PRINCIPAL'S REPORT FOR 2000 – 2001
(Read on Prize Day, 17 March, 2001)

 
TRUSTEES AND GOVERNORS:

Mr Bhola Nath Tewari took over from Mr Yogendra Narain as Chief Secretary, Govt. U.P. and Trustee of the Lucknow Martin Charities. We wish him a happy tenure with us. We also wish Mr Yogendra Narain success in his new post. Mr N.K. Mehrotra, Legal Remembrancer, Govt. U.P. continued as Trustee. We thank both the Trustees for their help and interest in all matters pertaining to the College.
There were no changes in the Local Committee of Governors, except that Mr Peter Fanthome, nominated Anglo-Indian Member of the Vidhan Sabha, was co-opted on to the Committee in place of Mr Neil O’Brien, whose term had expired earlier. We welcome him warmly and hope that he will have a long and pleasant tenure. We express our gratitude to the Chairman, Mr Justice S.H.A. Raza, the Commissioner, Mr Saurabh Chandra, the District Magistrate, Mr Sanjay Agarwal, the Sub-Area Commander, Brig. Virpal Singh and Mr Justice S.N. Sahay for their advice, active support and co-operation in administering the College.


BEREAVEMENT

In May, 2000, Mrs Beryl May Gomes, Superintendent of Dormitory No. 3, suddenly passed away from a cardiac arrest. She had been suffering from cancer but faced her ordeal bravely and without complaint. During her tenure she served the College with loyalty and dedication. La Martiniere mourns her loss and extends to her bereaved husband and family its sympathy and condolences.


STAFF:

During the course of the year Mr Trevor Jacob, Mr A.K. Srivastava and Mrs Bela Batheja joined the Staff of the Senior and Middle School, while Mrs Vatsala Bajpai, Mrs Sangeeta Dhall, Mrs N. Francis and Mrs Sheba Siddiqui came on to the Staff of the Junior School. We were pleased to welcome them and hope they will have a long and happy tenure in the College.
Mrs Anupma Chatterjee, who had filled the post of Music Teacher in the Senior and Middle
School temporarily came on to the permanent Staff in March.
Ms Bindu Sharma worked temporarily as a Biology Teacher until the post was filled and
Mrs S. Acharya filled a leave vacancy for Mrs R. Tandon, who was away on maternity leave.
Mr Roy Robinson, Mrs Dorothy Robinson and Mrs P. Joshi resigned in March. They are wished all success in their new assignments.
La Martiniere is fortunate in having a fairly stable staff, many of whom have worked for over twenty-five years, and whose contribution to the College has been acknowledged. Mr Derrick Clarke, an old student of the College, and Mr Vinai Singh have recently completed twenty years of service at the College. They will each receive a token of appreciation for the work that they have done and which they continue to do.


FINANCES:

The Trustees and the Local Committee of Governors of the College were pleased to sanction
an increase of fifteen percent in the Dearness Allowance permissible to all categories of the Staff. However, they also reluctantly agreed to a corresponding increase in the fees of the students as well. It was also necessary to raise the Boarding fee from Rs 1300 per month to Rs 1500 per month.


DEVELOPMENT:

In order to accommodate the students admitted into an additional section of Class III the
previous year, a new section of Class IV had to be opened at the commencement of the academic session
2000 – 2001.
We are once again deeply indebted to Mr Peter Fanthome, nominated member to the Vidhan
Sabha, for having the road around the lawn and that which leads to the Dining Hall resurfaced. This has been a long-felt need.


ENROLMENT:

There were 2065 students on the roll of the College in the new academic session. This included 130 boarders 16 Foundationers and 4 Demi?Foundationers.


HEALTH:

Fortunately, apart from a few seasonal ailments, the health of the resident scholars continued to be good. Credit for this must be given to the Hospital Matron and to the Steward and Housekeeper for providing a balanced diet for the boarders.


EXAMINATIONS:

In March 2000, 147 candidates appeared for the ISC (Year 12) Examination. Of these 140 were awarded Pass Certificates. Bhushan Rastogi came first in order of merit securing 92.75% in the four best subjects. Japinder Singh Chawla was second with an aggregate of 91.25%, and Harshit Rastogi and Tanay Chandra stood third jointly each having obtained an aggregate of 90.5%. In all, five boys scored over ninety percent and 29 students scored over 80 percent on the aggregate of the four best subjects.
The College presented 138 candidates for the I.C.S.E. (Year 10) Examination in March, 2000. 132 students were awarded Pass Certificates. Jasleen Singh came first with an aggregate of 93.6 % in the five best subjects. Sumeet Agarwal was second and Gaurav Tripathi was third with an aggregate of 92.6% and 91.2% respectively, in the five best subjects. In all, 44 boys scored over 80 percent on the aggregate of the five best subjects.


