The Adelaide-Paulite Connection!

An extraordinary reunion of Old Paulites took place in Adelaide, South Australia in October 2005 that effectively represented the years between 1937 and 1984 (almost 50 years of the 186 year history of St. Paul’s). It was a memorable meeting and a strong affirmation of the Paulite tradition! Moniti Meliora Sequamur.

The University of Adelaide is one of Australia's most research-intensive universities with a rich tradition of excellence in education and research, with world-class academics and a vibrant student life. Since its establishment in 1874 the University of Adelaide has been amongst Australia's leading universities. Its contribution to the wealth and well-being of South Australia and Australia as a whole - across all fields of endeavor - has been enormous.The University of Adelaide (colloquially Adelaide University or Adelaide Uni) is third oldest in Australia and is a member of the prestigious Group of Eight as well as the Sandstone Universities.

Adelaide.....Beautiful Adelaide!

Scenic views of Adelaide!

Rundle Mall

North Terrace & Torrens

Victoria Square

Paulites in Darjeeling!

"My intense desire to return to Darjeeling and St. Paul's finally materialized in May 2006....after a span of 22 years. I spent five wonderful days in Darjeeling and shared some precious moments with good friends".

Paulites - "Sailu"-Sailesh Pradhan (Havelock'84), "IRay"-Indraneal Ray (Lawrence'84), Mahesh Chettri (Lawrence'84), Viraj Thacker (Havelock'84) and the famous Jamling Tenzing "Jumbo" (Havelock'85). One can read about Jamling's Everest Expedition and climb in his book "Touching My Father's Soul".

Photos:

(With Mr. and Mrs. Jamling Tenzing and Sailesh Pradhan)

(On the Mall with Indraneal Ray)

(SPS-Quad with Mahesh Chettri)

Old Calcutta...As Time Goes By!

POV: Can Calcutta still hang on to its past………….?

The ghosts of the Raj were never anorexic wraiths. They were as roly poly as the pudding enshrined in those temples to continued colonialism - Calcutta’s clubs. The sun may have set on the empire, no problem…Abdul Bearer would pad up resplendent in cockscomb turban bearing the sundowner and a plate of finger chips. Proper thick — cut wedges straight off the iron karhai . To call them `French fries’ would be to stand in danger of being challenged to an encounter on the duel grounds; your choice of cutlery. Nostalgia feeds off food more than any other sustenance of memory. Brown Sahibs, flotsam of the Raj, knew that they would never feel its absence as long as they could gather in those musty club dining halls, and peruse the smudgily typed menu card on tables covered in damask. Frayed, grey, but as impeccably starched as an upper lip. The `mug’ cook was in the club kitchen; all was well with the world. Calcutta took far longer to lay the ghost of empire, partly because Calcutta took longer with everything. But it was more because colonialism was so deeply entrenched in The Second City of Empire. The leisurely luncheon continued — with cold cuts ( never `starters’), soup ( in plates, never bowls), fish entrée ( with proper fish-knives) , main course, pudding, petit fours, coffee ( in demitasse cups – like the rest of the crockery, bearing the club insignia).

The tradition was reinforced in the chandeliered ballrooms of the Grand, Firpo’s, Spence’s and Great Eastern Hotels. Indeed, the slightly shop-soiled Burra Sahib culture continued into the late 1960s, when it was finally “gheraoed” and superannuated by the satraps of Chairman Mao. Then everything changed, changed utterly, and a terrible “Dal Makkhani” was born. The “bhadralok” were cornered in their crumbling mansions, and the city was seized by the Marwaris, the second syllable pronounced `war’, as in battle. But Mr. Mukerjeah didn’t mind Shri Jalan taking over business so much as he minded Arora-ji “Punjabifying” his club menu. When the baked beans on toast arrived with chopped raw onions, it was the end of civilization as we had known it. The clubs have tried to hang on to some of the repast of the past, but they have seen the future, and it reeks of “pav-bhaji”. Ultimate perfidy, even the Barrister Bongs, those last bastions, are ordering it at the ( still) Royal Calcutta Golf club. To its eternal credit, however, the `Bengal’ still retains a passable version of its fabled steak and kidney pie, serving it to the terminally nostalgic every Friday.

