Memory, Discipline and Growing Up

Charlie's Boys is a deeply nostalgic memoir that traces boyhood, discipline and growing up at St Columba's as India itself moved through profound social and political change

- SANJEEV CHOPRA

Much before Modern, DPS, Sanskriti, Sriram, Vasant Valley and IB schools marked their presence in the national capital, there was the one and only St Columba's, which opened its portals on January 7, 1941, when the Empire was in decline but still a dominating presence. Located in the heart of Lutyens' Delhi, it catered to the sons of the political, defence, civil services and professional elite of the city.

It was to this institution that our protagonist, Ajay Jain, was admitted 34 years later, on January 6, 1975, in KG-D, under the tutelage of Mrs Ruby Aimond, who continued to remain the teacher for this section for all the 13 years he was in school, and long thereafter. He recalls his class teachers: Mrs M Robinson in Class 1-D, Mrs Monica Singh in Class 2-D, Mrs Nazareth in Class 3-D and Mrs J Wintle in 4-A. This was a fifteen-month academic year, as the school shifted from the January-December academic year to April-March. Mrs U Das taught him in VD. This also marked his entry to middle school, with the privilege of using a fountain pen instead of a pencil!

The headmaster of the middle school was Br Eric D'Souza—a brilliant academician and a man of many parts. He was a thespian, quizmaster and a sportsman who could dribble a football, swing a cricket ball and wield a hockey stick with equal felicity. Endowed with a photographic memory, he was “an alchemist whose students turned 24K gold”. For some inexplicable reason, Br D'Souza gave him the moniker “Jumbo”. Mr C Innis was his scout teacher and Br Fernandes taught him in Classes IX and X; they were then the big boys of the middle school.