ANNUAL COLLEGE EVENTS:

The Annual Prize Distribution was held on 25 March, 2000.. His Excellency, Sri Suraj Bhan, Governor of Uttar Pradesh, and Visitor of the College was Chief Guest. The N.C.C. Cadets of the Senior Division Army Wing presented him with the traditional Guard of Honour. He most graciously distributed the prizes. The College was sensible of the honour and he was most appreciative of the efforts of all concerned.
The Lucknow Inter-Martiniere Debate was held on 10 August. The College was represented by Ruchit Duggal, Imran Khan, Uday Bhatia and Udayan Chakravarty. The Girls’ College won the Debate, and their representatives shall receive the Martin Memorial Trophy this evening.
The Annual Inter-Martiniere Meet continues to generate great enthusiasm and the exposure it gives to the students is well worth the effort. This year, the Meet was held at the end of August in Lucknow. The College Debating team was represented by Udai Bajaj, Ruchit Duggal and Imran Khan. The debate was won and Imran Khan was adjudged Best Speaker. The Football Match was very well contested but ended in a draw, with no goals being scored by either side. The Swimming team did its best, but in spite of an excellent performance by Rohan Dhillon, victory still evades the Lucknow team. All members of the Staff who assisted with training the teams are deserving of credit and praise but the persons in charge of the activities, Mr T.Savaille for Debating, Mr P.V. Collins for Football and Mr G.F. Gomes for Swimming, need specially to be mentioned and thanked.
The year 2000 was specially significant for the College as it was not only the beginning of the
new millennium but it was also the 200th Death Anniversary of the Founder, Major-General Claude Martin.
In order to commemorate the event a special programme lasting from 11 to 13 September
was organised by both La Martiniere Colleges in Lucknow. However, I shall highlight only the events that
pertain to the College in this report.
Admiral Sushil Kumar, Chief of Naval Staff, graciously consented to be Chief Guest at the inauguration of the programme. He was welcomed by a Parade on the East Terrace in which the three Wings of the N.C.C. all took part. Thereafter, Mrs Kumar kindly opened the exhibition on the life of Claude Martin. The exhibits were displayed in the Library, the Memorial Hall and the lobby leading to the Memorial Hall. The exhibition was quite remarkable and was the fruit of the labour, not only of the students and teachers but of the parents as well. Much work and research been done, which was evident from the quality of the exhibits. All who contributed are to be thanked, but the main praise must be given to the two Staff Co-ordinators, Mrs A.J. Khan and Mrs Neelam Singh, who did all the spade work.
On 12 September, “Constantia 2000”, a programme of Inter-School Competitions, was held, in which many schools participated. The activities consisted of a Quiz and Competitions in Collage,
Extempore Speech, Cartoon Making, Construction of Science Models, Solo Singing and Dramatic Expression. The competitions were held in the College and commenced at 9 a.m. Mr Desmond Shaw, former Principal of the College, inaugurated the programme. Although they were assisted by members of the staff, the programme was the brain-child of Udayan Chakravarty, Nikhil Garg, Imran Khan and Anurag Mehrotra. They conceived the idea and worked hard to ensure that it was put into practice. From all reports it was a highly enjoyable programme, for which they deserve great credit. I am also pleased to report that the participants from the College fared quite well. The College team represented by Dhruv Agarwal, Sumeet Agarwal, Nilanjan Roy Choudhary and Jasleen Singh placed first in the Quiz and Siddharth Tripathi won the Collage and Cartoon Making Competitions. Yash Chhabra and Nakul Sharma, who participated as a team in the Science Model Construction Competition came second and Shane D’Mello came third in the Extempore Speech Contest.
Founder's Day, 13 September, 2000, was the 200th death anniversary of the Founder , Major-
General Claude Martin. The Rt Reverend Dr Gerald John Mathias, Bishop of Simla-Chandigarh, delivered the Founder’s Day address, which was most interesting and very well received. The singing of the joint Choirs of both Colleges is particularly to be commended. It was a great honour to have a member of the French Embassy, Monsieur Laurent Gillard, present on the occasion. We were also honoured to welcome a party of fourteen visitors, among whom were 12 descendants of the Martin family. They had especially travelled to India from Canada and Europe to be present for the occasion, and were deeply moved by the beauty and solemnity of the proceedings.
