. She left school in 1957 & married one of the Lobo brothers in . She used to give me & Subrata Gupta a lot of gifts. I long to meet her in Darj when I go there next. In Class 4 we had Br J.P. Clancy as our teacher. He was also an extremely kind hearted & jolly person. He had a pet dog who accompanied us on our Wednesday walks. He was a very nice teacher. I still have our essays marked by him. K At about the same time we had Br JB Lynch. He did not teach us but was in-charge of the Tuck shop & the godown. I used to help him regularly in the tuck shop ,followed by some some free sweets & toffees. I also helped him in the godown beside our kitchen. Whenever there was to be a BARA KHANA on festive occasions, he used to go to Darjeeling or Siliguri to get the ration, chicken, soda water bottles etc. He was succeeded later by Br Mark. Br Lynch had the habit of distributing the letters. Once he had difficulty in pronouncing my name MUSHTAQ so coined a new name for me MICKEY KHAN which has remained with me till this day. He later went to Simla . I wish I could meet some of these wonderful persons - but they are now more. May their souls rest in peace. Br Lynch had the habit of playing with us by holding us tight & rubbing his hard grizzly beard against our soft chin & cheek. I sometimes use this to young children even today. In Class 6 we got a new teacher Br MM Cahill, who remained with us till Class 7 . He was unique in many ways. He had a habit of exposing us to the TIME & LIFE magazines ( reputed magazines at that time ) by reading out articles to us, showing us photographs of personalities etc. These mags were for the teachers only, but he had this nice & rare quality ( of a teacher ) of sharing with the students , which I did not find in any other teacher. He also had a habit of telling us the background story, stars & other details of our Saturday night pictures - which he had attended the night before - the preview - with the other teachers. When we were small, we just concentrated on the action. When bigger & a little bit more mature - we knew history of places, events, what gladiators were, who Elizabeth Taylor was, when the world war II took place & between whom etc etc. I remember one film - The snows of Kilimanjaro. He explained everything to us. After any preview , we had a habit of gathering around him & listening patiently for about half an hour to each sequence & character in the film. This is a novel method of education which I doubt any other teacher in GMS carried out.His method of examination was also unique. In exams we were asked to write the answers in one or two words only. After the exams, we exchanged copies with the student next to us. He then read out the answer to each question & we marked it -right or wrong & then totalled it. This way the paper was corrected in 10 minutes & we knew our results. He was a very tall person so punished us by hitting us on the head with his powerful knuckles. Sometimes - he would give us a choice : knuckles or pulling our hair near our ear till we screamed & stood on our toes but he was too tall for us . He once developed a burst Appendix & had to be rushed to Planters hospital for operation. During Br Cahill's absence we had Br O'Malley for a short period, thought he taught the next lower class.Br O'Malley was also a story teller. He was famous for his stories on Qublai Khan & Ghenghis Khan ( Mongolian rulers ) Once when Br O'Malley was teaching one of my classmates TK Patnaik - smiled. Br O'Malley saw him & said : Patnaik - I defy you to smile . Patnaik was dazed & kept quiet. Again Br O'Malley repeated the same words. Again Patnaik kept quiet. This was repeated the third time by Br O'Malley. This time Patnaik gave a big smile- upon which he got a BIG SLAP from Br O"Malley & was stunned. Later we asked Patnaik, why did you smile. He said the first time he said smile I kept quiet because I did not know the meaning of DEFY. Second time again I kept quiet. The third time I said he is telling me to smile - so I smiled. During Br Cahills absence we also had Br JG Packenham to teach us .At that time Br Packenham must have been in his sixties. He had a really beautiful handwriting. I still have my progress report signed by him. We also had other teachers - most of whom had come from other schools to spend their summer holidays in GMS - Kurseong. If my classmates remember, we had one of the maximum number of class teachers - maybe about15-20. Later in our senior class we had Br VF Ponise, who also became the Principal in 1960 after Br TP Fitzpatrick, as our class teacher. Being the Principal , he could give us very little time so we were given temporary charge to different teachers. At that time Br Corbett starting teaching us Geography & Add Maths. He was strict in the class but very friendly otherwise. We used to get our evening papers from outside his room. He was also our Sports teacher & Tuck shop incharge & Film projector incharge - after Br Kelly left. He had a beautiful but distinct handwriting which I tried to copy. He always complimented me in the class for my writing & neatness. The letter he wrote to me after I passed my SC in 1962, is still kept safely as a momento. In our Sen Cambridge class - we had 2 sections A and B of about 30 each - one of the biggest batches till that time, so We were re-divided into two classes having all the weak students in one, so that extra attention could be given to them, to do well in the final year. This again is something unique which I did not find anywhere else in my teaching career of last 30 years & I keep reminding my friends & others of this unique example of the Christian Brothers - their dedication & concern for education. Br HB Dineen , my first Principal when I joined in 1953, became our class teacher & Br Corbett was the teacher for the other section. Alot of strain was put on Br Corbett & the other science & Hindi teacher Mr P Yonjan, but they finally succeeded in improving the results & bringing down the no of failures.Since the Division in Sen Cambridge is very much dependent on the marks in ENGLISH LANGUAGE, Br Dineen took alot of pains to improve our English. He used to bring past papers & solve them there & then in the class everyday & used to make us write essays everyday, on almost every possible topic in the past papers. Hats off to you all teachers - for giving us a loving school education & a strong foundation which made us come up to the position that we are today. We really miss you all , but your memories are always with us. I wish you were present today - for us to give you our respects. Lest I forget , we also had Mr. A. B. Roy, our science teacher, with us right from Class 5-6 to Class11 with Physics & Chemistry. His efforts have made us Engineers & Doctors. I don’t know why we did not have Biology in our school - which made me repeat one year doing Pre- University In St Xaviers, Calcutta just for Biology. I will surely meet him in Calcutta during my next trip home. I also remember with respect & reverence Mr Yonjan, our Hindi teacher, who was like a father to us , so kind & affectionate - because he gave us the instructions of being a good human being , in his Moral Science classes . He was a true example of what he taught us in the Moral science classes. I also remember Mrs P Roy who was not my class teacher but I took English tution from her in 1955-56. She had a daughter who used to stay with her mother ? I also remember Miss Gomes - a friend of Miss Kingsley. Mr KLM Mackenzie was another teacher ( of the other section ) I remember. Dr Mushtaq A Khan Dept of Family & Community Health, College of Medicine. PO Box - 35, Sultan Qaboos University Muscat - 123, SULTANATE OF OMAN

There were 3 seasonal sports: , Soccer, . Track and field events took place on Sports Day in October. Competitions were held against other schools. Other sports include tennis, handball, , ping pong, billiards. Participation in sports was compulsory

Hugh Porter easily outrunning Pronob Roy of Victoria at the finish of the 4X100 yards relay in 1957. A smiling Roger DeLima was holding the tape on the right.

N.K.Rai leaving behind Victoria's anchor in the 1958 4X100 yards inter school relay.

Standing L-R N.K.Rai, Goudie, Tommy Kingsley, Tien Choo, Roger DeLima, M.S. Gurung Kneeling L-R K.S.Liu, N.C. Kar, P.C.Wong, M. B. Karki, P.S.Gurung

N.C.Lee going up for a rebound competing with the Fathers of St. Marys.

Kurseong XI vs. Mohammedan Sporting Club of Calcutta in 1957. The match was played on Victoria's flat. The score was 4-2 in favour of the visitors. L-R: Goethals was represented by Tommy Kingsley(3rd), M.B.Karki(5th.) and N.C.Kar(11th.) and Victoria by Pronob Roy at goal(9th.), Madhukar Rana(2nd.), Prajwalla Shumshere(7th.). Aubrey Ballantine (VADHA Webmaster) wrote: " I was looking at your photographs. The 1957 Kurseong eleven against Mohammedan sporting ... the first person from the left is M. Saant (Victoria) I think his first name was Mung (he was Burmese)."

Charles Hilary Tresham wrote: Barun Roy was a tremendous all-round sportsman, a great scholar and, the most even-tempered person it was my pleasure to know during my time at GMS. He was also the captain of the Cricket 1st XI in 1960/61 which had the rare distinction of winning a game against St Joseph's College, a team which consisted of schoolboys! Clem, just a bit of trumpet blowing!

Clem wrote: N. C. Kar was our star athlete a little before your time (57-59). He excelled in all the sports - cricket, football, hockey, track and field. Just to give you an example of what an all rounder N.C.Kar was: George Butcher was touted as THE tennis player as he had training in Calcutta, etc, etc. N. C. Kar picked up the game from school and beat George in straight sets for the Tennis final in 1959. And was George upset!!! This will definitely stir up the Perth crowd. George lives in Perth.

Dipak Roy wrote: Just to remind Charles, Roger Storey and I were also in the First XI cricket team with Barun that year! Hope this starts another debate. I am sure Barun will agree and we have talked about this many times, N.C. Kar was probably the most consistent all-round athlete during our time. Clem's reminiscing of N.C. beating George Butcher (an ace tennis player, and I believe he was from Lucknow) will probably prove that.

Charles Hilary Tresham wrote: NC Kar was a great athlete, I agree but, he did have one annoying habit which was to do his weightlifting early every morning in the corner of the dorm not far from my bed. He certainly did some serious training. Hugh Porter, another of my peers in GMS, could keep NC Kar on his toes over 100m. Barun Roy, on the other hand, was much more laid-back. I don't recall him ever training. Neither did I ever see him studying. Yet he possessed so much natural talent in a very unassuming way that his fellow pupils considered him to be a class act.

Hugh Porter wrote: There's no doubt in my mind that NC Kar was the best all round sportsman of my era. There was not a team or sport that he didn't feature in. Add to that he was an all round good guy and the only area that I could claim to excell him was in the sprints...100 and 200 yards. Another great sportsman of that time was my great rival CJ Bell. I wonder if it would be worthwhile asking the principal if he could task one of his pupils to locate and extract the annual sports results over the years. As I recall they were recorded and retained when I attended the school. I hope the practice wasn't discontinued. Looking at the records, I can say that few of them would have featured in my time. At the risk of sounding like I'm bragging, I remember doing around 10.1 for the 100 yds and 23.5 in the 220 yds in North Point in 1959. I've no doubt that a number of my contemporaries could have bettered those times.

Clem wrote: The records before 1960 were kept for yards and inches. In 1960 we went metric system. Therefore all the prior records were broken(wiped out) in one fell swoop. I bet a lot of those records would still be around today. I think Carlisle Lewis (53/54) had the 100 yards record. I don't think N.C. Kar had set any records, but he was our best all round athlete in 1959. Was he pumping iron? He did have a good physique and I know he was popular with the girls during socials. After all he was the school jock!!!

John Christopher Tresham wrote: In Hugh Porter's final year '57, he was our top sprinter. NC Kar came to the fore afterwards and in my last year NC and John Mason were 1 & 2 respectively. Good as these guys were they were not quite up to the speed of Pronob Roy of Victoria or Ne Win and TJ Leong of St Joseph's College, Northpoint. These three guys were 10 secs flat (or better) for the 100 yds. I have often wondered if General Ne Win, Military Dictator in Myanmar (Burma) either present or recent past is the same Ne Win of Northpoint, '59. Say no more. Any Northpoint guys out there able to help out with this? We had one very good boxer in the school called Lloyd Goudie. I wonder what became of him. I also remember Goudie being in the relay team in about '57 or '58.

Clem wrote: Anyone remember athletes from Victoria, Dow Hill , St. Helen’s, North Point, Mt. Hermon? I remember Pronob Roy and Chung from Victoria; Ann Lumsden from Dow Hill; Linda Harvey(who anchored the SHC relay team) and Sandra Cooper. Somehow we always beat Victoria in the 4X100 yards relay, but lose in the 220 yards race to them. On the other hand, Dow Hill girls always beat St. Helen’s girls at the 4X100 yards relay.

June Ku (SHC 82) wrote: "I feel the need to respond to your comment: '...Dow Hill girls always beat St. Helen's girls at the 4X100 yards relay.' This could have been the case during your era. But this was definitely not the case during my years in St. Helen's, especially during the late 70's and the early 80's. Dow Hill had no chance of beating us. We were world class! (Ok, ok, I am bragging a bit too much.) We were the top gold medal contender for the Darjeeling District Inter School Sports! Just ask anyone from the 70- 80's."

John Tresham (GMS 59) wrote: "June Ku has taken you to task for your remarks and rightly so. The trouble with girls becoming so fast is that the boys cannot catch up with them!"

Clem wrote: To June and all Helenites, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!

