THE INCOMPARABLE LOYOLA HIGH SCHOOL AND THE CLASS OF 1966

SCHOOLDAY MEMORIES

EARLY DAYS

Loyola High School and Junior College is a Jesuit school situated in Pashan, Pune, India. The school opened in June 1961, offering primary, secondary, and pre-college education. Its name comes from St. Ignatius of Loyola, a sixteenth-century saint who was recognised for his devotion to education and is best known for founding the Society of Jesus (SJ). Loyola High School is run by Jesuit priests and welcomes students from all ethnic, cultural, and economic backgrounds. 

All priests are Indian, since priests from overseas aged below 65 were asked to leave when unfounded charges of proselytisation were levelled against them by stupid and paranoid local and central government agencies. This was a colossal loss to students in general and selfless education as a whole. Absorbing this setback, the school was upgraded to a Junior College in the 90s.  

Loyola High School and Junior College is an English medium institution but requires Marathi and Hindi as compulsory languages up to the Class VIII. High school students have the option of taking German in lieu of Marathi. The institution prepares students for the Maharashtra State Secondary School Certificate (SSC, Class X) and the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC, Class XII) examinations.

1968

Work on the school started in early 1960. Rev. Rudolf J Schoch, S.J., had dreamed of the site where the school now is and requested the National Chemical Laboratory (whose land it was) to set up the school. Land was provided on lease. The establishment of the school had become necessary to take the load off the highly popular St. Vincent's High School, Pune Camp, and all students not living in Pune Camp and Pune City (up to Lakdipul, i.e., the wooden bridge across the River Mutha linking Pune City with Deccan Gymkhana) were asked to shift to Loyola's. The same logic was applied to the overcrowded St Anne's School opposite St. Vincent's and the affected girls were shifted to The Convent of Jesus & Mary at St. Joseph's High School, located directly in front of and between Loyola's and Pashan Road.

Another compelling reason was that children of Faculty and Staff at the National Defence Academy (NDA), some 25 km from Pune Camp, did not have school facilities beyond Class VI. The junior school at NDA was run by Jesuits, the Principal being the imposing figure of the cigar-toting Rev. Anton Rehm, from Switzerland. This entire school and staff was merged with Loyola and all children of residents in the NDA would come to Loyola's/St Joseph's, a 15-km trip by bus. This cost them 40 minutes each day, but was actually a 30 minute saving each way compared to schooling at St. Vincent's/St. Mary's. Rev. Anton Rehm was the first Principal of Loyola, when the school became operational, guiding its establishment from 1961-63, handing over next to Rev. A.E.Oesch.

The girl's school building was not yet complete, so girls in Classes X and XI were moved to Loyola's till 1963. Loyola's had an interesting faculty amongst the Jesuit Priests. Rev. Bernadetti, an Italian, taught German, followed by Rev. J. Toscano, another Italian, followed thereafter by Mrs Mani and Mrs Sahasrabudhe. Rev. D'Costa, a Portuguese priest, taught English. In classes 10 and 11, Rev.Oesch, an Austrian, took over German Poetry, English and Higher English. Rev. Gregory taught up to nine subjects-Algebra, Geometry, Arithmetic, Higher Arithmetic, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Botany and Zoology - assisted by Mr. Contractor. Mr. Mahamuni spent half his time as a Hindi teacher teaching ambidextrous Drawing; the Drawing teacher, Mr Khataukar, a raconteur of sorts, taught us Maharashtrian History and folklore, a vastly entertaining and sought-after class. We called all priests using the prefix 'Father'. Fr. Toscano was to return as Principal between 1979-83.

The Class of 1966

        

Seated L-R: Mr Contractor, Rev Gregory, Rev Oesch, Rev D'Costa, Mr Teranikar, Mr VG Mahamuni

Standing 1st Row L-R: Ashok Limaye, Abraham Matthew, Harish Karkera, Narendra Puri, Shyam Borawake, Jolly Chacko, Vijay Shirke, Ravi Shankar, Dilip Bhat

2nd Row: Sunil Bhonsle, Harinder Kandhari, Prabhat Shandilya, Dhanvinder Singh, Aloke Chowdhary, Tarun Datta, V Raju, Deepak Malhotra, Prabhakar Avvari, Vinayak More

Top Row: Amit Mitra, Raj Kapoor, Mohan Dewan, Vijay Karandikar, R Chandrashekhar, M Pant, Gurinder Chohan, Suresh Raina, Noel Moitra, Madan Chopra

In 1965-66, 29 boys appeared for their Matriculate (Class XI) and all 29 got a First Division, with seven Distinctions. One lad, Chandrashekhar Ratnaswamy came first in the state, but was relegated to 2nd for an unknown reason. The prominent industrialist and race-horse owner, Mr. Vijay Shirke was among the seven distinctions. A good sportsman, one quirk that he had was that he wore only 'Chappals' (leather slippers) throughout the five years he was in School, except on Graduation Night! Interestingly, only Vijay Shirke and I had parents who owned cars, Vijay's maroon humpback Dodge and my dark green Vauxhall.