The Christmas turkeys, alas, have had the stuffing knocked out of them. And has anyone even heard of guinea fowl in an age when Burra Din has fallen to bara kabab in a bloodless coup? Clubs have given up the ghost of most Menus past. Where can they find either the makers or takers for their signature dishes? Calcutta Club’s Roast Mutton with mint jelly, Tolly’s goose liver paste ( never pate) on thin buttered toast. You may still get waffles with honey after packing up your irons at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club, but it would be foolish to expect hot buttered scones or clotted cream. Sausage rolls have been ousted by the samosa. The Country Captain Curry which was tucked into during the lunch break of a cricket match has gone the way of flannels and the gentlemen who sported them. Once staples can’t be had for love or any other tender. Roast ox-tongue , leg of lamb embellished with crisp bacon and crowned with a miniature chef’s toque, the chops and cutlets which sustained the “baba-log” at home as did the stews — Irish, mutton ragout and Lancashire hot-pot. The cognoscenti knew that some of these had to come with dumplings, all flour, or with half potato or semolina. The ubiquitous hot- and-sour for today’s chili-coarsened palates have replaced the hearty English soups. Oxtail, pea with sausage, consommé and the Anglo-Indian Mulligatawny or `Dol’ soup. And, is anyone left to sing the requiem of the famous puddings, which surface only in a sad avatar in clubs ( or some last remaining hill-station guest-house)? Tipsy, cabinet, plum with brandy sauce, and the steamed fig, date or ginger, each with its designated anointment. Order ye caramel custard while ye may, “gajar halwa” could set in any day!

(Adapted from an article on the India Times News Network)

St. Paul's School : 1943 - 1957

Speech Day Tea on the Quad

Refectory

The Sixth Form 1957

Unforgettable Memories of Darjeeling……
The past and continuing problems in the Darjeeling District have served to bring back some fond memories from a visit in 2006. One wonders how long it will be before politics and ethnic splits will drive to oblivion the precious essence of what is good in Darjeeling.
The Windamere Hotel, Darjeeling
“An oasis of old-fashioned comfort and friendly service; the perfect recuperation from a strenuous trek.” The Earl of Limerick, London, England- (The Guest book at the Windamere Hotel). It is "One of the three Jewels of the Raj", said a celebrated travel writer of The Windamere Hotel. Established in the 19th century as a cozy boarding house for bachelor English and Scottish tea planters, it was converted into a hotel just before the outbreak of the Second World War. Well known to sophisticated travelers the world over, the Windamere is famous for its unique ambience and charm, and has been the subject of many leading stories in the international media. Windamere is the original "Heritage House of the Himalayas". It is situated on Observatory Hill, a Darjeeling landmark, believed to be the focus and repository of life-enhancing cosmic energies.
After many strenuous hours of jeeps, buses and trains to get to Darjeeling, one finds The Windamere an oasis. In the early Sixties, a 21-year-old socialite from New York called Hope Cooke met the Crown Prince of Sikkim at the bar, and the ensuing engagement party was held at the hotel by it's owner Mrs Tenduf-La. The photos of that night can still be found in the albums that are piled up on the piano in the sitting room with its red velvet chairs. There are all the guests, frozen in time: a 60's minx in a miniskirt surrounded by matrons whose clothes are trapped in the Fifties; Seventies hikers in fluffy alpaca jumpers; women sitting in a row against the wall in full taffeta skirts wearing silly party hats; Mrs. Tenduf-La's recent 95th birthday; and, startlingly, an elderly Peter Ustinov holding court.
Anecdotes, a hotel booklet called 'Bliss in a Swirling Haze' and perusing the guest book informs one that former special guests have included Queen Elizabeth, Sir Edmund Hillary, Henrich Harrier of “Seven Years in Tibet” fame and the bloke who discovered Lawrence of Arabia. The Windamere has a library called the “Snuggery” which is filled with English thrillers and books on Darjeeling's Toy Train. The office and dining hall are lined with the photos of West End stars that come out from London to perform, among other pieces, "The Songs & Dances of the Hills", in an outdoor setting. On other walls are images more than 70 years old of explorers like Alexander David-Neel, and the Tenduf-La family.
The buildings are buttercup yellow surrounded by flower gardens. The rooms are Victorian in style, kind of chintzy, with fluffy quilts and towels, clawed baths, and beautiful views. Most look over the mountains, including the Mall on which, in the old days, a brass band played every day, and children went on pony rides. The Windamere is set in old world charm with coal fires every evening, hot water bottles tucked under the blankets when you return from dinner, “traditional entertainment” in the gardens, a beautiful and well-stocked bar, staff in turbans, high tea every afternoon (yes, cucumber sandwiches) and three meals a day. All food is included in the price under what is known, for reasons that sound military, as 'The American Plan'. Each mealtime you are offered 'either' western food 'or' Indian. What this really means is 'both' and the uninitiated end up with a peculiar mixture of roast beef, potatoes, pappadums and fish curry on the same plate.
The Darjeeling mist traps the coal smoke, which hangs heavy in the air. On a night of full moon, the smoke outlines the shape of the clouds, and occasionally, gives a hint of the Himalayas around Darjeeling. Like the food, the whole experience is delicious, if a bit hallucinogenic. While it costs compared to other Indian hotels, you need to think of the Windamere as a destination, a country in itself.
A kind of Shangri-la in which hospitality and good manners make you forget why it is that the days of the Raj are long gone, that the country of Sikkim, a couple of hours down the road, is part of India and the real Darjeeling is at a constant tug-of-war with the state and central authorities for an identity of its own.