During school year, Socials were held between Goethals and St. Helens girl school, the latter was considered Goethals’ sister school as many of the boys had sisters attending St. Helens.

With the loudspeakers blaring "Put your head on my shoulder, Hold me in your arms, baby....." the fidgety boys sitting on chairs from one side of the hall got up and raced across the slippery floor to the opposite side where the girls sat waiting and looking eagerly at the boys hurrying in their directions. It was 1959, our disc jockey, N. C. Kar, had just started playing a Paul Anka hit on the Hi Fi to start the evening Social. Since this was the big one after Sports Day not only were the girls of St. Helen's invited, but some senior girls of Dow Hill and senior boys of Victoria were also invited. All the boys and girls were dressed in their Sunday's best. The boys' hair were combed back neatly and the girls' locks were properly coifed. All week long during their leisure time, a select group of Senior boys at Goethals prepared and decorated the study hall under the guidance of Mr. Matt Lobo who besides teaching a class also directed our sports and social activities. Old decorations were taken out of storage trunks, an inventory of the items was taken and a list was prepared for purchase of new items such as balloons, streamers, powder for the dance floor, etc. Some lucky boys were chosen to go into town, a five-mile trek on hill cart road, to buy the accessories. Going into town meant that the boys had an afternoon off and they would get a treat in some of the eateries of Kurseong town. Volunteers were plentiful! The October day dawned bright and clear. It was a holiday. At breakfast which consisted of the usual porridge, bread , butter, jam(?) and tea and for some lucky ones - eggs, the refectories were buzzing with talk about the evening event. The topic was, of course, DAMES! The junior class students couldn't understand why all day long they heard the senior boys talked about nothing but dames. Weren't there better things to talk about like comics and grub? How could they go nuts over dames?!!! Their turn would come!!! Under the direction of Mr. Matt Lobo, our study hall was cleared of desks. The hardwood floor was swept clean, mopped, waxed and powdered. Chairs were set up against the walls on all four sides of the hall. Band stands were set up on stage to provide some live music by our school band under the direction of Mr. D'Souza. With the colourful streamers and balloons which were put up earlier in the week, the Social hall was ready! Before the playing of Paul Anka's hit by N. C. Kar, a welcome speech was made by Mr. Matt Lobo. The speech was short as Mr. Lobo knew not to test the patience of those restless boys and girls! Connie Francis' "Frankie" followed. Song after song was played during the entire evening. Among them were the Everly Brothers' "All I have to do is dream", Cliff Richard's "Living Doll", Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife". Other hits by Ricky Nelson, Fabian, Frankie Avalon , Patti Page , the McGuire Sisters, Pat Boone and Elvis Presley were played, all on 45rpm records and from a "record changer" as the Hi Fi was known in those days. Patti Page's "Tennessee Waltz" stood out even though the hit went back quite a few years before1959. "I remember the night and the Tennessee Waltz Now I know just how much I have lost Yes, I lost my little darlin' the night they were playing The beautiful Tennessee Waltz." Music for Fox-trot, Waltz and Cha Cha were mainly played as the authorities thought that it wasn't appropriate for proper young girls and boys to be gyrating their bodies while doing the "Jive" and "Twist" to some loud "unsynchronized" decibels! But our thoughtful Christian Brothers, Nuns and Sisters knew enough to leave the dance hall once in a while to allow the young boys and girls to socialize "unsupervised". That was a cue to play the "banned" music and allowed some of the boys and girls to show off their fancy dance steps with Chubby Checker's "The Twist", Bill Haley's "Rock around the clock" and Elvis' "Jailhouse Rock". The evening wore on, games were organized, laughter and animated chats were heard. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. Rivalries, which occurred the day before on Sports Day, with Victoria and Goethals, Dow Hill and St. Helen's were forgotten. Goethals' boys were seen dancing with Dow Hill girls and St. Helen's girls with Victoria boys. But as the saying goes "all good things must come to an end" and three hours after the music began Mr. Lobo announced the last dance. A sigh could be heard echoing through out the dance floor. For a brief moment, those happy faces seemed sad. But while the last song was played, the hall was once again buzzing with laughter and chatter. The time had come, fond and sad farewells were made, promises were made to keep in touch with old and new friends. On a bright moon lit night one by one the buses carrying the boys and girls of Victoria, Dow Hill and St. Helen's left as we watched and waved goodbye. Were there some teary eyes glistening under the bright moonlight?! It was a night to treasure and remember! "It was the best of times" Clem Lee GMS

Social 1979, twenty years later, nothing much had changed. The same excitement, nervousness and eagerness. Just a different generation of GMS boys and SHC girls. The music blaring from the speaker was a Cliff Richard’s song. Yes, Cliff Richard. But the song was "Devil Woman". Soon followed by ABBA’s "Dancing Queen", "Honey, Honey", "Mama Mia" ……………and Eagle’s "Hotel California"……….etc, etc. Yes, we knew the words of "Tennessee Waltz" and "Unchained Melody", but we did not dance to them. Slow Number was unheard of!! Bodily contact was a NO NO. Yes, the Sisters and Brothers did leave us unsupervised for a little while. But when they were there, especially the nuns, watched and scanned the crowd. Should they spy a couple having had several dances together, the poor lad would get a tap on his shoulder and hear these words: "Young man, I think it’s time to change partners". It was their way of nipping a budding "boyfriend and girlfriend" relationship. "Boyfriend/girlfriend" : In GMS and SHC’s context meant having danced with a particular partner several times. My Hermonite spouse would laugh at our naiveté. MH "romance" meant walking hand in hand and "fencing". (I think I will leave the definition of "fencing" to some x- Hermonites.) Forty years later, 1999. As the school year nears the end for the current batch of Goats and Hens, I wonder what they have to say about their social memories. Plenty, I bet you. June (SHC '82)

Like Loreto and Paulites or North Pointers, Goats and Hens socials seem to have been tame "affairs". I use the word affairs with much amusement. Affairs. Yes, in a sense that is what a Hermonite will tell you when asked for the meaning of "FENCING". In our times 1969 - 1976, the originator of the word, with its special MH meaning, is generally and widely held to be Bill Moore. Bill Moore or Rev. Bill Moore was an Irishman from strife torn Northern Ireland. Naturally, he was not a Catholic. He came to MH around 1970 along with his wife, who used to be the nurse at the MH infirmary. Whilst there at MH, he was blessed with a baby boy with the most incredible blond hair that one could imagine. There was not a thing in the world that kept Bill Moore down. He was flamboyant and I am sure I speak for many when I say, he was someone most of us looked up to. He had good looks, a pretty wife, a cute son, could get along famously with all the students and staff. Most importantly he was good in football and other sports like cricket. He was wacky at times.....like when he wore a blue tie for the Edinburgh Cricket match against North Point. White cricket flannels and a blue tie?? That was way before Kerry Packer and his band of coloured cricket circus took off. In a word he was also ahead of his time. Much later when his friend, a catholic, was murdered in Ireland, he went to the funeral despite death threats because he believed in humanity. It was then natural for a colourful Irishman with a strange sense of humour to come up with this "Hermonite Speak", FENCING. In MH, during the early to mid 70's couples were allowed to be boyfriends and girlfriends. The number of couples were only limited by the number of the opposite sex available. In other words, it was the in thing to do: make a very special "friend" with the opposite sex. If you did not, you were either a loser or a nerd, to use the current word for studious types. All the jocks had girlfriends. Without exception. All the popular girls had boy friends, without exception. Possibly the only ones, as a group, who did not have special friends in the opposite sex were the day scholars. But then, they were second class citizens merely tolerated to run errands in town! In the evenings just before studies or just after dinner but before the night study couples used to walk around the school or find a secluded spot (hard to come by naturally) around the main building's perimeter fence. They used to stand close to each other and coo sweet nothings into each other's ears. This activity of standing by the fence with your beau was called fencing. A popular song from the musical "Salad Days" went, "....It is hard to forget The plays, the dances The walks around the school In the spring....." This particular song was adopted and incorporated later (ca. 1974) by MH staff and students into the various farewell songs to be sung only in November. However, one could say that it was the anthem of the fencers and it epitomised everything fencing was all about. It would be embarrassing to go into the details of fencing or to name the protagonists. Of course the list would be rather large for this piece too! It was generally accepted by the staff that boys would like girls and vice versa. Some did take advantage out of the liberal atmosphere at MH. However, I for one am glad that I was a student of MH then and had the wonderful opportunity to see fencing and how relations were built up; reach its zenith and then either continue at a steady state till the final year of school or dissolve, sometimes amicably and sometimes with lots of recriminations. What a wonderful introduction to the real world of adults! Lochan Gyawali MH '76

Once a year in October a concert was organized to display the boys acting abilities. The most memorable one was The Mikado in 1957 our Golden Jubilee year.

Charles Hilary Tresham: Cecil Gibbons was in my class and could run pretty fast although his real claim to fame was his superb lead performance as 'Full Moon' in the Mikado (One of the 'three little maids from school') and as all past and present Goethalites will agree was the longest rehearsed, best produced and best performed school concert of all time (tongue in cheek)!

Clem Lee: Cecil Gibbons played the female lead, but I thought it was the role of 'Yum Yum' and P. S. Gurung played 'Nanki Poo' the love lorn minstrel seeking 'Yum Yum'. Archie Scott played one of the three little maids. Archie got in touch from Miami a while back, but recently my emails to him have bounced. Archie, where are you, if you are reading this please get in touch again. The late P.C. Wong played 'Pooh Bah', a court gentleman. The Mikado was played by the late Tommy Kingsley. Ko-Ko, Yum Yum's intended, was played by Brian Sequeira. C.J. Bell had a big role but I forgot what he was. Can anyone remember? The Mikado was produced and directed by Br. M.D. O'Donohue who now lives in Shillong and runs a school for the deaf. The late Mr. McCormack painted all the scenes and the Orchestra was conducted by Mr. D'Souza. Proud to say that yours truly was one of the 'gentlemen of Japan'!

John C. Tresham: CJ Bell played the role of the Lord High Executioner ('On a tree by a willow a little tom tit, sang willow tit willow tit willow. And I said to him ''dicky bird why do you sit? etc. etc.''). Bruno Sequeira played the role of Katisha, the Mikado's daughter (with the best, most tuneful aria in the Mikado 'The hours of gladness are dead and gone. In silent sadness I'll live alone. The hopes I cherished etc. etc.'). Lovely stuff but,no disrespect to Bruno, needed a real contralto to do it full justice. 'Mia sama, mia sama, on ye ma ne mye ne, mia mia suro nowa nan giya na, toko ton yare tonyare na'. Great stuff! And if any one out there does not think this is real Japanese, postcards to Gilbert and Sullivan please!

Clem Lee: Good memory - Sequiera's first name was Bruno and not Brian . And you remember some of the lyrics too. Wonder where Bruno is now. Yum Yum was "the ward" of Ko Ko. Who played Ko Ko? C.J. Bell of course. Ko Ko was the Lord High Executioner. Katisha (Bruno Sequeira) sang "he'll marry his son, he's only got one to his daughter-in-law elect". Who else but Katisha was the daughter-in-law elect. She was not the daughter, John. The Mikado supposedly had a son and Katisha was promised to him. Confused?!! The plot thickens.

Charles Hilary Tresham: You're absolutely right. I'm not sure where I got the name 'Full Moon' from - I'm sure it crops up in one of the songs in the Mikado but 'Yum Yum' was the name of the geisha girl which Cecil Gibbons played. Clem, this will definitely stir things up!

Fraser Thomson: Did you know that my brother Gaham played Pitti-Sing and I played Peep-Bo in that show of 57? Graham, Alex and I were also in the school band. Graham played clarinet, Alex had a go at horn and I, violin. The GMS Mikado, I have to agree with Charles, was the "best produced and best performed school concert of all time". Cheers and keep up the good work.

Clem Lee: Archie Scott previously wrote "I played one of the three little maids in the Mikado...What fun!!!" So with your brother Graham and you, the trio completed the cast of the three little maids. "Three little maids from school are we, Pert as a school-girl well can be, Filled to the brim with girlish glee, Three little maids from school!" Chorus: ‘Comes a train of little ladies From scholastic trammels free, Each a little bit afraid is, Wondering what the world can be!"

According to Br. O’Donohue, he practically did the whole musical score and conducted the Orchestra with Fr. Ken McNamara at piano. Mr. Jacques was not much help. The very capable Mr. D’Souza that I remember was actually Mr. Sol Saldana and his son Julian Saldana . The son, I remember, could blow the sax quite well. I was right though that they were not in school for long.