Rev. Oesch, Principal 1963-66, had represented Austria in the 1936 Olympics- famous for Jesse Owens' performance in Hitler's presence- in both soccer and javelin throw. Thanks to his efforts in one year thereafter, Loyola won every possible inter-school athletics or sports meet. To cite an example, in 1966 Loyola was 0-5 down in goals vs Modern School at the halfway stage in an inter-school soccer match, when Rev. Oesch arrived. He spoke to his demoralised boys at the interval. They equalised in the next 45 minutes, reaching 5-5, winning the replay the next day 6-5, with the goalkeeper, a certain Dilip Doshi, caught on camera in a Superman dive to save a penalty! Suresh Raina would represent the State in Field Events in Athletics (Jrs.), in the Discus Throw, the Shot Put and the Javelin Throw.

The school had 474 boys and 27 girls registered in 1961. The Ground floor had class rooms, the Principal’s office, the admin section, the bookshop, the watering hole and Physics laboratories. The first floor had classrooms and Chemistry laboratories. There were no Biology or Zoology labs. The 2^nd/top floor was only partly constructed and housed the Jesuit priests. It took two years for the completion of Phase 1 of the school and the girls returned to their school as that edifice had also been completed.

I did not spend even one day under the tutelage of the right revered Rev. Schoch when in Loyola, though he was the brain behind establishing the school. I did have him as my Principal when I was in St. Vincents in Poona Camp, 1959-61. Our first Principal was Rev. Rehm, the genial but imposing cigar-smoking giant, but he did not teach us anything. In my own case, I, along with my classmates from NDA, had spent time under him as he was Principal of the mini-school at NDA from 1954-61. My father was posted there 1956-59 and I had many classmates, including some who decided to duck one year, like Makhanlal Talwar and that athlete supreme, Vinod Bakshi. 

School uniform for all boys from class 1 to class 11 was half-sleeved beige shirts and dark beige shorts, with the school logo on the shirt pocket. There was no ruling on footwear.

A sight we never saw: the top floor complete

Excellent long-range snap of where we studied: note the three schoolbuses

We studied under Rev. Alphonse Ernst Oesch, our Principal from 1963-66; he taught us Higher English and German; German from Class 10 onwards and Higher English in the 11th. It was he who drove us up the hill every evening when we had to wait for the buses to return from their 1st trip with the junior kids. He devoted time to athletes and soccer players, having the invaluable experience of representing his country at the global level of the Olympics. Our character and ethos was shaped in the main by Fr. Oesch, helped along the way by the Revs Toscano, Bernadetti, D'Costa and Gregory. To borrow Madan G Chopra’s quote, Fr. Oesch said one day, “I am an Austrian German and I am teaching you English as well. Why can’t you boys learn German just as a language. No one is asking you to teach at this stage”. 

Fr. Girgut Gregory worked the hardest to educate us, teaching us Arithmetic, Higher Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Trigonometry and Moral Science. He would write every single word he taught and we copied those words from the blackboard-actually green board. Conty Contractor filled in the blanks in lower Maths. Rev. Otto looked after the bookshop.

Greenery which was only brown mud and rocks

If I were to write for RD about The Most Unforgettable Person. . . I would choose Fr. Oesch 100 times out of 100. Late Mr Teranikar, VG Mahamuni, Khataukar, Contractor, Mrs Mani, Mrs Sahasrabudhe, Peter Akey, Ms Lucy Borges of the alluring bottoms, Ms Garcia and others, if any, were simply clouds that dispersed after blessing us with sporadic showers. Ravishankar has cause to remember the menacing but harmless Mr Teranikar one PT session. In the five years we were at school, his elder brother Rajamani was the only boy to get injured while at school. He was assisted by Rev. Oesch when he fractured his elbow during the lunch break one day.

        

1. THE SWIMMING POOL- A POST 1966 ADDITION

2. THE FOOTBALL FIELD-IT HAS CHANGED ORIENTATION BY 90°

3. LOYOLA AS IT STANDS TODAY

The remaining classmates, each a byword in his own field,  are planning to contribute a certain sum of money in memory of late Fr. Oesch towards improving facilities in the School that could be upgraded. The event will be hosted at the school to mark 50 years since we passed out of this magnificent institution that shaped our lives and future.