(Adapted from an article in “The Age” and appropriately modified).

St. Paul's 2006

St. Paul's and Kunchenjunga

On the "Quad" with Mr. U.K. Dwevedi

With Rector (Rev.) David Howard

Notions of Time, Space and Culture

EDITORIAL - The Kathmandu Post
Kathmandu, Friday October 27, 2000 Kartik 11, 2057.

"Proxemics", History and Culture

By Viraj P. Thacker

“Proxemics” is the interrelated theories of observations of human use of space as a special elaboration of culture. It also suggests a cultural dimension based on the experience of perception. Throughout human history, civilizations have created ideas about space and culture and often imposed them on others deemed to be weaker. In many ways, the one historical and geographical location of the world that seems to both personify and defy the very meaning of "proxemics" is the Indian Subcontinent. From earliest civilizations like Mohenjodaro and Harppa, the invasion of the Vedic Indo-Aryans, the Golden Age of the Guptas, the thousand year Moghul occupation to the British "Raj" and finally Modern India - India with its ancient history has seen definitions and redefinitions of culture and space. As if all this was not enough, the highly multi-ethnic fabric of India represents every race and religion known to man. Differences among the traditions and origins of the North and South make a study in itself. With twenty two culturally diverse states, each with various racial, religious and philosophical orientations and over 675 languages and dialects, the definition of a prototype of Indian culture becomes impossible, and this glorious yet chaotic "melting pot" stands almost in defiance of what common sense would call "overload".

To try and correlate every aspect of Indian history would be an impossibility and it would not be feasible to define the idea of "proxemics" arising from the above mentioned. It may suffice to mention that the course of Indian history has explored and established many combinations of space and culture and rather than stick to common perceptions I will attempt to discuss the unique interactions of the British "Raj" and the concepts of space and culture that were created during this era. By engaging in a description of historical fact specific to time and circumstance, I hope to make my point.