1 is A.R.Shaw ’60, 16 is not P.M.Son, its Willie Wu ’61, this picture was taken in 1957 the golden jubilee year. clem

Br. M.D. O'Donohue: The orchestra leader we had in GMS in 1957 was a Mr. Jacques. The previous year (1956) a Mr. Solly Soldana occupied the post but I believe there had been some confusion at one of the concerts that year. Was it Denis Gough (an excellent trumpeter) who cracked on the very last high note in an orchestral piece and then had his head cracked by Solly's violin, which shattered into tiny pieces on impact? Such was the story as I heard it. So Solly's services were, unfortunately, terminated at the end of the year and the post given to Jacques. Solly was temperamental but a splendid musician. Jacques was patient and placid but apart from being able to wave his hands around as a conductor and being fairly good on the violin, he knew very little about music and was a dead loss in GMS on Jubilee year. I found out to my cost that he was incapable of orchestrating so I had to write the music for the different instruments of the orchestra - something I had never done before but having a sound grasp of the theory, I was able to manage. For the Mikado I was blessed with an excellent accompanist on the piano, a Fr. Ken Mc Namara, S.J., an Irish Australian. In fact the St. Mary's fathers were very supportive and did the lighting for us and the sound recording - in those days when tape recorders were an expensive novelty. Fr. Ken was a professional architect and I hear that subsequently he designed many school and other buildings in the Hazaribagh mission. I have an idea he is still alive, perhaps back in Australia. Unfortunately the Mikado recordings did not last too long. Some of them were taped over accidentally by Brs. Kelly on the sax and Hayes on the banjo and the rest by Br. Clancy (R.I.P.) and his choir, when I had returned to Asansol (I had been sent temporarily from Asansol to GMS to do the Jubilee celebrations) and he had resumed control of the choir in 1958. One man who deeply regretted their loss was Br. O'Malley, who loved to play them daily. You may recall that he rarely missed our night practices: he used slip quietly into the hall for after-dinner practices and chuckle away to himself as the boys came to terms with their roles as Japanese! Incidentally, I never had any hassle with the production of the Mikado. The lads were musical and were available all the time for practices. In fact I have never forgotten a decision of mine from those practices that has left me happy for the rest of my life. I had found it very difficult to select a character for the title role, the Mikado himself. Tommy Kingsley had a wonderful voice and seemed ideal to me. But the pundits on the staff strongly advised against it. It seems Tommy was slow at the books and found it hard to retain lines - so they averred. I remember that in desperation I had a private chat with Tommy and told him that he was the ideal choice for the Mikado. I explained the misgivings of the others to him and told him that if only he could manage the lines, I would give him every help. Tommy assured me that he would do his best - he was a very steady and mature young man - and what really delighted me was that he picked up his part just as fast as any one of the other principals and eventually not only looked but acted and sang the part of the Mikado to perfection. Sadly, not long afterwards when I had left GMS, Tommy was drowned. It was then I really felt happy that I had done the right thing by him and given him the chance he rightfully deserved. Yes, I enjoyed my year at GMS but found it one of the periods of greatest, sustained tension of my life. During that year we had 5 - 6 high Masses, orchestra practices and recitals -- with Mr. Jacques as a passenger -- socials, variety concerts and on top of all that the Asian flu. At its peak we had 154 boys in bed with fever. Br. Kelly took his boys out of class to nurse them for one week and I did the same with mine for the next. Then we had those massive drills displays, including the Maize drill by Br. Roe and the endless practices he insisted on, for which I had to play the accordion. Nowadays I find it hard to lift that same accordion and I look back in wonder: how did I manage. When I returned to Asansol my weight had dropped to 140 lbs. (63.6 kg.) But youth is resilient and I recovered weight and energy in a short time indeed. These are a few of the memories I retain of my year in GMS. Unfortunately, I never got to know any of you at any appreciable depth at the time: concentration had to be on results of all kinds and not on personalities. Then I remember Brothers coming for holidays and going on hikes and outings to Kettle valley and Tiger Hill. These were never for Br. Kelly or for me: we envied them but we had to be on the job. In the end it was worth it all, as is now evident to us from the positive and proud memories you treasure of those days. I hope this will be of some interest to the Alumni of 43 years ago. If we pushed them hard we can truthfully say that we did not spare ourselves also.

Social Functions In Goethals by Aline Orian (St. Helen's Convent) If anyone from Goethals had chanced to overhear our remarks on the subject of the Concert, as we were strolling back to St. Helen's on the 11th of October, I am afraid that he would have developed a swollen head; for, though we were generous with criticisms, they were always favourable. Although we had expected something good from Goethals, we were totally un-prepared for the brilliant performances staged by the actors; and both they and Reverend Brother Donnelly, the Producer and Director, deserve unstinted praise. I heard an enthusiastic spectator say, some time after the concert, that Brady, as Queen Isabella, was royally dignified even to his nose --- and, I would add, his voice ! We all pitied King Ferdinand, though at the end he seemed to be doing an excellent job in promoting international friendship with Mdlle. Sago Palm; but it seems that Banana Bill, "a slave to his majesty's will", is even more to be pitied. From his shiverings it seems apparent that Caribbee is as cold as Kurseong ! King Tapioca seems to possess unusual knowledge of the state of his country's stock exchange; but he displayed a regrettable desire to play hide-and-seek when confronted with the "white faces". Gasper fitted his part very well; and, were it not for one undisguisable feature, he would have been unrecognisable. As for P. Rath -- apparently the Lifebouy Soap(or was it St. Mary's cheese?) that he regarded as an unfailing remedy for mal-de-mor did not upset him overmuch; for on the 15th he was as bright as ever -- although some might ascribe his health to Sister Felix's good offices. All the good choruses, too, were excellent, and we congratulate the singers; but need I say that the orchestra rivalled the Opera in our opinion ? Mr. Ludwig has really done wonders, and the members of the orchestra, too, deserve high praise, for never has the Goethals' Orchestra been better. Some Helenites were expressing a desire to have a band in St. Helen's, but for the present we are content to blow the trumpets for our brother-school. Then there was Mr. McCormack's wonderful painted sceneries. His paintings were so real that we almost hear the swish of the waves, the murmur of the wind in the palms, and the gay chatter of of myriads of birds. Whoever were responsible for the costumes deserve the highest praise also. We all had the greatest difficulty trying to recognise well-known faces of Goethals' boys. Principal Actors in Opera: Christopher Columbus------A Gasper Ferdinand, King of Spain-----L. Conroy Isabella, Queen of Spain------R. Brady President of Savants------P. Rath Tapioca, King of Caribbee----J. Kingsley Banana Bill------J. Tshering Mdlle. Sago Palm------R. Rufus Boatswain------R. Johnson And now -- to the Sports. We of St. Helen's heartily agreed with Mr. Sirkar, the S.D.O., when during his speech, he said "I came here expecting to have a good time, and I've had it !" We too thoroughly enjoyed the Sports, which went off with a swing -- although one of the obstacles in the Obstacle Race swung quite literally, to the dismay of the unfortunates on it at the time. Brother Corbett dserves special praise and a vote of thanks for his untiring efforts and every boy in Goethals should come in for a share of the praise; for each and every boy, in one way or another, contributed to the success of the Sports. Congratulations to the Goethals' A Team on winning the Inter-school Relay; and also ditto to Stanley Williams for winning the 800 metres for the third time. He has earned the Challenge Cup. During the Prize Distribution several names were very prominent: Roy, Son, Williams and Bhandari. Other lights too are beginning to shine. Next year there will be many new faces, but "Goethals will always try".

Landmarks

Clem Lee: Pleasant memories Picnics in Kettle Valley, we practically ran down to the stream at the bottom of the valley, the paths were quite steep, law of gravity pulling us downwards! Surrounding the paths were tea gardens. We stayed and ‘swam’ or played in the cold water rushing downstream for a few hours, had our picnic lunch too. Climbing back up was quite an effort, but the labor was quite worth it! If you browse the internet, there were a lot of questions and speculations as to why the valley was named “Kettle”. Most answers were because of the tea plantations surrounding the valley, tea and kettle go together! However, if you look at the first picture above, it's obvious the valley is shaped like a kettle. At Goethals, we always linked the name “Kettle Valley” to the view of the valley from far and above as the picture showed. It’s kettle shaped! Walks to Red Cross, Constantia, Chimney, Eagle’s Crag were pleasant activities taking in surrounding scenic views and mindful of the Nature around us! Had to watch out for leeches too! Remembering the Monsoons...... It's been quite a hot and dry Summer here in New York. The rainfall had been sparse and infrequent, creating a drought like condition. Grass have turned brown and leaves are withering and falling like it was Autumn. I was thinking what a good Monsoon downpour here could do for us ! I remember back in school , it used to rain for days. When the rain finally stopped and the came out, we would ask the Principal for a "Sunshine" holiday. Actually, the privilege of asking belonged to the Head Prefect and his assistants. Br. Fitzpatrick was Principal in the late fifties and when he was asked, he would sort of act like a little "annoyed" at the audacity of the boys. But with a slight hint of a smile, his "stern" countenance quickly changed to that of a benevolent father figure as he nodded with a big "YES". A tremendous cheer would ring out from the boys gathered around the Prefects and the Principal. The cheer was so loud , I was sure, that it could have been heard from the surrounding hills! Hugh Porter wrote: "Just to remind you that the fundamental test for granting of a sunshine holiday was the ability to see the 'Fairweather Peak' from the second field fence. If you couldn't see it, there was no chance of getting the day off." John Tresham wrote: "I recall that looking westwards from the school there was, in the distance, a perfect volcanic cone. We knew it as Fairweather Peak. Has anyone got further information about Fairweather Peak? Can any GMS members or staff shed any light on this? The area is not known for volcanic activity." Ker Fah Liu wrote: " I just read John Tresham's Oct 27, 99 addition to your piece on Sunshine Holiday and his query about the name of Fair Weather Peak. It's name is Kanchenjunga, which is the third highest peak in the world, after Everest and K2 respectively." Tiger Hill I believe it was December 1961. We, the Senior Cambridge class of 1961, were going on a field trip to the famed Tiger Hill to watch over Mount Everest - on foot! We were 'forced' to 'rest' that afternnon in our dormitory beds (though no one slept as we were so excited). It was a cold but clear and crisp night. We were by the dining rooms at 10 p.m. for bread, butter, biscuits and coffee (prepared by one of the 'Dajus'). This helped prepare for the tortuous 20 plus miles (one way) we were to undertake. We checked each others clothing, socks and 'keds' to see if they were adequate to brave the cold at 9000 feet. We also set up 'groups' that we would be in. I believe we were led by Brother Corbett (someone please correct me if I am wrong). The 'journey' started at about 11 p.m. down to the 'Siding' at the bottom of the School, and then up the winding Hillcart Road towards Ghoom near Darjeeling. I remember being with W.C. Wu, Roger & Glenn Storey, Michael Reed, Andrew Clark (do you remember?), K.S. Liu, L.N. Bose, Dilip Banerjee, and Kedar Bahadur Barhwal. There may have been others, but I am not as young as N.C. Lee! NC seems to remember it all. The first few miles seemed like eternity, but the weather, though cold, was beautiful. The stars were bright and all our 'Goethals' spirits were high. As we 'dragged' along, we talked of all our ambitions, how we would keep in touch etc. Finally, at about 3 a.m., we arrived at Ghoom. This is where the real climb started along the narrow trail by the jeep treads. This was an ordeal, but we Goethalites were trained 'to do all things well'! We were telling jokes to lift each others spirits, sang trendy tunes of the time, and cursed why we were doing this. We finally arrived at Tiger Hill around 5 a.m. Oh how cold it was! Our feet and hands were freezing. To make it worse, the coffee shop was still closed. When it opened, it only had coffee - dark coffee (no sugar), and butter (no bread!). We had no choice but to drink that to stay awake and to stay warm! The sunrise over Tiger Hill was great - we will never see anything like this again! We were still freezing, but the trek back still remained. We did not realize that getting back downhill would be more difficult. The toes of our feet (what wonderful socks we had then!) were freezing and pushing into our 'keds' and hurting. Many rests had to be taken along the way to Ghoom. Besides, we were all cranky, hungry and tired. At Ghoom, we ate buns and drank tea at the train station. Quite a few rode the train back to Kurseong, while others were determined to make this trip as memorable (and painful) as possible. I still remember Dilip Banerjee and I walking up to the School from theSiding below. I don't think I had any feeling by then. We were all in tears, but pride was stake. This is one of the memories of Goethals I will not forget. Dipak Roy 1961