The concluding events of the Inter-House and Individual Swimming Championships were held after the Founder’s Day Commemoration Service. Rohan Dhillon who won the Senior Swimming Championship is greatly to be commended on having set seven new records. Karmnisht Sareen, the Junior Champion is also to be congratulated on breaking five new records in his Division. Indra Krishan Dhaon was declared the Colts Swimming Champion.
For the special occasion of Founder’s Day, a Variety Entertainment in which both the Colleges participated, was held the same evening in La Martiniere Girls’ College Auditorium. Students from all sections of the College participated and gave of their best, much to the satisfaction of the audience. All concerned are to be congratulated on doing a splendid job. After the function it was a joy and a privilege to honour the Martin family with gifts and souvenirs from both Colleges. To mark the end of the festivities the Staff of both Colleges, the visitors and guests were entertained to dinner on the lawns of the Girls’ College.
The Annual Inter?House Athletics Meet and P.T. Display were held on 19 November, 2000.
Brigadier Vir Pal Singh was Chief Guest, and Mrs Singh graciously distributed the prizes. Rahul Sahu, Khalid Arshad and Shourya Vikram Shah won the Championships in the Senior, Junior and Colts Division, respectively. The College Relay team also won the 4 x 100m Inter-School Relay, and the 4 x 100m Past versus Present Relay. Sports Day involves the entire staff in some way or the other, but it is mainly the Sports Secretary who has to bear the greatest responsibility. He was doubly under pressure this year for not only was he new to the job but the Principal, too, was away on leave. Nevertheless, it must be said, to his credit, that Mr Alfred Gomes kept the flag of La Martiniere flying high. It may be that being an old student of the College and a former College Captain served him in good stead and gave him the impetus needed to do a splendid job. No one, however good, can do everything. Mr Gomes could not have achieved what he did without the support he received from all the Staff. They too, are richly deserving of praise. Special praise and commendation must be reserved for the Vice-Principal, who in the absence of the Principal, spared no effort to maintain the standard of the College Sports and did an excellent job. To Mr D. D Singh and Mr K.N. Singh must go the credit of organising the P.T. and Gymnastics Displays.
A Christmas programme of readings, recitations and carols, produced by the combined . choirs of both La Martiniere Colleges in Lucknow, has become an annual feature. The programme entitled “The Road to Christmas” was held both in La Martiniere Girls’ College, Auditorium and in the College Chapel. At the Girls’ College, the girls performed all the readings and recitations while the boys rendered them in the College. This has done much towards promoting the sprit of Christmas and in spreading the message of peace and goodwill in the town. We are especially grateful to Mrs Whittaker and to Mrs Aunpma Chatterjee, for the music that they provided, to those who undertook the readings and recitations and especially to the members of the choir, who had to spend long, thankless hours at practice.
The Annual N.C.C. Competitions were held on 15 December, 2000. The Naval Wing won the Hashman Memorial Shield for the Best N.C.C. Troop in the Junior Division. Platoon No. 2 comprising of Class XI students won the Intermediate Trophy for the Best N.C.C. Troop in the Senior Division . The Naval Wing won the Boardman Trophy for the Best N.C.C. Wing in the College. Shiv Vansh Bharti was adjudged the Best N.C.C. Cadet in the Junior Division and Sireesh Vikram Jindal was adjudged the Best Cadet in the Senior Division. Varun Egbert was awarded the medal for the Best Scout. They shall receive their prizes this evening.
The Annual Elocution and Declamation Contests both in English and in Hindi were held as
usual .and those who won prizes shall receive their awards this evening.
As is customary, special parades in which the N.C.C. Cadets of all three wings , the Scouts and Cubs participated, were held on Independence Day and Republic Day. Mr Rai Umapat Ray, Inspector General of Police (Intelligence) was Chief Guest on Independence Day. Dr Onkar Singh, an old student of the College and currently a parent took the salute, inspected the Parade, and addressed the students on Republic Day. We are grateful to both of them for taking the time to encourage the students.


