Darjeeling, Sept. 16: On April 29, 1907, the toy train stopped at the siding outside Kurseong to allow the lieutenant governor of Bengal, Andrew Fraser, to disembark and inaugurate Goethals Memorial School, built in the memory of Paul Count Goethals, the archbishop of Calcutta.
A little over 100 years later, on November 3, 2007, the scene will be replayed. The toy train will make an unscheduled stop at the Goethals Siding (the stop had been done away with 25 years ago) and the present governor of Bengal, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, will get down to be part of the institution’s centenary celebrations.
“We are trying to enact the exact scene. It takes about 17 minutes for the toy train to get to Goethals Siding from Kurseong on its way to Darjeeling and the governor is expected to cover the 2km on it. We are also trying to get a runner as was prevalent in those days (his task was to run ahead of the train and announce the arrival of dignitaries),” said Raja Banerjee, the president of the home alumni chapter of the school.
In the intervening 100 years, Goethals Memorial has produced three Olympic gold medalists in hockey. All three will be honoured during the weeklong celebrations.
First Field, the school playground, will be named after Joseph T. Galibardy, a member of the Indian hockey team that won the gold medal in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
The school pavilions, on the other hand, will be named after Cyril J. Mitchie, Galibardy’s team-mate in the 1936 team, and C.S. Gurung, whose team won the hockey gold in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
Galibardy is the only surviving member of the trio.
”We have got in touch with the 92-year-old Galibardy in England and we are happy to announce that he will be coming over for the celebrations,” said Krishna Kumar Chirimar, the president of the Calcutta alumni chapter.
Galibardy will also receive the Golden Wreath Award during the celebrations, which will be attended by members of the various alumni chapters including the ones from the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
A former student of the school, Prakash Bhartia, who is an authority on electro-magnetic systems, will also attend the programme. The man who has been awarded the Order of Canada and has a postage stamp issued in his honour, will be given the Alpha Omega Award by Goethals Memorial.
The Nepal alumni chapter has big plans to mark the centenary.
“We are trying to take the Goethals’ flag to Mt Everest,” said Navin Puri, a core-committee member of the Nepal chapter. “We hope to get it done once the climbing season starts in October so that the ascent coincides with the celebrations but if we fail then we will do it in March-April.”
The alumni members have also hired a helicopter from Sikkim to drop petals and confetti during the programme on November 3.
Goethals Memorial School, run by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in India, had started off with 111 students. Currently it has a student strength of 650. The all boys’ institution also provides education to about 200 poor girls from the locality through its open school.
A little over 100 years later, on November 3, 2007, the scene will be replayed. The toy train will make an unscheduled stop at the Goethals Siding (the stop had been done away with 25 years ago) and the present governor of Bengal, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, will get down to be part of the institution’s centenary celebrations.
“We are trying to enact the exact scene. It takes about 17 minutes for the toy train to get to Goethals Siding from Kurseong on its way to Darjeeling and the governor is expected to cover the 2km on it. We are also trying to get a runner as was prevalent in those days (his task was to run ahead of the train and announce the arrival of dignitaries),” said Raja Banerjee, the president of the home alumni chapter of the school.
In the intervening 100 years, Goethals Memorial has produced three Olympic gold medalists in hockey. All three will be honoured during the weeklong celebrations.
First Field, the school playground, will be named after Joseph T. Galibardy, a member of the Indian hockey team that won the gold medal in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
The school pavilions, on the other hand, will be named after Cyril J. Mitchie, Galibardy’s team-mate in the 1936 team, and C.S. Gurung, whose team won the hockey gold in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
Galibardy is the only surviving member of the trio.
”We have got in touch with the 92-year-old Galibardy in England and we are happy to announce that he will be coming over for the celebrations,” said Krishna Kumar Chirimar, the president of the Calcutta alumni chapter.
Galibardy will also receive the Golden Wreath Award during the celebrations, which will be attended by members of the various alumni chapters including the ones from the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
A former student of the school, Prakash Bhartia, who is an authority on electro-magnetic systems, will also attend the programme. The man who has been awarded the Order of Canada and has a postage stamp issued in his honour, will be given the Alpha Omega Award by Goethals Memorial.
The Nepal alumni chapter has big plans to mark the centenary.
“We are trying to take the Goethals’ flag to Mt Everest,” said Navin Puri, a core-committee member of the Nepal chapter. “We hope to get it done once the climbing season starts in October so that the ascent coincides with the celebrations but if we fail then we will do it in March-April.”
The alumni members have also hired a helicopter from Sikkim to drop petals and confetti during the programme on November 3.
Goethals Memorial School, run by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in India, had started off with 111 students. Currently it has a student strength of 650. The all boys’ institution also provides education to about 200 poor girls from the locality through its open school.