Sally Stewart (Dow Hill): There is no accounting for whatever it is that makes the 'camera' within, so selective. It has something to do with my subconscious. When the conditions are 'just so'- the shutter clicks - and yet another vivid memory is added to a random collection of images I do not consciously choose. (Why don't I do half as well when I DO need to remember)! I had been fishing about for a 'memory' to add, at his request, to Clem's growing collection ... and having no success. Then it began to rain! For me, rain evokes - always - a heightened sense of awareness. I guess it's an experience we all share, the sense of something ... impending. The ensuing gloom provoked a memory or two of prolonged weeks of rain endemic to our lives in the Himalayas, and the short bursts of welcome sunshine when we too, enjoyed outings outside school boundaries. The nature of our 'sunshine holiday' ambles depended on the staffer who escorted us and the walk I'm thinking of now was conducted by a Sports Mistress who had a penchant for forced marches! It had been pouring buckets for days upon endless days and when the sun finally broke through and the Prefects were successful - we were off. My topography, after all these years, is not clear but the route we took (I think) began from the little Dow Hill post office (Breezy Point about a mile below our school) where we turned right into deepening forest and for me - the magic began. (Standard imagery follows) The unsealed road followed the natural curve of the hillside through which it was cut, leading eventually to St. Mary's Seminary before wending back up the hill to Dow Hill. But for the muffled rush of hidden water on its urgent way through boulder strewn jhoras to meet the swollen Balasan far below, and of the more immediate sound of gumboots splashing through loamy puddles, a cathedral silence reigned in the sombre woods. Shafts of watery broke through the damp canopy setting myriads of clinging raindrops alight with jewel hues and, half glimpsed in the tangle between forest and path, nettle and dock, wild raspberries flashed their crimson invitation. The air fair sparkled with the fresh, clean smell of rain-washed conifer. On our right, trickling down the red loam scarp where furry-antlered stagmoss trailed and gentian and violets, primulas and fairy moss sprouted, countless gurgling rivulets streamed into the wooded depths to our left. Here, high among dripping branches, the beautiful waxy white, yellow throated Himalayan orchid wafted its heady perfume - a prized King Croaker with tissue wings, shrilled stridently and rearing through the soggy forest floor, the warning red of the saap bhutta, its glistening cob capped with frothy bubbles, betrayed a midnight tryst. I was in my natural environment ... one in which so many of us hill school 'wallahs' shared. ('Heightened awareness' indeed! One can't help but wax self-consciously lyrical.) We were maintaining a fast clip, hot in steaming mackintoshes when there, half hidden in a grotto carved into the bank, stood a lady in blue! I remember being more than a little startled by her sheer unexpected presence but her setting was near perfect. I guess she 'belonged' to the Fathers at St. Mary's Seminary who are no longer there of course, having been 'asked' to vacate their beautiful self-contained sanctuary for a department of foresters and I wonder if 'the lady in blue' remains ? She had added that day, a further dimension to our walk in enchanted woods and - another lovely, albeit unbidden 'memory', for my album.

Clem Lee: St. Patrick’s Day was our first holiday after returning to school in the first week of March. With not too many Irish Christian Brothers left in India (about 20 according to Br. Fitzpatrick), I don’t know if the holiday is still celebrated in Christian Brothers’ schools in India and if it is whether with the same fervor. For the Catholics in school, the day started with a High Mass conducted by one of the Fathers from St. Mary’s Seminary. I was told that St. Mary’s Seminary had been taken over by a government forestry school quite some time ago. In fact, Sally Stewart of Dow Hill in her memories-article questioned whether the Grotto with a statue of Our Lady still exists today on St. Mary’s Hill. Does it? I remember Fr. Dubois from Belgium who was the Rector of St. Mary’s, Fr, Arroyo of Spain, a great football player who was with the junior Real Madrid team before joining the Jesuits, Fr. Briffa from Malta who was the founder of the GLS which preceded the LTS of today. At some point the name must have been changed from GLS to LTS. From the U.S.A. - Fr. McHugh who coached us in basketball and Fr. Dietrich who taught us a little of softball. There were many others. The Choir boys were especially loud that morning. Joyous Hymns were heard coming from the school Chapel. The Hymns were sung in Latin and probably not understood much by those without Latin instructions, but the harmonious voices (soprano, alto, tenor and bass) and the organ music were quite pleasing to the ears. Meals served on St. Patrick’s Day were special. We got chicken for dinner that day! It was the first of the few school holidays when we were "treated" with extras, We really looked forward to the few burra khannas that we had during the school year from the first week of March to the first week of December. I don’t remember if we got corn beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day. But I’m sure the Brothers had them.

Bonfire Night by Clem Lee As we approached the end of our school year in late November, preparation began for our traditional Bonfire. The event marked the breakup of school for KG through Standard 8 and the start of intensive cramming for Standard 9, the senior class, preparing for the Senior Cambridge Exams. There was excitement in the air as we watched the built up of tree branches in the middle of third field. The branches were piled hhigh until a good mound was ready for the Bonfire at night. All day long senior boys along with the dajus went into the woods to gather tree branches. The best ones were brown and dry. It was on a Bonfire night that young John Christopher Tresham got into trouble by cutting down "a young cripti tree" and was fined 2 rupees by Br. Fitzpatrick. That night young John Christopher learned that the school had a "forestry policy", much to his surprise. We had just enjoyed a "burra khanna", which usually consisted of a chicken dish for main course, tapioca pudding and hot cocoa. We used to call the pudding "frog's eggs pudding"! Before dinner, we had gone to the tuck shop to load up on candies, chewing gum, etc. for snacking at the Bonfire. I remember Br. Lynch, R.I.P., who ran our tuck shop for years. It was a crisp wintry night and a cold but refreshing wind was blowing gently. The night was blanketed with stars and constellations. We could see the Milky Way, the Great Bear, Cassiopia and other formation of stars. I remember that it was Br. Roe, R.I.P, who pointed out all those Constellations to us. The Moon was almost full but like a brightly lit lamp at a distance shining on us, boys with rosy cheeks without a care in the world. The time had come, it was about 8 p.m. Groups of impatient boys gathered around the mound of tree branches, the Christian Brothers, the Sisters, the Lay Staff, watched as our dajus poured some kerosene on the edge of the mound. With a signal from Br. Fitzpatrick, our Principal, the dajus set fire to the mound. A great cheer went up. We began singing songs like "Coming round the mountain", "My Bonnie lies over the ocean", "When Irish eyes are smiling" and other great singalong songs. We would have made Mitch Miller proud!!! The Bonfire lit up the third field. The warmth it provided was appreciated by all of us on that cold winter night. With smiles, cheers and the singing of happy songs, a great feeling of "Camaraderie" and a sense of belonging were experienced by all. How can anyone forget a night like that?!!! "It was the best of times"

Traveling to and from school by Clem Lee In recent years, I was told, a parent has to accompany a student to school in March and to bring the student home in December. I don’t know what year this rule started.

Should I invoke the ‘E’ word(effete) which Mohan Shivdasani abhorred, when Hugh Porter used it during our grub debate?!:-) you’ll know when you read the summary of the grub debate!

Back in the fifties, students travelled to school by trains and returned home the same way unaccompanied by parents. Of course, we were supervised by lay teachers and Christian Brothers. From Calcutta Sealdah train station, we boarded a broad gauge railway train which took us overnight to a river crossing. I forgot where, ageing fast hahaha, whether it was the Ganges river or some other river. Did we cross the river by boat or by a railway bridge crossing! Again my memories failed me! I’m more inclined to think we crossed the river by boat. Once we crossed over the river, we boarded a metre gauge railway train which took us to Siliguri. From Siliguri we boarded a narrow gauge railway train which took us to Kurseong and a little further to below our school. Imagine, we travelled by trains on broad gauge, metre gauge and narrow gauge railways! The narrow gauge train from Siliguri on the plains to Kurseong where Goethals Memorial School was located about 5,000 feet up a Himalayan foothill. We nicknamed the small train “toy train” as it zigzagged its way to school. In those days, all the railway trains ran on steam engines in India! It was a pleasure hearing the ‘toot toot toot’ train whistle as the train chugged along up the hill to school!

At each station stop, vendors came by selling hot tea “chai garam”, sweets like “jelebi”, fruits, etc. It was quite an experience dealing with the numerous vendors, especially when the train is about ready to pull out of the station!

If anything, the British Raj did build and left a good railway system throughout India. They ought to be lauded for their accomplishments.

Did we enjoy the train rides, sceneries we witnessed and marveled at, especially scenic views of foothills and the surrounding mountains, including snow capped mountains? You bet we did! We would not trade our train experiences for anything in the world!

“It was the best of times”

Winter In Kurseong by Charles H. Tresham Winter here in Kurseong is the long-awaited season of the year and rightly so too. The other seasons are either too hot or too wet to be of any attraction at all. Indeed, Winter is the time when Kurseong boasts of her exquisite and . The various hues of yellow and orange, tinted with the azure blue of the early morning or evening sky, combine to form a veritable kaleidoscope of colour. The chilly northern winds and the earlier setting of the sun make our evenings rather cold, and the first signs of those irritable chillblains begin to appear to many a boy. The Winter mornings are darker than usual, besides being colder, and early rising is made all the more difficult. Washing with icy-cold water is probably the most detested period of the day. Those who stay long enough in contact with the water to feel the use of soap necessary are performing quite a feat indeed. The monotonous swaying of the towering pine trees and the cheerful singing of the Himalayan birds are appropriate tokens of praise to the new season. Unfortunately, this charming season exists from October to February -- a comparatively short reign for the lovliest season of the year. It is during this season that the gardens best display their many varieties of colourful flowers with an excusable pride. Bright carpets of various designs are seen on all sides, but to disappear again during the Summer months which will follow. These Winter days are of extremely short duration. When the setting sun bids us farewell at the end of our day's activity, what a colourful parting that is ! Then we see the Artist of Nature at his best, and we look with awe and admiration. However our fascination is ephemeral. The sun disappears behind the rugged hills, and only their dark silhouettes linger on. Soon they too gradually fade into the all-enveloping darkness, and the peaceful night has arrived. As we move up the stairways to the dormitories and silently prepare for sleep, our thoughts are thoughts of peace and contentment.