The location I have chosen for our purposes is the town of Darjeeling in northeast India. Located in the lap of the great Himalayas, 700 odd miles from Calcutta, Darjeeling was the summer capital of British India, and a welcome retreat from the oppressive heat of the plains of Bengal. Unlike the plains of Bengal, the inhabitants of this mountainous region were the warlike Gurkhas of Nepal. The East India Company in the early years were overcome by the Gurkhas and made peace by incorporating these fearless warriors of Nepal into the British Army. Darjeeling was presented to the company by the King of Nepal as a returned favour and although now a part of British India, it had a population whose traditions were closely affiliated to the kingdom of Nepal.

Besides being famous for its renowned teas, Darjeeling became the playground and classroom of the "Raj" and a seat of European culture. Situated at an altitude of 7000 feet, with a healthy mist and rain, Darjeeling was reminiscent of a Scottish highland town. This Victorian toy town was (and still is) home to India's oldest and most exclusive British public schools. St Paul's School, founded in 1823 by the British elite has been called the "Eton of the East" and "Eton in the Himalayas", where Sunday suits, boating jackets and blazers are compulsories as are Shakespeare, and "exeats". In a much changed India, St Paul's on the hill continues to epitomize the best of Victorian England, and perhaps continues the long lost tradition at Eton. While the rest of India (with the exception of a few pockets) has progressively erased the last hints of the British Empire, St Paul's and a few others continue to stubbornly exist as the last bastions of a bygone tradition.

What is true of Darjeeling (Queen of the hills) is probably applicable to twenty odd similar resorts called hill stations throughout the "Raj" and the old colonial cities of India. The Indian upper class enjoyed the benefits of this kind of exclusivity, while the rest of India remained rural and poor. In earlier years, the East India company under Robert Clive, gained by incorporating the Indian upper classes into the colonial system and this was related to the forms of discrimination already in place within Indian society. Thus the life style of Maharajas and princes impacted the definition of Anglo-Indian culture as much as the imposition of Gothic architecture on the Indian landscape and in many ways the clash of ancient and progressive redefined British culture in the empire.

In modern India, the definitions of space and culture are largely a function of the same factors as during the "Raj", namely, economics, social class and affluence. Thus, while places like Darjeeling try to preserve the older tradition, cities like Bombay and Calcutta are redefined in terms of the environment built by slums and poverty.

In many ways, the process of redefinition of space and culture has largely been a need to accommodate growing populations and in the process, the concepts of space and urban environment have regressed since the days of colonial rule. Attempts to create new cities have not yielded desired results and any sense of nostalgia attached to the great old cities requires a journey into their colonial past. At the same time, the majority of rural India remains unchanged. So while a minuscule percentage of Indian society continues to defend their premises, the overwhelming majority tries to "make do" with what's left, but in a population that continues to grow at an alarming rate, encroachment becomes a necessity. In terms of culture, the affluent few remain as distanced from the poor majority as the space they occupy.

What is the definition of culture under these circumstances? The concept of proxemics is reduced to a mere terminology and its definition severely challenged in the Indian experience. There may be hope in the form of a growing middle class, but unfortunately a middle class in India suggests need for accumulation rather than redistribution. In the long run, this growing segment of society may prove to be another hindrance to real progress. In my final analysis, to realize the ideas of space and culture in an inclusive manner, Indian society will have to restructure and reform in an unprecedented manner. This is highly unlikely. Even if this was achieved somehow, an overwhelming population would ensure that the idea of space and culture remained a complete dichotomy at best.

Commentary:"The Dilemma of Democracy in Nepal" (Included: Books by the author)

Disenchantment in Shangri-La :
The Dilemma of Democracy in Nepal

With the dependency and aid agendas engraved on the “Bretton Woods” charter, Nepal in the 1960s, slowly but surely entered the league-of-nations that became the recipients of Northern benevolence packaged in a neat little bundle – “foreign aid”. It brought with it busloads of “hippies” and those that sought true liberation from the pressures of the mundane West. What better place than Shangri-la and a land of genuine people. While the “superpowers to be” clashed and grappled and India aligned itself with the Second World, Kathmandu smelt the first plumes of “sweet hashish”, listened to the sounds of the Eagles and tasted “apple pie”, although most Nepalis were mere observers, fascinated yet confused by the antics of foreigners and subtly corrupted by the sublimity of “flower-power”. Politically, a strong monarchy held the nation and the Nepali identity together, (despite the accusations of authoritarianism), and foreign donors earnestly tried to test the development paradigm working in tandem with the government.