                                  IN MEMORIAM: STUDENTS

Prabhat Shandilya

Aloke Choudhary

Deepak Malhotra

Prabhakar Avvari

Amit Mitra

Vijay Karandikar

                                  IN MEMORIAM: FACULTY

Rev AE Oesch

Rev Toscano

Rev Bernaditti

Rev D’Costa

Rev Gregory

Mr Teranikar

Mr Mahamuni

Mr Contractor

Mr Peter Akey

Mrs Mani

Mrs Sahasrabudhe

Mr Swamy

           

Photos 1,2,3 courtesy ELAN

Prabhat Shandilya

Aloke Choudhary

Deepak Malhotra

Prabhakar Avvari

Amit Mitra

Vijay Karandikar 

Rev AE Oesch

Rev Toscano

Rev Bernaditti

Rev D’Costa

Rev Gregory

Mr Teranikar

Mr Mahamuni

Mr Contractor

Mr Peter Akey

Mrs Mani

Mrs Sahasrabudhe

Mr Swamy

Prabhat Shandilya

Aloke Choudhary

Deepak Malhotra

Prabhakar Avvari

Amit Mitra

Vijay Karandikar 

Rev AE Oesch

Rev Toscano

Rev Bernaditti

Rev D’Costa

Rev Gregory

Mr Teranikar

Mr Mahamuni

Mr Contractor

Mr Peter Akey

Mrs Mani

Mrs Sahasrabudhe

Mr Swamy

The Most Incredible And Simple Invention That Will Change Our Future

SIMPLY AMAZING

French biochemist Pierre Calleja has basically developed a lighting system that requires no electricity for power.!!! Instead, it draws carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to produce light. Astonishingly the lamp absorbs 200-times more CO2 than trees, at the rate of 1-ton annually, or what a tree absorbs over its entire lifetime. WTF ...thats crazy, ...but how? *The key ingredient is Algae! The lamps consist of algae-filled water, along with a light and battery system. So during the day, the algae produces energy from sunlight that is then stored in the batteries. Then at night the energy is used to power the light.This clever algae can also produce energy from carbon, so * sunlight isn't required for the process to work. Just read that line again OK ? Sunlight isn't required for the process to work !!!! That means these lights can be placed where there is no natural light and the air will still effectively be cleaned on a daily basis. Crazy good, I know!

By Using micro-algae, this super cool dude has prototyped a lamp that emit's zero (that's 'nada') CO2, instead it actually absorbs massive amounts! Which is what we want, if we are to reduce carbon emissions & global warming. Who would'a thought algae could help save the planet? 

In the future, these lamps could be used to illuminate our streets, parks and homes. Good on you Dr. Pierre for making our future glow green just like we thought it would !!

 

THE BEST CRYSTAL SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY GLASSES IN THE WORLD

THE GLENCAIRN CRYSTAL SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY GLASS

Champagne, Cognac, Wine . . . each type of liquor has its own glass. Yet Whisky, the world’s most complex spirit can be found served in anything from highball tumblers to Paris goblets to Tequila shot glasses. 

Only the connoisseur of Malt Whisky and the sybarite know that Scotch Malt Whisky is composed of FIVE elements: The Colour, the Nose, the Serpent waiting to be released, the Palate and the Finish. It was when Malt Whiskies came into the limelight some 25 years ago that sellers realised that they had been sleeping, since most malts were used to glamorise the Scotch Whisky Blends market. Single Malt drinkers out of tumblers, wine and shot glasses were immediately picked out as the nouveau riche, moneyed persons with no class! And certainly No Taste!!  

The Glencairn Whisky Glass is a revolutionary whisky glass that really lets one savour the taste and complexity of fine whisky. These are the ONLY GLASSES for Single Malt Whiskies. With the tapered mouth, you are able to really sniff all nuances the whisky has to offer. Any malt advocate will love this glass! Why then, do some so-called whisky ‘connoisseurs’ spend thousands on the most complex, rewarding, pleasure-giving liquids yet contrived by humanity, and then drink them from tumblers? “Philistines!” says Andy Davidson. “Tumblers are useless when it comes to focussing or enhancing the taste experience of whisky. They were originally used to prevent you from smelling bad whisky.”

He should know. In 1976, his father, Raymond Davidson, saw this lacuna and designed a glass, but imperfect, as he called it. He then personally went to the top ‘noses’ or blenders of the Scotch Whisky industry with his design and asked them for their opinions. Meeting failure after failure as the so called cognoscenti stuck to tumblers, it took 25 years and one generation of Malt Whisky enthusiasts to realise its true value. After extensive interaction and experiments, Andy Davidson’s Glencairn Crystal solved the problem of identifying the ideal glass for whisky Andy came out of the design phase and, with the blessings of the top five blenders of Scotch Whisky, went to market in 2001.  