Grub Debate summary by Clem Lee From what I have received on the subject of grub from ex students of St. Helen's, Dow Hill, Victoria, Mount Hermon, St. Paul, St. Mary's(Mt. Abu) and Goethals, the daily fare at each of the school was not something to be bragged about. Complaints seemed to be the norm, but not much had been mentioned about the nutritional value of our basic food of rice, bread, chapati, dal, eggs, meat and vegetables. You have to remember too the sheer quantity that had to be put out daily from the kitchens. When quantity was the important factor, quality, invariably, was always compromised. The consensus was that school grub was generally unpalatable. John Christopher Tresham of Goethals was of the opinion that "it was more the way the meals were cooked. Even the tea, from an area which produces some of the world finest, was, for the most part undrinkable. How does one not make a good cup of tea?" Dipankar Sengupta offered "Whatever the menu, what matters is the cooking. And the cooking in GMS was bad while I was there(1979-85). The dal would more often than not, settle at the bottom, with the water in the middle and the spices,i.e. haldi etc floating on top." However, can anyone ever be satisfied ? Mohan Shivdasani has this to say in that regard "I can hear Hugh using that Lyndon B. Johnson "e" word again---but if he wants to go REALLY overboard, let him consider that my 2 boys who were in Sherwood ( I didn't opt for GMS PRIMARILY because of my soul-scarring experience with the output of that Institution's kitchen!) in the mid-90's, COMPLAINED about a diet that included STRAWBERRIES & CREAM, NAANS, CHICKEN TIKKAS, CHOLE BATURE, PASTRIES ad nauseum!!! GO FIGURE! Some graphic descriptions of the food:(this is not for the faint of heart!) Val Noronha of St. Mary's, Mt. Abu, wrote "Nylon curry: you could see through it, a layer of discoloured water on top and a fine silt of chili powder below. Chunks of leather strewn around, officially termed mutton. The subjiwalas (vegetarians) had a special blend: rayon or something, but meatwalas were either not entitled to it or never cared for it - can't remember. Probably the latter, because I developed a lasting aversion to pumpkin and brinjal. Butter: something we sniffed when it wafted up to the classrooms as they melted it downstairs. Applied with one deft stroke of the knife, scraped off with another. Detectable only by those with a good sense of smell. But on picnic mornings (i.e. once/year) a class would rise early and have a WHOLE CUP of the yellow stuff sitting there, for us to help ourselves. We laid it on thicker than the bread, and it stung our teeth - we never worried with cholesterol then." Lochan Gyawali of Mount Hermon had this to say "Lunch was always dal, rice (invariably fortified vitamins from dead insects in them....)". Who had better food? That, of course, was a matter of opinion. Everything, as you know, is relative. Here are some examples. Ker Fah Liu of Goethals who recalled this story "Once when we were complaining at breakfast, Christopher J. Bell who had transferred from La Martinier School in Calcutta mentioned that the bread at his former school was sliced so thinly that it floated when thrown." Viraj P. Thacker of Goethals and St. Paul put it another way "I realized the full impact of this deprivation when I got to St.Paul's. The Paulite cuisine was a taste of the "Raj" and unlike others." Who said everything was bad?!! Su Fang Ku of St. Helen's stated "The bread pudding and potato curry were great though." Lochan Gyawali of Mount Hermon enjoyed the school breakfast as he stated "Breakfast in MH was pretty good: bread (as many slices as you wanted) corn flakes (note the spelling) or porridge, egg or equivalent for veggies, tea (as many cups as you wanted) limited quantity of marmalade and one frozen piece of butter which you had to mash it with your knife before it applying it on the bread." According to Tapan Singh of Goethals "The Catholics would get beef which we would trade for Indian sweets. The beef was good, or did it just taste so because it was forbidden?" Did we get enough to eat? According to Michael Elimer of Goethals "Get there early or you don't get any bread !!!!!!!!!!! " But Christopher John Tresham of the same school thought that "Quantity didn't seem to be a problem." I guess it all depended on one's capacity for food or in some cases as Ker Fah Liu of the same school pointed out "We sat 8 to a table and "Siberia" was invented to punish one of the 8, for some reason or other, by making sure that he got to the food plates last with bare sustenance remaining on them. It was very effective peer-pressure !" Sally Stewart of Dow Hill recalled "We seemed to thrive - we were ceaselessly hungry nevertheless. I can recall nibbling on herbage sprouting in teacher's gardens. The leaves of ivy geranium and chinese jade have a lovely tangy quality. There was a Chinese Jade plant (also known as 'Bread and Butter Plant'!) which grew in the grounds of the Infirmary shared by Victoria boys and Dow Hill girls . Demarcation was strictly enforced the Nurses doubling as keen-eyed patrol officers , but the Jade grew on 'our' side of the garden and was frequently nibbled. We were, as well, prone to munching on a variety of clover. Yes - you could say that we Dow Hill types were decidedly herbivorous!" In Sally's case, it could be explained that even though Dow Hill provided enough but then again could it ever be enough to satisfy a healthy growing girl?! So how did one get better grub? Viraj P. Thacker of Goethals wrote "In the 80's it was common practice to provide a certain "under the table" sum to the appropriate bearer for a few supplements (meatballs, onions or an egg at lunchtime). These "illegals" were strategically placed under the generous helpings of "rice and dol". John Christopher Tresham of Goethals wrote "To get any relief from the unrelenting gloom of unspeakable curries twice a day, you needed a good supply of tuck sent from home and you had to make arrangements for what was called a special diet. This allowed you a couple of fried eggs for breakfast." Willie Wu of Goethals offered that "Most students brought canned food from home as supplements". Michael Quin-Conroy of Goethals wrote that "however I do recall that my mother paid for extras and I was given a nightly cup of cocoa and an egg for breakfast twice a week. This gave me the advantage to make swaps with others. On an another matter I can also remember eagerly awaiting the arrival of the "Box Wallah" and the wonderful array of Indian sweets he sold to us down on the sports ground." Errol Goves of Goethals explained "That is why our tuck boxes were bigger than our normal clothes trunks and we would use a lot of pickles and jams to make the otherwise appalling food more palatable." Another way to get good food was during the inter school sports events. But of course you must be on the team! June Ku of St' Helen's wrote " My husband (Mount Hermon, class of 75) claimed Goethals always gave very good food to the visiting schools." On the other hand, Viraj P Thacker of Goethals and St Paul's emphatically stated that " Paulites served visiting teams the worst 'grub'." That wasn't nice of Paulites, but the food served must still beat the regular fare. Tapan Singh of Goethals remembered "The only place that had great food was the hospital. The love with which it was prepared by the sisters and fed to us brought many a small boy relief, especially the pudding. Then there were the dajus who would serve us the meals. They were kind folks. One of them lived in the siding by the main road and would bring momos for us. What was important? Sally Stewart of Dow Hill thought "The food was plain but substantial - three square meals a day with bread and jam for afternoon tea. We seemed to thrive." Major Narendra Kumar Rai of Goethals stated that "Whatever we were fed with in school the food was wholesome and well balanced." Cost effective? Val Noronha of St. Mary's, Mt. Abu, put it this way " But heck, we put on weight with this stuff, and for Rs 4/day including the bed and bath water, it wasn't a bad deal. My wife in particular can't get over her luck - she can serve me anything and I'll eat it." According to the saying "You get what you pay for". During the 50s, tuition, room and board were Rs. 1,000 a year and today the combined fee is approaching Rs. 50,000 at Goethals. Even with inflation and the devaluated Rupee it's still a steep price to pay compared to the 50s. I'll be very upset today if I didn't get chicken three times a week! As Willie Wu of Goethals put it " I guess nobody should complain when everything is considered; in fact I think we were better off compared with what you get today for $50,000 annual school fees!" Can we be judged by what we eat? Hugh Porter stated "I was just reading the menu for the current crop of Goethalites, Chicken three times a week. That really is effete. In my time it was three times a year.." On the other hand, Dipankar Sengupta of Goethals countered "Contrary to popular belief, bad food does not necessarily breed good character." And I might add "or bad character."

John Christopher Tresham of Goethals was of the opinion: "Still the rigours of our youth is what makes us what we are." And at least some of us did not lose our sense of humour!!! Roger Green of Goethals stated " remember when we got Peanut Butter and we would warm the darn stuff by sticking our knives in our tea and then on the butter. Roll into a ball and sling it to the ceiling. There were plenty of "green" spots in the Dinning Room ." According to Willie Wu(Goethals) and I quote "speaking of rice, I remember telling Brother Mark 'Rasik' one day that there were some rice in the stones." Finally Ker Fah Liu of Goethals summed it up very well with " Hey ! may be the food did not indulge the palate but it sure engaged the mind and as with the other GMS experiences it sure built character. " Clem: would you believe my daily breakfast is still 2 slices of buttered bread(whole wheat) and a cup of tea(black)?

Day scholar by Saikat Sarkar During our period in school, in the first half of the 80s,there was an almost equal distribution between resident and non-resident Goethalites (as I believe it still is). It used to be an excellent combination of a bunch of blokes from all over the place - resident guys coming in from as far as Dubai and Muscat, and heroes like us coming in from as near as St. Mary's. I used to stay at St. Mary's ... yes, it was the same seminary as most of you people know it as. But over a period of time it got converted to the Eastern Forest Rangers' College (EFRC). My dad being the Indian Forest Service got posted there, and it is from there my daily hikes used to take place to school. After these many years of city life (ever since I left the Goats in 1987) I realise how privileged I was to be able to walk to school every day to and fro (2+2kms) with a 5 kilo backpack on me. A walk on that hill road through the pine (dhupi) forests, with the 8AM sun shining bright, a view of blue hills all around you and the temperature at a perfect 10 degrees ..... need I say more? I have been reading some of the memories on the site where folks remember their weekly / bi- weekly walks. I had an advantage - I got to walk twice a day 6 days a week amidst some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. Today I pay 300 bucks a month to get to walk 20 mins on treadmill at a local gym. Memories ... Memories. It is strange how certain apparently insignificant items get committed to memory, while other more significant ones don't. I still remember the days just before the mid- term and the final exams. By some incredible logic the school in the 80s believed that it was a good idea to have the guys from classes 7 to 9 carry --- YES CARRY - their desks from the classrooms all the way to the GYM to be used as seats during the exams!!! (The Gym at that time used to be beyond the study hall, past the junior dormitory, past the box rooms, beyond the final row of loos - basically, miles from the classrooms, in one corner of the wilderness).There we were - a couple of days before the "English I and English II" papers - dragging our desks all across the campus. While that kept our mind occupied before the exams, it sure was a pain to drag them back after the exams were over. In Class 10, of course, we were priviledged ... the school provided chairs and tables. Desk dragging always used to make me feel very happy - it always indicated that either the mid- term hols or the winter hols have arrived. And post the exams all of us Calcutta guys - would be on the Darjeeling Mail on our way to Calcutta - where we would meet relatives after almost 6 months. Those 3-Tier sleeper journeys with all the friends together are still some of the best journeys I have had till date. Lunch time used to be an incredible session. The grub debate comes to a reasonable conclusion that GMS food is not what can be termed as "tasty". In the 80s, the situation must have been fairly bad. So much so, I used to carry two lunch packs every day to school - one for myself - my mom was concerned I would otherwise starve - and the other for the boarders. I strongly feel there should have been some feedback sessions for the guys who must have suffered through the GMS food then. Lunch time was also attractive for the games we played. I belonged to a group of 15 odd who were cricket fanatics.. and we used to play ONLY CRICKET in school, except during November and December. I still feel a bit unhappy that the school refused to let Day-Scholars play for the school teams at that point. I would have loved to play cricket for Goethals . I ended up captaining the St. Mary's team, and had wished to play against the school at least once in a friendly just to show that we day-scholars could also play for the team and beat other schools hollow. Fortunately the opportunity never came. (Thanx for the trumpet blowing opportunity though). In the winters we used to play this local game called "chungi"? (how many of us remember it?) It was about a hundred rubber bands tied together at the centre with another rubberband, making a small black bouncy little thing. You had to toss it up in the air and keep it in the air by kicking/juggling with ONLY your feet. We spent countless hours just kicking the "chungi"up and down - obviously the one with the highest number of juggles won. It was a simple, rustic and yet extremely practical game. I remember us playing this even before the ICSE exams .. just to keep ourselves warm in the cold of February. Reaching school during rains and returning home after the Annual Prize Distribution, would probably classify as an adventure for me today. All Goats will vouch that it used to rain in "drums" in that part of the world. And with rains there used to be landslides. Trudging through pouring rain, through landslides with a small salt sack tied at the end of a long stick as a means of defence against the "blood sucking" leeches (juga-s) - it definitely was adventure!!! Calvin's dad (as in Calvin & Hobbes) would have loved to send his son to GMS to "build character". And the night walk past the graveyard after the prize distribution all ALONE - well I probably had the right Spirits. We day-scholars had one more advantage - we didn’t have to wait for the socials to meet the "Hens" or the Dow Hills girls. We met them every day. Countless romances blossomed on the Hill Cart Road from below the St. Helens Road at least upto the Kurseong Govt Hospital, beyond which by mutual agreement they were kept discreet, mainly to save our backs. Of course, some of the more adventurous among us used to walk up, up, up to Dow Hills after school and walk down to town with their "partners". What we understood about "romance" at that age, I do not know.. but it sure was fun. Overall we used to have a fairly eventful lives as day-scholars when the "Days Were Just Packed". Momos at Milan, Jalebis at the Kurseong Mishtanna Bhandar, chhurpis from the Tibetian stall owners, the weekend trips to Darjeeling or Siliguri, treks down to Makaibari with friends on Sundays, walking together to school on weekdays, and walking proudly in town in the school uniform as students of the "best school in the district", the Bengali elocution competitions at Raj Rajeshwari competing with the Dow Hills and SHC girls - well you can't get busier than that. For us the school extended well beyond the campus - all the way up to our homes as most of our friends used to be from GMS - who quite naturally used to always do all things well.