OTHER EVENTS:

Parents send their children to La Martiniere not for any specialised instruction that they hope for their wards but because the focus of attention is the all-round development of their personalities. I am pleased to report that this is still the main focus of attention at the College. Boys are encouraged to participate in various activities for which invitations are received from other schools and organisations. This gives them a wide range of experience and they generally fare quite well. However, owing to several activities in the College itself, the boys could not participate in as many programmes as they usually do. Some of their major achievements are highlighted in this report.
Ruchit Duggal and Imran Khan represented the College in the Frank Anthony Memorial All-India Inter-School Debate. They won the first round and the zonal round held in Lucknow and at Meerut, but were unfortunate to be beaten to second place by La Martiniere, Calcutta, in the final round held at Mumbai.
Siddharth Agarwal was adjudged Best Speaker in the City Final of the “Discovery - Extempore Debate”. He participated in the Final round at Chennai but did not win any laurels.
At St Agnes’ School the boys fared rather well in the Literary Festival for students of Classes 9 and 10, which was held on 16 November. The team represented by Mayank Batheja, Anuj Jalote, Vipul Kumar, Aakash Prasad, Siddharth Rastogi and Anush Verma placed first in Literary Charades. Dhruv Agarwal and Arjun Buxi won first prize in the Quiz Competition and Mayank Batheja placed first in the Just a Minute Competition.
At a Declamation Seminar held at Study Hall on 17 November, Mayank Batheja was declared Best Speaker.
Arjun Buxi and Prashant Mehrotra participated in the ESPN Sports Quiz, an Inter-School National level competition, held in New Delhi. They won first prize for the East Zone but could not proceed further in the Final.
On 7, 8 and 9 April, the College was invited to participate in a Swimfest held at the City
Montessori School, Gomtinagar. La Martiniere won the Boys’ Championship.
The College team won the Past versus Present Football Match held on 11 September, by five
goals to nil. The Present also won the Past versus Present Cricket Match which was played on Republic Day.


JUNIOR SCHOOL ACTIVITIES:

The Annual Elocution Contests in English and in Hindi were held as usual. The winners
will receive their prizes this evening.
The Junior School contributed a fair share to the Exhibition on the life of Claude Martin and so this year no special Project Display was held.
The Junior School Sports always creates great excitement. The same was true this year and as usual the ingenuity and imagination of all concerned could not be faulted. We were extremely pleased to welcome Rev Sr Moira of Loreto Convent as Chief Guest. Her pleasure was a source of inspiration to the teachers and the students. The music provided by Mr Gulrez Deen was delightful, and we are grateful to him. Great credit for the success of the Sports must be given to all the teachers, but the palm must go to the Headmistress, who is the inspirational force behind it all. She has indeed created a masterpiece.
Medicine, clothes and toilet articles for the inmates of Prem Niwas, run by the Missionaries of Charity are regularly collected by the students of the Junior School who pay regular monthly visits to the home. This develops in the students an awareness of the difficulties faced by others, thereby encouraging them to care for their fellow beings.
“Bal melas” at regular intervals add to the drama of life in the Junior School. They are not only a means of entertainment but they helped raise money for worthy causes, such as the relief of the victims of the earthquake in Gujarat and the restoration of Constantia.


VISIT TO LYONS

Four boys from the College, four girls from the Girls’ College and an escort were invited by
La Martiniere Schools in France for a visit in October. The invitation was for a fortnight and the entire cost of the trip was borne by the hosts. Nilanjan Roy Choudhary, Rana Pawha, Poojan Rana and Imran Khan were the boys chosen collectively by the Staff. The Lady Principal was the official escort of the contingent. The Trustees and the Local Committee of Governors very kindly agreed that the Principal of the College go to France as well at College expense, since he had also been extended an invitation. The party left Lucknow on 09 October and returned on 3 November. The fortnight in Lyons, France, was an opportunity of a lifetime. In addition to visiting the institutions in Lyons the students were taken to other historic and important places in and around the city. It was well worth the time they missed from their conventional studies and they gained much more in experience than they would in years of studying from books. In addition after the fortnight in Lyons ended they visited Rome, Pisa, Florence and Paris. It is an experience none of them is likely to forget. The kindness of the hosts and their generosity is the stuff that one normally only dreams about.


PROGRAMMES FOR TEACHERS

Dr Amrita Dass, Director of the Institute for Career Studies conducted two workshops for the promotion of excellence in education at La Martiniere Colleges, Lucknow. One was for teachers of the Senior School. It was held at La Martiniere Girls’ College, Lucknow, on 31 March and 1 April, 2000. The other was for teachers of the Middle School, which was held at the College on 14 and 15 April, 2000. The workshops was designed to promote introspection, pin-point strengths and weaknesses plan a course of action and thereby strive at improving the quality of education.
During the summer vacation a Computer Course was held for teachers in an effort to familiarise them with the use of computers and thereby facilitate their work.