“The Phantom” – What escaped the realm of Nepali politics due to its lack of orientation in the wider world and its increasing dependence on foreign aid was the changing nature of world politics and the increasing influence of world trade on the economies of the Third World. The winds and waves of democracy changed course and swept large parts of the world into a new direction. In the meanwhile, Nepal’s sustainability was on the decline but ironically, while this transformation was taking place, Nepal probably had more donor and aid agencies than ever before. The government had not asked for an accounting of the progress made and donors started becoming immune to basic human problems of Nepal.

The Stagnant 80s – The introduction of the VCR and modern amenities in Kathmandu was a silent phenomenon that did not coincide with any landmark achievement in Nepal’s economy. The largely unorganized tourist industry was the country’s biggest income earner and so called modernization was just an accident of unchecked growth. Nepalis were suddenly exposed to the habits of Westerners and saw standards of living that were humanly inconceivable, on television. Surely, democracy had something to do with such material comforts. Emboldened by these images, and with the measured promptings of those that desired such change, the faithful Nepali public shouted for democracy, and were ready to abandon their age old forms of government that had sustained them through history. Unfortunately, the architects of change chose the Indian model of “free for all” democracy rather than understanding the ideas formulated by Adam Smith and Jefferson or even learning from the experiences of the de-colonized.

Decade of Chaos and Disillusion – the 1990s: A truly “free for all” system evolved in Nepal where political parties cropped up by the dozen, governments changed frequently, donor and aid agencies proliferated, tourism and the black market boomed, corruption was acceptable and the monarchy was marginalized. The Nepali identity saw some major ethnic splits, human rights agencies flourished and Nepal slowly began to accept its place as one of the world’s poorest nations. Yet, there was an attraction for donors and tourists alike although Nepal often found itself more dependent on India than on foreign aid. Issues that seemed unimaginable in the Nepali context (some decades ago) suddenly started appearing – pollution, overcrowding, lack of basic amenities for many, unmanageable boarders became everyday issues.

One clearly noticed a difference in the kind of development expert that came to Nepal. The serious minded academics and practitioners were replaced by a fun loving lot that liked to live large, hang out at the club and party. They were more visible at conferences and forums held at Kathmandu’s premiere hotels than in the remote villages of Nepal (or even the Kathmandu Valley) where development aid was most needed. All concerned seemed to be entranced by Nepal’s “raw” beauty and were content to partake of it while summiteers had managed to pollute even the highest vistas of the mighty Himalayas. While the educated and wealthy joined in the festivities, the masses were experiencing marginalization at an unprecedented rate.

The Coming of the Maoists – In keeping with Newton’s “third law of motion” and Jeffersonian warnings of extreme corruption in “democracies” the Maoists emerged as a movement of the deprived and abandoned. There is little left to be said……the “blame game” is on and the once enthusiastic donors have become passive observers, (listening for the warnings posted by their embassies) waiting to catch the next flight out (should things turn drastic).