Goethals' Day ... 40 Years Ago ... by Darryl John Michael Saturday, July 4 1959: It's after tea and the monsoon have just split open with brilliant sunshine spotlightling First Field and the Balasun Valley beyond. An Austin of England taxi crawls up the final stretch of road just as Br Fitzpatrick, "Princi' ", walks out the front door. A self-conscious 9-year old in a double -breasted gray suit gets out of the taxi with his Dad. The then-Principal welcomes the newcomer who doesn't realize that he's joined school on a special day. He is introduced to a cassocked group standing around the benches in the garden - Brs. Kyle, Cahill, Roe and O'Malley. Everything's a bit overwhelming for the little boy: the Refectory with mysterious marks on the ceiling that will later be discovered to be peanut butter blobs that have been launched from the handles of forks; the Middle Dorm with its rows of spanking white-covered rows where he's shown his bed with a little name tag typed at the end; the steamy Boxroom where showers are in full swing; the Parlour with its flowered curtains and glass cupboard with impressive trophies. The tour continues past the grey, double-storeyed classroom block and on to the Infirmary where a brood of boys is noisily mixing Horlicks and Bournvita into paste in their china mugs, while a plump, cheerful nun - the indomitable Sr. Felix - oversees the operation. Br.Fitzpatrick introduces the new boy to a Class 6er, Keith Goves, who is tasked with showing him the ropes. The 'ropes' in this case will mean lining up outside the boxroom at 5.30 p.m. when a bell rings to signal movie time, going upstairs to the Study Hall for a 16mm version of 'Rio Bravo' and later trooping down for a 'Good Grub' dinner of potato cutlets - 'aloo chops' - school- baked raisin bread and cocoa. Later there'll be homesickness, tears and all the adjusting that comes with fitting into what is affectionately referred to as "GMP". But for now there's only excitement and a feeling that he's going to like this school. The lad doesn't know it then but his Goethals connection will weave in and out of his future in ways he can't imagine.... Down the road at one stage, the cassocked group will be his colleagues - Fitz, Jackie, Marius, Cyp and Mick - and he'll teach in the very classrooms he's been shown that Fourth of July. He'll referee and coach games on that First Field and even lead treks across most of the hills and valleys he sees that day through wonderstruck eyes - the Balasuns, Kettle Valley, Mirik, Tonglu, , Sonada . Even further in the future, long after he's left the Land of the White Orchid, the connection will trail him across two continents when in Dubai, he will work with a former schoolmate, Phubu Tshering, and with an ex-North Pointer, Robert Wilson, who turns out to be the nephew of one his favourite teachers, Matt Lobo. And 40 years in the future, he'll feel shivers run down his spine when, in Ottawa, a school band invited to play for the rollout of a major Information Technology project, strikes up the notes of 'Going Home' and he instantly recognizes it as the school anthem he still remembers so vividly that Mr.Ludwig's orchestra would play with such pride. For now, though it's School Day '59 and I'm that 9-year old.... 'Cheers for Goethals!'

Chapter Eight: BOARDING SCHOOL by Gilbert Raymond(New Zealand) The day came when I had to go to boarding school. Cecil and Peter had been going to boarding school for some years. They had been pupils at first at Victoria, a neighbouring school to Goethals, and then at Goethals, the school where we all finally finished up. The year I began we were all bound for Goethals. The school was named after a prominent Indian statesman. Going to boarding school was a major operation. You, or rather, Mum, had to pack a trunk with all the things that you would need for nine months away from home. We left early one morning for Calcutta. I don’t recall why we went there but it was probably to get some items unobtainable locally. Saidpur lay between Calcutta and Siliguri. We arrived at the Saidpur platform upon which were clumps of blanketed forms. The train arrived. The great connecting rods thrusting back and forth, the brakes shrieking and the steam venting out of valves at the side of the engine. The sleepers awoke, seized their blankets and bundles, and clambered aboard the train. Lack of a seat was no impediment. When the train moved off it would often be festooned with people riding on the running boards or on the roofs of the bogies. When we got to Sealdah station in Calcutta it was a ride in a horse garri to Aunt Dolly’s house in Chowringhee Lane. When everything was ticked off the list we were ready to go. Back to the railway station again. Our journey was across the Bengal plains to the foot hills of the Himalayas. The train started off with a hiss and a roar. The wheels seemed to spin around until they got traction. Gouts of steam hissed from the pistons: great clouds of smoke plumed from the funnel, and we were off.. I don't know of anything quite like a steam train. Diesels may be more economical, perhaps even more powerful, but for sheer visual impressiveness, you can’t beat a steam engine. When I first went to the Machine Room in the Government Printing Office in Wellington where the great flat-bed presses were in full swing, thundering back and forth, I was reminded of nothing so much as a steam engine. Of course, Kipling said it all in McAndrew's Hymn. ‘Lord send a man like Robbie Burns to sing the Song o’ Steam!‘To match wi’ Scotia’s noble speech yon orchestra sublime ‘Whaurto - uplifted like the Just - the tail rods mark the time. ‘The crank-throws give the double bass, the feed-pump sobs and heaves, ‘An’ now the main eccentrics start their quarrel on the sheaves: ‘Her time, her own appointed time, the rocking link-head bides, ‘Till -hear that note?- the rod’s return whings glimmerin’ through the guides,. ‘They’re all awa’! True beat, full power, the clangin’ chorus goes ‘Clear to the tunnel where they sit my purrin’ dynamoes. ‘Interdependence absolute, forseen, ordained, decreed, ‘To work, Ye’ll note, at ony tilt an’ every rate o’ speed. ‘Fra’ skylight-lift to furnace bars, backed, bolted, braced and stayed, ‘An’ singin’ like the Mornin’ Stars for joy that they were made; ‘While out o’ touch of vanity, the sweatin’ thrust-block says: ‘ "Not unto us the praise, or man - not unto us the praise!" ‘Now, a’ together, hear them lift their lesson - theirs an’ mine: ‘ "Law, Order, Duty and Restraint, Obedience, Discipline!" ‘Mill, forge an’ try-pit taught them that when roarin’ they arose, ‘An’ whiles I wonder if a soul was gied them wi’ the blows. ‘Oh for a man to weld it then, in one-trip hammer strain, ‘Till even first class passengers could tell the meanin’ plain! ‘But no one cares except mysel’ that serve an understand ‘My seven thousand horse power here. Eh Lord! They’re grand - they’re grand! John Calvin and Johnnie Knox could almost be forgiven their credo of pre-destination for inspiring that song. The Indian train powering along the broad gauge, four and a half foot wide permanent way. Dum Dum is not far out of Calcutta, where I was told to lookout for Dum Dum Mary, one of the many platform vendors. There she was, a statuesque woman, ploughing through her feeble opposition like a liner surrounded by fussy tugs. The vendors sold everything. Baubles, bangles, beads ; soft drinks, warm and sweet, confectionery, sandwiches, and there is the haunting cry of ‘Paan, beerie, cigarette,garum char," stretching the last word until it faded away. Kanchrapara, Ranaghat, Santalur, Parbatipur, Saidpur, Jalpaiguri, Siliguri, the litany of stations on the way to the hills. Racing over the plains, thundering over trestle bridges, whistling through the smaller stations, watching the wires swooping up and down between the telegraph poles, we approached that thin blue line, the hills! At Siliguri we had to change to the ‘Toy Train’. The toy train ran from Siliguri to Darjeeling, stopping at Kurseong on the way. An twenty-four inch gauge, the railway ran along the mountain sides, sometimes very close to the edge. Looking down you could see a river as a silver thread in the shadows far, far below. A person trotting along at a brisk pace could keep up with the toy train as in chugged up and around the hill sides, often through tunnels. When we reached Kurseong we got into taxis to take us up the mountain. Every slope seemed to be terraced for the tea bushes. In the old days people power was the only way to transport goods. Once an Indian woman has got something balanced on her head she can carry tremendous loads. My first day at Goethals was a mixed experience. I was taken to my first class. The master there was trying to assess the educational level of his mixed bag of charges. He chose to do this by asking everyone to draw a box on the blackboard. Everyone drew a square. When it came to my turn I drew a box in perspective with dotted lines to show the continuation of the inner edges beyond the eye’s limit. This immediately got me promoted to the next class which was the charge of Brother Michael. He was a young man with a swarthy skin, but the thing that stuck in my mind was the way little bubbles of spittle would collect at the corners of his mouth if he spoke for any length of time. I don’t know if the news of the effrontery of my rapid promotion had got about, justifiably incensing my new colleagues, but during the first break I was pursued by a group of boys holding something horrible. I didn’t know what it was, but just fled.. Eventually, exhausted, they bore me down and waved this object in my face, no doubt, hoping to reduce me to a blubbering wreck. I could finally see what I had been fleeing and it was no more than a tongue of leather, probably the end of a broad belt. That was it. I didn’t care any more. Realising I wasn’t going to be terrorised by this thing, they let me up. The class was ruled by force. You fought your way up the scale of dominance. The undisputed king of the class was a relatively small boy named David Peter Potter Bird. I never saw him fight. I don’t know how he kept his lieutenants in check, never letting them make that final move for the top position I did see a bloody battle for the third spot between a boy named Clay and the Number 3, whose name I can’t recall. Clay won, and Number 5 was already testing the deposed Number 3, before the day was out. I had no position to speak of. Two or three boys who were totally hopeless allowed me precedence, but I never acquired sufficient status to seek to advance my position in the pecking order, or attract the attention of anyone who may have considered I had unsuitable ambitions. Later on I did have a fight with some boy. This was classed as a grudge fight and the Masters intervened. A ring was formed by other boys in the playground. We were given boxing gloves which neither of us had used before and let loose. I don’t remember if we had rounds, but when I felt I was getting the upper hand, the fight was stopped and declared a draw. While the punishments were not as severe as those at Victoria, Goethals had its own measure of violence. Bro. Pat Cooney was regarded throughout the school as icon, a regard made up of an admixture of affection, awe and fear. He was notorious for fetching miscreants a solid clip round the head sending them flying. Stories abounded and legends grew about the distance he could ‘putt’ a boy. One story had it that he had ‘putted’ a boy straight through a moveable blackboard that swivelled round a horizontal bar. Boys who became homesick had only one way home and that was down the hill to Kurseong and thence to Siliguri. You could keep to the road or go straight down the khud, (hillside) through the ubiquitous tea bushes. Once someone was known to have ‘escaped’ the retrieval mechanism was put in place: this was the school captain, a marvellous athlete called Chusney. Chusney was a strong runner, and possibly may even have been a clandestine member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as he never failed to get his man. The unfortunate youth who had dared to disgrace the school by preferring his family to the tender mercies of Goethals teaching staff was rewarded with a public beating before the school. You had to attend Mass every day. Some boys would swallow toothpaste to try to raise their temperatures thus avoiding going to Mass. (We had toothpaste in tubes as well as a pinkish powder that came in a tin, rather like a boot polish tin) We attended Mass every morning, before breakfast. A High Mass was an eternity, though on special feast days we did get something better than the usual breakfast. Meals were in the refectory. We were always hungry. If anyone didn’t eat his bread or the minuscule individual pats of butter that we got on feast days, there was always a host of willing hands ready to remove the spoils. Ordinarily we got bread already buttered, if that could be considered a fair description. We would watch the Indian servant buttering the bread that we were to eat. He would spread the butter onto the slice and then scrape off as much of it as he could. What was left was a pale sheen on the surface, barely noticeable. We were forced to eat everything including fat or gristly meat. Abhorrent! We had to write home every week after going to confession. Our letters were censored and you soon learned that everything was great at school. You could ask for money for the tuck shop, and we always did. There was a special treat at the tuck-shop. When you got your pocket money you would rush down to buy a tin of condensed milk. This used to cost one rupee eight annas (spoken as ‘one eight’) and was a substantial chunk of your allowance, if not all of it. This was nectar. I can still recall the sheer undiluted delight swigging down the heavenly, milky sweetness. And when it was gone that was it for another month. We played sports. Hockey was the game. There were several pitches. Down the khud was the sports field. Here we held our sports days and competitions with other schools like Victoria. In the one Sports Day in which I participated, I was third in the 80 yard dash. The final event was the relay race. We were behind at the last lap and who should be the anchor but the school champion, Chusney. We were all yelling like mad. Chusney steadily wore the Victoria chap down and won going away. We had school concerts. I was asked to recite the Little Match Girl. I had always found it easy to learn poetry but for some reason, I could not master this poem. I can recall songs and poems I learned from quite a young age, but not a line of this particular work remains with me. I was then given a comb and tissue paper and relegated to the ‘Comb Band’. ‘See the Comb Band coming along. ‘Happy boys are we ‘All cheerful as you see ‘We belong to Christ the Lord. ‘All the Goethals boys ‘We make a lot of noise.’ And that’s all I remember of that particular item. We sang the school song naturally. ‘G - O -E - T - H - A - L - S ‘Come on! Come on, Blue ‘- - - - -through thick and thin, ‘We’re always loyal to you’ We played lots of games of our own. Marbles - I lost innumerable marbles playing Painda, the rules and object of which I have forgotten, although I seem to recall a rectangle sketched out on the sandy soil, bisected lengthways. (One lost marble led me into a confrontation I would happily have avoided. There was a space under the class-room adjacent to Brother Michaels’s. One of my marbles rolled into this space. I crawled under after it and came face to face with a huge bandicoot. It must have been about two feet long, magnified in the enclosed space. This is a kind of rat-like rodent. We stared at each other for an eternity it seemed, then retreated simultaneously. I did retrieve the marble later.) We had another game where we drew a circle in the ground and threw pen-knives into the circle each throw marking the frontier of the thrower. You weren’t allowed to throw behind your opponent’s line. The winner was the one who gained the entire territory. We also played with tops. Tops would be set spinning and your opponent would try to break your top by throwing down his spinning top to hit yours. Tops could be made to climb up sloping strings and the experts could do a variety of tricks with them. Insect life was rife. There were all sorts of beetles. Stag beetles, finger-breakers, these having a long head with a curved proboscis. The finger-breaker could open up a gap between the body and the head which could give you a nasty nip if you caught flesh in it. Preying mantises, lady birds and a host of other insects were collectibles, incarcerated in match-boxes. In the wild roses that grew on the wayside you could find rose-beetles. These were small beetles with lustrous green, gold and blue iridescent carapaces. Beautiful little creatures. There was a small village on our way opposite which were a lot of wild rose bushes. We often saw the village women making dung patties by slapping dung between their hands till a thin flat round pancake emerged, anything between six and eight inches across. These were slapped onto the walls of their huts while still wet to dry in the sun.. When dry, they were used for fuel in their little cooking fires, giving a clear hot flame. Coming back in the evenings you could see thin blue smoke rising from their fires. We went on long walks on the mountain roads. Conkers (horse chestnuts) were collected in season. Rumour had it that a couple of boys had crept out past the night watchman one night, with a couple of pillow cases, to collect conkers. I never found out if it was true. If we went down the mountain, we passed Halfway House, the higher end of a cable upon which sacks of tea leaves were sent down and across the valley. We all talked about jumping on a bag, to be swept down across the valley to the lower end of the cable. A sort of super flying-fox. At the bottom of the valley there was a reservoir in which we could swim. Unfortunately, any trip down meant climbing back up. There was an unhappy incident resulting from a stupid activity. Several boys used to throw stones at each other. This was a friendly thing, but sadly resulted in one boy losing an eye. The two concerned were, Nelson (an unfortunate coincidence for the boy who lost his eye) and Hippolite. I didn’t actually see the stone being thrown, but was regaled with bloodthirsty enthusiasm with descriptions of bloody jelly hanging down his cheek. Revolting! Another jolly pastime was breaking off small branches from the cryptomeria trees and whacking each other across our bare legs. We all wore shorts and this could sting. Going along the hillside you would eventually come to Victoria.. We did walk there once but I can’t remember much about it. Up the hill was a monastery, pretty well deserted. I know that we were able to go into a room with a billiard table. At the top of the hill was ‘Dowhill’. This was a girl’s school which Sheila and Jeanne attended. I never went there while I was in Goethals, but I did attend a sports day once, with Mum and Dad. Sheila and Jeanne were in different houses so I was adjured to cheer for both teams when ever they competed. Irving and Mallory, who died on Everest, were commemorated in House Names. (Sheila tells me I am confusing this with Victoria where they did have House names commemorating mountaineers: Irving, Kellas, Mallory - Dowhill celebrated soldier/statesmen: Clive, Hastings and Wellesley.) At one stage Jeanne smuggled me into her dormitory. There were some of her friends present and we were having a nice little get together when, ‘Cave!’, a fearsome mistress was approaching. No boys allowed in the girl’s dormitory, so panic set in. I was pushed under a bed, until the dreaded one had passed. I remember her having a huge dewlap. I was carefully smuggled out. The Matron, was responsible for our health and clothing. She used to get us to scour the playing fields and grounds to pick up buttons. She was always sewing buttons on flies, no zips in those days. To encourage us she would promise her pudding to whoever collected the most buttons. We were always hungry and would have killed for an extra pudding. This incentive scheme turned out to be counter-productive, as we all began to see how many buttons we could safely remove from our own trousers without becoming a public spectacle. She must have caught on to this because the offer was soon withdrawn. At the side of one of the buildings was a small flight of concrete stairs. I was walking along there one evening, in a day-dream as usual, and failed to see the steps. I was rewarded by a nasty gash on my forehead the scar of which I have to this day. Our mountain was Kanchenjunga. Of all the giant peaks in the Himalayas this was the one we could see from Goethals. Mantled with eternal snows she meant more than Everest ever did. I read somewhere that the name means ‘five treasure houses of the great snows’. Perfect! In my imagination she was the Jungfrau, the young woman, of the Himalayas. I remember feeling rather sad when I heard that a British Expedition had climbed to the summit in 1955. I wished that they had left her alone. I have a lot of sympathy with the Maori who claim that the summits of mountains are tapu. Dad came to collect me when the year was finished. I was uncomfortable for a large part of the journey because I could not stop calling him, ‘Sir’. It was simply a habit I had got into. Going home, we set off in successive waves. What criteria decided the order of departure, I don’t know. One of the traditions for homeward bound boys was to shout out when the toy-train reached ‘Last Bend’. This was usually orchestrated by one of the older boys. It was the last point where the train full of boys all shouting ‘Last Bend’ could be heard back at the school. I was glad to be going home. Golden Days