SOCIALLY USEFUL AND PRODUCTIVE WORK

I am pleased to report that the parents, students and staff have responded splendidly to an appeal for the relief of the victims of the earthquake in Gujarat. Members of the Staff have donated a minimum of one day’s salary for the cause. A total sum of Rs 2, 27, 001 has been collected and shall be handed over to the Chief Minister.
The College received an appeal from the management of Jyotinagar, the Leprosy Home near Mohanlalganj for cupboards for the use of the inmates of the home. Under the initiative of Mrs S.B. Hasan, 10 the Senior and Middle School collected a sum of Rs 20, 545. In accordance with the wishes of the nuns, five cupboards have been purchased and delivered. The remainder of the money shall be used for the purchase of cloth to be sewn into garments for the inmates.
In a Cancer Awareness Campaign the students collected within fifteen days a sum of Rs 13, 853. This was acknowledged by the Cancer Aid Society.
We may not be able to totally eradicate the problems of poverty and disease that beset the world but we at La Martiniere, do encourage students to think selflessly and for others instead of just themselves.


RESTORATION OF CONSTANTIA

“Constantia” is now a little over two hundred years old. She in the words of an Old Boy appears ”proudly tattered”. One cannot agree more. La Martiniere is synonymous with Constantia. It is, therefore, imperative that the building be preserved for posterity. We are extremely grateful to Dr O.P. Agarwal, Director of I.N.T.A.C.H. who very kindly undertook to prepare a report on the condition of the building, entirely free of charge. However, the estimate of what it would take to restore Constantia is the daunting figure of 2.5 crores of rupees. In spite of this, we ourselves are endeavouring to make efforts to raise whatever we can. The Senior and Middle School raised a little over one lakh and twenty-five thousand rupees under the initiative of Mrs R. Chakravarti and the Junior School under the initiative of Mrs S. Simlai raised a little over one lakh rupees. The sale of calendars and greeting cards has also helped raise some money. It is to be hoped that many of the people present here today will make others aware of the need for preserving this heritage landmark in the city of Lucknow. I am pleased to acknowledge that on the occasion of the 200th Death Anniversary of the Founder, the Old Martinians Association, Lucknow, donated a sum of Rs 50,000/- towards this cause and today I have received a cheque from an Old Boy, Mr Meesam Rizvi, for the sum of Rs 40,000/-


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am very thankful for the support and guidance of the Trustees and Governors of the College n all matters concerning the welfare of La Martiniere and I am particularly grateful to those who are present with us today. I am doubly grateful to Mr Peter Fanthome who kept a watchful eye on the College during the time that I was on leave.
To the Lady Principal of the Girls’ College, whose help and advice in all matters is invaluable, I can but say an inadequate but heartfelt “Thank you”. It is more than comforting to know that in any time of crisis I can turn to a friendly and assuring presence.
La Martiniere does not lack for well wishers. To them and to the many who help the College in numerous ways I humbly say “Thank you.”
To the parents and relatives of the boys entrusted to our care and who interact with us, I say thank you for your trust and support.
I thank all members of the staff, academic and domestic for the way they functioned in my absence and I am grateful for any contribution they have made towards the welfare and development of the students. To all members of the Class IV staff I also express my gratitude for whatever they do and however they do it in order to help the functioning of the institution.
To the Bursar and Office Staff I owe a debt of gratitude as well. They are the people with whom I interact most on a daily basis and who usually have to bear the brunt of my irritability. I am grateful to all the House Masters for their support and help in ways too numerous to mention.
In thanks I owe more than all can pay to the Vice-Principal and to the Second Assistant and Headmistress of the Junior School. It is on them that I place all my reliance and it is they who help the College move on well –oiled wheels. It is they on whom I can call for help at any time. I could ask for no more support from anyone. The acid test of their dependability was when I was away on leave for nearly two months. When I returned, it seemed as if I had never been away. Thank you both for all your support and above all for your friendship and understanding.
It is in the boys of this institution that I place my faith and trust for the future and for whom I reserve all my gratitude. Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for entrusting them to our care. May we be worthy of your trust.

Long live La Martiniere !