Who’s in Charge? – In the rollercoaster politics of political parties and groups acting in earnest self interest; the monarchy trying to hold on; the people confused and easily influenced; and the Maoists dedicated to their cause - the one thing that has escaped all concerned is Nepal’s image in the outside world. Increasingly, the country is looking more incapable, petty, ignorant and wholly unable to negotiate….. a child of welfare; an orphan supported by wealthy and uncaring relatives. Nepalis in every capacity have to understand that only “they themselves” are ultimately responsible for their future and that the crucial solution has to come from them. Instead of rejecting the monarchy, the nation has to rally around the issues, using the monarchy as a stepping stone into the future.
This author would like to see a very basic but crucial development materialize; the coming together (literally) of all concerned parties to the negotiating table. Beyond the pettiness and schoolboy tantrums of the political parties and those who stand to gain by the turmoil, lies a whole avenue of dialogue based on peace, tolerance and understanding. In the nation that gave birth to the Buddha this does not seem impossible (yet). Surely, 5000 years of culture and experience can be positively focused to bear upon Nepal’s problems.

The Future - Despite the seemingly bleak clouds on the horizon, there is a silver lining of hope if a sustained and diligent effort is made, focusing on the following:
1. A mutual sharing of power after negotiations that recognize democratic values, and also uphold the long-standing tradition of the monarchy in Nepal. It is important that all political parties put aside their personal ambitions and work sincerely with the monarch, to solve the “Maoist” stalemate. It’s time to get beyond the “school-boy pranks” to pursue a sincere national agenda. On the international scene, Nepal is certainly developing an image crisis that is crying out for stability.
2. The Nepali authorities also need to look seriously into the question of “foreign aid”. Donors should be assessed on their performance and practical contributions and those incapable of performing (not just piling up truckloads of reports and documents) should be made to reassess their efforts.
It is time for Nepal to take stock of its own institutions and determine the level of the nation’s human development.
3. A policy distinction between “trade” and “aid” partners with a renewed emphasis on trade rather than aid (only) would be in keeping with the economic imperatives that globalizing nations are adapting to.
4. All policy and economic initiatives should consider one vital issue – to meet the basic needs of the Nepali masses. This is the very basis of political integrity and success as a nation.
5. Nepalis should place their trust in their ancient (but relevant) human values and spirituality rather than blindly aping other societies. This encompasses the realm of politics, society, economy and national identity.

In conclusion, I quote from an ancient proverb that says: “He who speaks about the future lies, even when he tells the truth….. for every glance behind us, we have to look twice to the future”.

...................................................................................................................

Dr. Viraj P. Thacker received his PhD in International Relations from the University of Adelaide, Australia. He holds a MS in International Development from Iowa State University, USA and a BA in Political Science from Luther College, USA. Dr. Thacker’s research looks at policy issues related to globalization and the South. He is the author of “Globalizaion: The Essentials” that was published in Nepal in 2001 and reviewed by the likes of the “Statesman”, Calcutta, among others. His second book “Exploring the Dynamics of Global Change” (2003) was presented at the Kennedy School of Government when Dr. Clark Miller, a contributing author, discussed his chapter on “Technology and the World” at a forum on Science, Technology and Society at Harvard University. Dr. Miller is the co-editor of Changing the Atmosphere: Expert Knowledge and Environmental Governance which explores how advances in scientific understanding of the earth's climate are contributing to processes of political change in global society.

India's Old Schools

From “The West Australian”, Tuesday, November 28, 2004
“Snob appeal fails to save India’s old school ties..”
By Julian West, in Darjeeling