A Little Bit of Nostalgia April 20, 1999 Clem Lee While I was reading the Sunday news the past weekend, I came across the book review section and there was an article on an interview by Charles McGrath with Salman Rushdie about the latter's new novel "The Ground beneath Her Feet".

Charles McGrath: "Some early readers of the book have been surprised that so much of the book is about rock-and-roll." Salman Rushdie: "Well, I'm delighted to surprise people. I mean, I always hope not to write the same book twice. But I don't know that the rock-and-roll element should be that surprising. I think of rock as a sort of international language. I grew up in Bombay, which, although it was a great metropolis, simply didn't have television. There was also very little radio and what there was, was state controlled. So the ability that now exists for ideas to zoom across the planet in five seconds simply wasn't there. And yet this music did cross the world at high speed. What was then called Radio Ceylon was more liberal in those days, and they occasionally played Western music. So we would listen to the hit parade on Sundays." Charles McGrath: "Which singers were you listening to?" Salman Rushdie: "To begin at the beginning, Bill Haley, followed by Elvis. Elvis, you know, had the same impact in India as he had everywhere else. He was the one your mother didn't like, and the one she did like, of course, was Pat Boone. The first record I ever bought was 'Heartbreak Hotel', which is one of the reasons it features in the novel. Looking back, it seems quite extraordinary, given that at that point I'd never been to the United States, I knew very little about it apart from what I saw in the movies. And yet this music made by this truck driver from Memphis seemed to be coming from next door."

Did the above conversation bring back some memories of your school days in the fifties to the sixties? Besides, Bill Haley and the Comets, Elvis Presley and Pat Boone, remember Patti Page, Paul Anka, Frankie Avalon, Chubby Checkers, Cliff Richard, Connie Francis, the Righteous Brothers and Bobby Darin ? Remember the Socials under the watchful eyes of the Christian Brothers and Nuns? Even though we were not able to dance "Cheek to Cheek", Mary Hopkins was right on the money when she sang "Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end." Incidentally, Salman Rushdie was a student of the Cathedral Boys' School in Bombay during the fifties. Clem

MARTIN FERNANDES [email protected] Subject: Class of 63 Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 03:18:30 -0400 (EDT) Dear Clem, First of all: Thanks a million for sending on hard copies of the articles contained on the web site. Somehow it's easier to lie back and read them at ease... It was great to see a snap of the '63 Cambridge group... of which I was proudly one! I remember it well. We, Suresh(Pinto) and I, were missing as a "Sunshine Holiday" had been declared that day and we had rushed back to Mt.Carmel while Br.Moynihan had taken the Class for a walk to ?? . The faces all came back to me tho' some of the names eluded me. I do hope that I will be able to meet some of them in 2007, for the Centenary of the founding of the school. Thanks Avijit (Bapi ?) for the snap. ( By the way, GMS has quite a quaint history involving the Maharaja of Burdwan et al. If you want I'll send you an account some time.) Three of us,all ex-pupils, Br Vinod Thomas, Br. Arthur Rodrigues and I will be making a trip across the country to Calcutta (now called Kolkatta.... God help us!) and Kurseong,in October.... and hope to retrace a lot of familiar paths and memories in and around GMS, Mt.Carmel etc. I am particularly looking forward to this trip as the present Principal of the School , Mr Rocky D'Abreo is an ex-pupil of mine from St Patrick's , Asansol. Recently I received an email from Mr.Chakravarty, ('Chak' to us) Chem Teacher, now retired. I believe he has settled down in K"sg. It will be nice meeting him again. The Irish Brothers in India are fading away. They are either heading for their native land to retire or have passed away... and with them an era. The 'youngest' Irish Brother in India would be in his late fifties. But their places are being taken by a fine set of indigenous Brothers from all parts of the country. Generous young men who have chosen to follow in the footsteps of Edmund Rice..Founder of the Christian Brothers... a vocation not too popular in today's permissive and rather Bacchanalian world. (In fact, no one has joined the Brothers in Ireland in the last 15 years!) So their generosity and commitment are to be commended. Infact we in India have already sent some 10 Brothers to work in The Gambia, W.Africa. Love to hear from some of the '63 batch... if they remember me! as I happen to be eminently forgetable!!! I have sent two photos . I'm not familiar with this sort of thing, so I hope I have done it correctly. Cheers for now, The site is doing just great. Thanks. God Bless, Br. Martin (Freddy) Fernandes. St Augustine’s School, Vasai. Mah Photo1: Receiving a prize at GMS Sports 1963. Photo2: Giving away prizes... 37 years later!

Memories: Charles H, Tresham: I've been wondering if there are any GMS memories which may not have been recounted on the GMS website and reading through Dipak Roy's account of his reunion with Roger Storey suddenly jogged my mind of a fantasy cricket game which we used to play in the evenings during homework/study periods. 'Book cricket' invented by Gordon Warman involved choosing an imaginary team of players and attributing runs to these players commensurate with the page numbers of a book. which was flicked through. If a page number ended in a zero that batsman was out. I have to say that one of these games could take several days to reach a conclusion! And what about 'five stones,' 'Goolidunda' 'Painda' and 'Tops'. The last named rid us of our pocket money quite regularly. This involved buying tops from the school carpenter and then having them mercilessly destroyed by the expert top destroyers! Lance Webster: "In the monsoon season, we were given a holiday if there was a specially good day. Our prefects would approach the Principal for a fine weather holiday and we would be informed at about ten to nine that we should parade for assembly. The school bell would ring and the announcement would be made!!! We would rush to the refectory where the school bakery staff would issue a loaf of bread and a bag of peanuts and a piece of fruit per child. --and off we would go with our class master. We often ran down to the Balasans River, raiding the Bhuta (Indian Maize) terraced fields on the way down, had our picnic lunch and began the slow climb back up to school in time for a late dinner at about 7 p.m. Our normal dinner time was 6 p.m. and we had study in the Study Hall from 7 pm. to 8. That was when we did our homework and prepared lessons for the next day." John C. Tresham: "The school sports were always a most enjoyable event. In '59 my team won the tug of war and I won the shot put. I was always a reasonable sprinter, not quite relay team standard but maybe in the top, say, 12. I remember running 100 yds in about 11 secs. The top guys were doing it in 10.1, 10.2. It was all yds in those days. In my day the longest lasting record on the school book was 440 yds at 52 secs. It seemed pretty impossible to achieve. However this was pretty modest stuff by comparison with todays kids." Dipak Roy "Roger and his older brother Gordon were good friends of mine at GMS. We used to sing 'Hang down your head Tom Dooley' together! Clem Charles, I don’t know what’s worse: you, Jackie Joseph and Willie Wu singing "Among my Souvenirs" or Dipak Roy, Roger and Gordon Storey singing "Tom Dooley". Oh, and not to forget, I think Johnny Kingsley mentioned he once performed an Elvis number with a couple of buddies right on our stage!!! I would have loved to hear you chaps croak !!! Hey, remember croakers?!!! My favourite Elvis song was "Won't you wear my ring around your neck, To tell the world I’m yours by heck Let them see your love for me And let them see by the ring around your neck " HAHAHAHAHA!!! Ker Fah Liu: "I did not have Brother Foran at GMS so I do not have many impressions of him. I guess your class had him at the same time that my class had Brother Kelly. Brother O'Malley introduced me to P. G. Wodehouse and the pleasures of reading. Brother Clancy introduced GMS to cocker spaniels. Sister Felix introduced us to the limitless and wondrous powers of Horlicks, which I still drink and savor; and which my wife thinks is one of the more yukky tasting things. Brother McCann taught the rest of us the foundations of good citizenship while the Catholic boys attended catechism classes. Brother Fitzpatrick gave GMS some spit and polish with his introduction of the GMS uniforms. Mr A. B. ("Atom Bomb") Roy gave us a firm footing in science. He was so serious all the time that it was a rare and surprising occasion when he cracked a smile of amusement." Michael Quin-Conroy: "I only spent one year there in 1943 but retain some fond memories of the school and the wonderful location. I loved the run down to the tea garden with the swim in what we knew as the "Thow Anna" tank." Gilbert Raymond: "I was at Goethals about 10 years before you, but some of the things were unchanged. Kettle Valley (I had forgotten the name) looked just the same and dormitory looked as if I had just made my bed this morning." Archie Scott: "I was at Goethals in the 1950's and remember the golden Jub. Good memories of Goethals and Kurseong. Hope to visit there one day. I played one of the three little maids in the Mikado. What fun!!!" Sally Stewart: "I had cousins at St. Helens - Elaine Corbet and sisters. Uncle Bertie owned the shoe shop on the Hill Cart Road and hand made all the sports shoes for the hill schools!" "On a clear night, we could see the hills in the distance from the top flat and there were twinkling lights sometimes concentrated, and I am told that we were looking at Ghoom! That means that we were on a spur - as Ghoom must have been." "I visited my old school in early November last year and was affected by the moment despite the sad changes so evident. I'm afraid I got a severe tummy bug and spent a week bed ridden at the Tourist Lodge where I was well looked after but - it meant that I could not wander about and re- live the lovely ambience which is still part of the Himalayas in Kurseong (refuse clogged jhoras notwithstanding)! One of our party took a slow walk to Mary's Mount (two hours there - hard slog at our ages -but only 20 minutes back)! and he was impressed with the many new up-market homes in the area and the friendliness of the people who lived there. Miss Pradhan (DH Head Mistress) said that many people were moving into Kurseong to build homes because Darj was so congested. I was delighted to watch St Helen's girls passing beneath my window on the way to evensong, with a couple of pretty 'ancient' nuns following on behind. The girls were so smart in their uniforms and yellow mackintoshes (?) and gave me lots of cheery waves and smiles. I wonder what they would have thought if they knew I was ex Dow Hill!!! St Paul's on the Hill Cart Road above the Tourist Lodge looks in need of care but - it is still an attractive building. Oh I wish I could turn back time! The hill people are still dignified, non-intrusive and do not have their hands perpetually stretched palms upwards. I could live in this place again - I think." "When I was in Kurseong Oct/Nov 1998 and sick abed at the Tourist Lodge, I was taken by surprise by the little "Iron Sherpa's" wonderful 'toot' as it entered the township. I have to tell you that I was caught in a time warp ... the sound was soooo very, very familiar and the lump in my throat and tears in my eyes - very genuine. My son who had heard so much about the little train, rushed out in time to catch sight of it puffing by and I know he was moved because his only comment was ..."awesome"!! (But then, he said that when he saw the Taj Mahal too) !" Lochan Gyawali: " I am from Mount Hermon School, Darjeeling, class of 1976. Fond memories, specially of the cricket matches that I played against GMS First XI in the mid 1970's."

