Two Schools of Thought

My childhood was spent in the industrial town of Durgapur in West Bengal. My primary education was in a government run school, i.e. from Class I to Class V. The secondary education from Class VI to Class XI (Senior Cambridge) was at St. Xavier’s School.

The school had very talented teachers and 2 of them have left a lasting impression on me. Both were in a league of their own as will be evident from some of my memories of them.

Rev. Fr. A. Wautier

He became the Head Master of the school when I went into class VIII and was still there when I graduated high school.

He was from Belgium and had served in the army during World War II. He had very interesting stories to tell us about the trench warfare, especially one that involved the Maginot Line.

A bundle of energy, he would regularly play football with us during sports time. He was easily available to meet any student or parent who wanted to meet him. And above all, he understood each child so well, it was uncanny. Let me narrate…

There were fixed days in our school for pupils to pay the fee. For our class it was Friday. Every Friday during the mid-morning break, we were to go to the office, wait in a queue, pay the monthly fee and get our fee book updated.

On one such Friday, while waiting in the queue I noticed an ordinary alarm clock that was ticking away on an office table. My friend, Sanjeev, who was behind me, informed me that this was the clock that determined the ringing of the bell between periods and the final school closing time. Both of us quickly discussed and decided to set this clock 5 minutes ahead of time and did so while the office staff was busy counting money and updating fee books.

Nobody noticed anything amiss till the time the final bell went off. That's when Fr. Wautier went to the office to check why the school was closing 5 minutes ahead of schedule. He discovered that the office clock was 5 minutes ahead of time. He also found out that this was the fee day for classes X and XI.

Next day during our first period, the school peon from the Head Master’s office came into our class, looked around, pointed at Sanjeev and me, and said that we were to go to meet Fr. Wautier.

We were in a tizzy as we went down 4 flights of stairs and decided that we shall own up to our mischief. And own up we did. The conversation went something like this:

Fr. Wautier: “Did you two fiddle with the clock in the office yesterday?”

Both of us: “Yes Father.”

Fr. Wautier: “Good. Show me your right palm, both of you.” Both of us got one smart tap on our palms and were just let go by Fr. Wautier. All he told us was: “It was a good prank. But don’t repeat it.”

I came home and informed my parents of this incident, including the fact the we had each got a smart tap on our palms with a 12” ruler. The incident was forgotten thereafter.

There is only one reason why Fr. Wautier put his finger on Sanjeev and me, out of a bunch of students who were all potential culprits - his involvement with each student and his understanding of them. He was not just involved in running the school; he was committed to impart the highest quality of education to his wards.

Rev. Fr. P Y Gilson

Like Fr. Wautier, Fr. Gilson was also a Belgian and he too had fought in World War II. He taught us History and English Language.

His style of pedagogy was unique. He could almost enact what he was teaching. His reading skills with voice modulations, facial expressions, gesticulations would make any lesson turn into a story that students would remember effortlessly.

My love for history and the English language is a gift from Fr. Gilson.

His punishment for playing truant, like not doing the homework or talking in class with your neighbour, was unique too. He would politely ask you to accompany him outside of the class room, and tell you to admire the class from outside!! After about 5 minutes you would be called back. The only apprehension while you stood outside was - what if Fr. Wautier came on his rounds and found you there!! Apart from this, there was no stigma attached to this. Each time this happened to any of us, we would inform our parents at home and be suitably admonished by them too.

He was deeply committed to ensuring our academic performance especially in our board exams (Senior Cambridge). Before the exams we had a school break of about a month so that we could prepare at home.

Every week Fr. Gilson would come by to see us and our parents at home on his Vespa Scooter. His objective was simple: to check if we were studying well. These visits were always in the evening because that is when he could meet our parents too.

At every household Fr. Gilson would be offered tea and snacks and he never refused at any of the houses. He would eat well during his visits!!

The school was about 10 kilometres from my house. Most of us lived in the area where I lived. Some lived near the school. Fr. Gilson knew the residence of ALL of us. And he thought nothing of travelling these distances once a week to ensure that his students were well prepared for their first milestone exam.

There is a well-known anecdote of a pig and a chicken who thought of opening a ham and egg restaurant. When the chicken suggested a 50:50 profit sharing formula, the pig protested and said, ”This is not fair. For you it is just an involvement, for me it is total commitment.”

I was lucky to have teachers who were committed to a holistic development of their students.