The once great British public schools, founded during the Raj to produce a new generation of empire builders and their "brown sahib" heirs, are dying 50 years after India gained independence. Many are simply crumbling away. Others, which schooled the likes of the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, are the victims of failing standards and poor English.
Almost all have suffered from a decline of what old boys remember as "the public school spirit", instilled by dedicated British bachelors and spinsters who "stayed on" after 1947 to educate the next generation of Indian schoolboys.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in Darjeeling, the home of India's oldest British public schools. Before the capital of British India moved from Calcutta to Delhi, this Victorian toy-town, 6.000 ft up in the Himalayas, was the summer playground and schoolroom of the Raj.
Darjeeling is still a school town, its hillsides thick with small boys and girls in maroon and blue uniforms. But, like the once elegant hill station with its potholed promenades and collapsing colonial facades, most of the schools have seen better days.
Dow Hill and Victoria schools, 1,000ft above Kurseong, a tumbledown tea town that was formerly a pony halt en route to Darjeeling, embodied the grand colonial tradition. Their register, which first records the admission in 1898 of "Winifred Roake, of good character", recalls an era of copperplate handwriting and upstanding Victorian values.
Victoria was founded in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year by British merchants in Calcutta to provide the future backbone of the empire. But now its paint is peeling and most of the windows are broken. A sign says: "Keep off the gardens". But there are no gardens, only a dusty, unswept yard.
The academic standards of its sister school, Dow Hill, have declined so far in the last decade that where up to 70 per cent of pupils went on to higher education, now the figure is barely 10 per cent.
Discipline has all but collapsed and many children hardly speak English. Worse, for schools that once prided themselves on character building, the esprit de corps, as the deputy headmaster Sunith Battarcharjee put it, "has gone".
Mr. Battarcharjee, a biology master who has spent 27 of his 53 years at Victoria, attributes this partly to "corruption in admission procedures", a common practice in India whereby parents pay to get their dim children into schools.
"Old boys and girls from all over the world used to visit us. They knew every word of the old school, song," said Radhika Pradhan, the headmistress of Dow Hill who describes herself as "the last of the old lot".
She added: "Now they don't love the school like they used to. We just can't mould them anymore."
One old boy at least, Kalyan Mukheriee, 42, a filmmaker-who spent his kindergarten years at Dow Hill, views his school with nostalgia. "I had an English teacher, Miss Lavia. She taught me there were beautiful things in life that were not about money," he said. "The English in their own way set a standard. Culture was more important than cash."
The centenary albums of Darjeeling's six best-known British public schools evoke a bygone era of quaint language and stiff upper lip. But, in reality, only one has remained faithful to its original ethos.
St Paul's, sited loftily above Darjeeling, founded in 1823 by Calcutta "boxwallahs" to provide "an upper-class public school education" for their sons, has been described as "the Eton of the East” and still remains a very Victorian institution.
The school still draws its 750 pupils mainly from wealthy Indian families. Alone among Darjeeling's schools, it preserves a formality long lost in equivalent British institutions in England.
Meals at St Paul's are rather grand, with Anglican grace and turbaned bearers carrying platters of steaming rice. "We are the last outpost of the older tradition and, yes, we're slightly ivory-towered," said David Howard, the Anglo-Indian headmaster. "Our philosophy is, “You have to be street-smart, but there's a certain level below which a Paulite will not sink'."
India's 55 public schools still hold considerable snob appeal for the country's ruling elite. The most talked about is the Doon School (founded in the 1950s), the country's first solely Indian public school, in Dehra Dun, a hill station north of Delhi. Although not one of the old British schools (in any sense), Doon saw a rush of parents desperate to admit their children after one of its old boys, Rajiv Gandhi, became prime minister in 1984. However, it is the very cachet attached to schools such as Doon that has, in the opinion of one former master, caused their decline. The poor standards of discipline, etiquette and spoken English at the Doon School are typical of what passes for a public school education in India today.
"Parents who had money but didn't believe in the public school system started sending their children to these schools for status and connections," said Sumesh Singh. who has also taught at Gordonstoun. "Earlier there was a spirit of community service and idealism. Now everyone's out for himself".

Julian West is an international reporter for the “West Australian” based in Perth, Australia.

Paulites in Adelaide, Australia!

“Paulites” Reunite in Adelaide, South Australia
October 21st’ 2005

Don Tanner (Clive - OP’45), David Keay (Clive – OP’ 45),
John Fox (Westcott - OP’60) and Viraj Thacker (Havelock – OP’ 84).

"After a refreshing champagne toast at the Tanner residence, we enjoyed a sumptuous lunch at the Taj Tandoor on Rundle Street, topped with a huge serving of nostalgia" !!!

Seated left to right:
Jan Keay, Viraj Thacker, Jannie Tanner, Don Tanner, John Fox,
Heather Fox and David Keay.