GOETHALS MEMORIAL SCHOOL - A MEMOIR By J C Tresham Goethals was a Catholic boys’ school, in Kurseong, near Darjeeling, set in the foothills of the Himalayas, close to the Eastern border with Nepal. The School was run by the Irish Christian Brothers. As a new student your first reaction was one of trepidation, the 1952 school seemed colourless and austere. But it gradually grew on you, and that’s how it must have been for the young JC Tresham who was not yet 8 years of age when he first attended the school in March 1952, finally leaving it in 1959. My younger brother CH Tresham was to follow two years later. The School year was a nine month unbroken stint from March to December and perhaps because of our remoteness from our homes and the long separation from our families, in most cases for the first time in our lives, we developed an expedient reliance on each other for friendship and support. Later this reliance was forged into a life- long bond. St Helens, also in Kurseong, was a Catholic girls’ school run by Nuns. I’ve forgotten the name of the order, but who could forget their then Principal, the formidable Sister Xavier. We enjoyed a surprisingly enlightened, active inter-school programme of social and sporting events where we could meet and make friends with the girls. Some of these friendships, made in the 50’s, have endured for over 50 years. The ebb and flow of our school days became embedded in our personae and throughout our lives exerted an insistent pull on our memories and our affections. In our day to day progress through school life the serious happily co- existed with the comical and the absurd. We can now recall with wonder, gratitude and even amusement the little rituals; the irony of having to wake up at an ungodly hour to attend chapel and pray to God, the cold washes and showers, the siege of relentlessly unpalatable food lifted by visits to ‘Blackie’ and the tuck shop, at least as long as our pocket money lasted, clothes and shoes gradually succumbing to the rigours of the schoolboy year, socials with the girls from St. Helens, sometimes including the girls from Dow Hill and Loreto Convent. How the girls must have dreaded the twin assaults of conversations of stupefying banality, driven by our shyness, with the toe-bruising inflicted by the ragamuffin self- taught dancers of Goethals. ‘Dancers’ is probably exaggerating our capabilities. We had our academic and sporting heroes. In addition to the class prize, the school offered, an English prize, and a Religious Studies Prize, something for the academically gifted to aim for. Sporting heroes won their trophies on the field and in Inter-school competition and at hockey, the school produced three great Olympians who won Olympic Gold. We honour them and respect their achievements. After we left school we all went our separate ways, but wherever we found ourselves the chain of communication with each other while tenuous, was never allowed to break down and once e- contact became the norm it became easier to seek out old friends and where possible assemble reunions. Twitter and Facebook have since strengthened the connectivity between friends keen to embark on nostalgic, sentimental journeys into the past, enlivened by laughter and conviviality, aided and abetted by recollections of colourful episodes from the school years and not always accurate retelling of some juicy scandal, and there were a few, all fused together by copious quantities of food and drink. Those of us who are less mobile these days enjoy the miscellaneous postings to Facebook of the many get-togethers that now take place on a regular basis. One thing always stands out clearly and that is how central our schooldays were to our innermost beings. The Irish Christian Brothers are a dwindling presence in India nowadays as secular education becomes the norm, but there are many names that trip off our tongues with affectionate recall: Bros Fitzpatrick, O’Malley, Corbett, O’Donohue, Kyle, McCann and others permanently etched in our memories. Many of the legends of the Christian Brother movement were contemporaneous with us, the students of the 50s and 60s. Others went before them, others have followed. The brothers were supported by many gifted and dedicated lay teachers, Matt Lobo and AB Roy are among names that stand out in my memory. They have earned our gratitude. Their prize, greater than a book or a silver cup, was our success and our lifetime achievement. The School was located on a ridge above the road from Siliguri to Darjeeling, now a world heritage site where it was wrapped in a protective shroud of pine forest, while the hillsides below were carpeted with extensive tea plantations. There was much to take for granted and we did. Internationally famous Darjeeling tea was part of the local vegetation albeit lovingly planted and nurtured by the tea estate community. It is impossible to drink a cup of Darjeeling tea without remembering the old school. The view looking West and North West was as good as could be found anywhere and, on a clear day, on the North West horizon, Kanchenjunga, brooding and imperious, the world’s third highest mountain at over 28,500 feet could be seen in all its glory, Evocative, talismanic, totemic, iconic. How does one do justice to this mountain. The decades pass, but the image of this snow-capped giant still fills us with wonder. How could it not? Its changing moods, sometimes benign, sometimes brooding, always imperious, its sunrises and sunsets, its shadowy profile ghosting in and out through mist and monsoon, its startling pristine whiteness on a clear sunny day, its incredible alpenglow. On a more modest scale the school was surrounded by mountain streams and waterfalls, wild orchids and wild strawberries, but it is the eternal snows of Kanchenjunga that fired our imagination and instilled in those of us who had left to seek our fortunes elsewhere, an unshakeable, insistent desire to return. The School’s Golden Jubilee in 1957 and Centenary in 2007 are testimony to that. Both events were well attended. As school children we were, in a sense, visitors to a region populated by the Nepalese people. The Nepalese are devout Buddhists and pray to many gods including the gods of the mountains on which their lives and livelihoods depend. Buddhist prayer flags and shrines can be seen everywhere. It is with sadness that one reflects on the political difficulties besetting these lovely, spiritual people. However they are an indistinguishable and inseparable part of the school community. What we received through our association with these wonderful people cannot be bought. The character of the Goethals boys, as the many reunions and Facebook contributions attest is to be approachable, humorous, amiable, with gentle easy-going laid-back dispositions, offering friendship, love and support to our friends while recognising the rights of others to live their lives and dream their dreams free of any imposition from us. We enjoy life, eating, drinking and chatting. We enjoy a joke even if it’s at our expense. We swop recipes and sporting and cultural links. We take pride in our spirituality. We expound our philosophies and invite discourse. It is not our style to force our attitudes or opinions on anyone. Our ethic is to work hard and play hard. Our compassion for the less fortunate is a matter of record. In the journey through life some of us have received the call from God, We honour those who have gone and we thank them for what they have given us. The younger boys have their lives stretching out before them. Together, year after year, decade after decade our lineage stretches like a golden tapestry capturing our history and its legacy, every boy placing a stitch. ‘Omnia Bene Facere’ - our motto still resounds. May the alpenglow of Kanchenjunga light the way for all of us, always.

L-R John C Tresham, Andrew Clark(RIP), Charles Tresham

Prakash Bhartia, a classmate of mine at Goethals Memorial School, was awarded the Order of Canada and had a postage stamp issued in his honor.

“Dr. Prakash Bhartia graduated with a B.Tech (Hons) from the IIT Bombay and obtained his MSc and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Manitoba (Canada). He served as an Associate Professor and Assistant Dean of Engineering at the University of Regina, Saskatchewan. Over a 25 year career in the Canadian Department of Defense, he held four Director level positions and over the past ten years, served as Director General of the Defense R&D Laboratories in Halifax and Ottawa. Dr. Bhartia has published extensively with over 200 publications, 9 books and 5 patents to his credit. He was appointed to the Order of Canada in October 2002 and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the IEEE, the Engineering Institute of Canada, The Canadian Academy of Engineers and the Institute of Electronic and Telecommunication Engineers. He was awarded the IEEE McNaughton Gold Medal for his outstanding contributions to Engineering. He has also served on many boards and senior level committees in Canada and internationally.”

Goethalites:

“Everybody wants to rule the world” Tears for Fears

Get together: Goethalites and Helenites

Reunions around the world: New York

Toronto

London

California

Perth

Vancouver

Kolkata/Calcutta

West Virginia

Goethals School Anthem Cheer for Goethals, cheer for Goethals, That's the spirit true. We're out to win through thick and thin, We're always loyal to you. G - O - E - T - H - A - L - S Come on, come on Blue. We will not slack and won't go back Till the fight is through.

On to victory, on to victory, Keep the colours high. No matter what the score may be, Goethals will always try. "Do all things well" that's our motto, To it we'll be true. We'll win the fight with all our might For our Dear old School.

Our school crest OMNIA BENE FACERE Do All Things Well Goethals has been an institution, an institution of love, humanity and education The school has nurtured ninety one generations of pupils and with the blessings of God will nurture many more. Ninety one years of selfless devotion and we, who have had an opportunity to study here, are a priveleged lot. When the world appeared fearsome, dark and forbidding, Goethals gave me enlightenment. When I walked the wrong path and committed sin, Goethals gave me guidance. When I felt foolish and helpless, Goethals gave me instruction. Time and change have not been able to destroy the spirit of Goethals. The spirit to enlighten, to guide and to instruct. It has taught us to sacrifice, to give, to live in peace and essentially to be good. All a part of what Goethals has always stood for. Reminiscing the days bygone in Goethals always brings a lump to my throat. The white washed corridors, the morning inspection, the desks, the classes, the lunch breaks, the games, the concerts, the reprimands, friends, teachers .... everything. What seemed to be tyrannical then, seems sweet now. I wish I could wear my school uniform and join school again but for those of us who moved on to other things, that is sadly not possible. It is only now I realize that Goethals may not be a church or a temple but it is holy ground and everything belonging to it is sacred. Holy and Sacred enough to teach us, mere mortals, lessons of life through enlightenment, guidance and instruction. We, who studied here were lucky but those that are there are luckier because they will get to wear the Goethals crest and tie, smell the Goethals air and bask in the glory of the sun's rays that shine over Goethals. The school that taught us "TO DO ALL THINGS WELL" will stand ...... forever. OMNIA BENE FACERE. Viresh Agarwala, I.C.S.E. '93

Joseph and Clem were fortunate to be educated at Goethals Memorial School during our formative years in the Fifties.