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Mayo College, Ajmer—150 years old

- By K.C. VERMA

WHAT DO SAID bin Taimur, the 13th Sultan of Muscat and Oman, and Maharaja Sir Churachand Singh of Manipur have in common? They have in common the same circumstance that Raja Hari Singh of Kashmir and Maharajkumar of Vizianagaram share with actor Tinnu Anand and Jaswant Singh, the former Union minister.

They all studied at Mayo College, Ajmer.

The idea of setting up this institution for the aristocracy was mooted by Lord Mayo, viceroy of India, in 1870. It was envisioned to be the Eton of India, to impart British style public-school education in sync with Indian culture. The proposal found ready support of the royal families of Rajputana—several of them contributed to an endowment fund. Some 88 acres of the British Residency was increased to 167 acres for establishing the school. Many princely families built boarding houses for students from their states when the school opened in 1875. Construction of the main building of the school began in 1877 and was completed in 1885. The magnificent building, made of unpolished white marble, is one of the finest examples of Indo-Saracenic architecture in the country.

Mayo College is celebrating 150 years this year. The first student—H.H. Maharaja Mangal Singh of Alwar—arrived at the school gates in October 1875 on the back of an elephant, accompanied by 300 retainers and a menagerie of tigers, camels and horses. Other princes and nobles of Rajputana arrived with their retinues, with one of the more impressive arrivals being Maharao of Kota—he came with 200 followers and had a village constructed to house them.