The Glencairn Glass

Today the Glencairn Glass can be found at every distillery in Scotland, Ireland, Wales as well as most in the USA. In 2006 the glass won the Queen's Award for innovation. The shape of the Glencairn whisky glass is derived from the traditional nosing copitas used in whisky labs around Scotland, a style lovingly developed by Glencairn Crystal Ltd, Scotland for drinking whisky. The problem with the copitas were that they were unstable long-stemmed glasses and would break frequently. The Glencairn glass has no such slim and fragile stem, but a comfy and compact solid crystal base, which prevents the glass from toppling and breaking and which fits snugly in your fingers. This is clearly visible in the photographs of the Glencairn glass in this post.

The capacity of a typical Glencairn whisky glass is approximately 175 ml, and is intended to hold approximately 50 ml of liquid, 1/14^th of the capacity of 700 ml bottles of Scotch Whisky in the EU and 1/15^th that of an American or Indian 750 ml bottle.

The 175 ml glass is 115 mm (4.5 in) in height and is available in two versions: 24% lead crystal and lead-free crystal glass. The vast majority of glasses in circulation are of the lead-free crystal variety. The Glencairn glass was originally designed for pub/bar use so it is a sturdy little glass. The bottom is heavy so it's not easily tipped over and is easily grasped. It feels good in the hand. My six Glencairn glasses are crafted from lead-free crystal.

                                                                                  

A Copita

The Glencairn glass is the ONLY glass on the market that is designed specifically for drinking whisky and endorsed as such by the Scotch Whisky Association; it is used by every whisky company in Scotland and Ireland and many in the USA for their Bourbons. 

The traditional style of whisky glass is a cut crystal Old Fashioned whisky tumbler, the most commonly used type of whisky glass. However, a tumbler does not hold and focus the aromas as much for the experience of the drinker as the Glencairn, which curve inwards towards the top of the glass. Inward-curved glasses are the preferred choice of connoisseurs who consider the aroma especially important to the experience of a whisky.

If you fancy yourself a SMSW lover, you’d best have a small stock of Glencairn glasses at hand. Six would be about right. Do please remember that these are nosing and tasting glasses. While they can certainly be used as glasses for drinking SMSW, you could also use filigreed balloon glasses, like those used for Cognac and wine. The overriding factor is that they should, like the Glencairn glass, be arcing inward towards the human nose.

Beware of fraud! SCAM artists sell GLENCARIN glasses, ripping off the unknowing customer. They buy these glasses from Alibaba at $0.5-.75 per glass, the wholesale price for a minimum of 200-5000 glasses and then sell them at 1500% profit. 

These glasses sound tinny when tapped with a fork or spoon. They are every bit as good as Glencairn glasses in terms of utility, but lack the class and longevity of the original brand. When washed, they do not appear to shine as crystal glasses should, but need a dedicated rub with flannel.

THE limited-edition black Glencairn Glass

Glencairn has also released a limited-edition black Glencairn Glass. For the first time ever the iconic Glencairn Glass will be available to buy in black –  but only a few thousand are for sale.

These unique glasses will be the first to be officially sold to the public by the award-winning, Scottish family business, Glencairn Crystal.  Never before have black Glencairn Glasses been available to buy so now is a chance to procure a piece of whisky industry history. Available from Friday 29 November and for as long as stocks last, each glass costs £7 and comes in a special edition black box.

The glasses can only be purchased via the Glencairn Crystal online store  where you can also find a 20% discount across all Glencairn Glassware items over the weekend and Monday. The perfect place to find extra special sparkling gifts for Christmas for whisky-loving friends and family.

The Glencairn Glass is endorsed by the Scotch Whisky Association as the official glass for whisky. Glencairn Crystal makes over 3 million per year, across hundreds of brands, distributed to over 90 countries worldwide.

Glencairn has previously won The Queen’s Awards as follows:

1. The Queens Award for Enterprise 2017 and 2012
2. The Queens Award for Innovation 2006 (with the Glencairn Whisky Glass)

Using the glass:

Colour

Is your whisky pale gold, deep gold, copper or rich amber in colour?

How to use

This indicates the type of cask in which the liquid has been matured.

Nose

Which aromas do you recognise when you nose your whisky – is it smoky, fruity, chocolaty…?

How to use

Give it time; the scents change in the glass all the time. Add a drop of water -The amount is up to you (but enough to remove any prickle or burning sensation felt on the nose) – and sniff again. Has the spirit opened up or closed down?

Body

Does your whisky have a light, medium or full body?

How to use

As you swirl the whisky in the glass does it cling to the sides and do the “legs” slide down slowly or quickly? Thick, slow running “legs” indicate a more dense texture; whilst thin fast moving “legs” suggest the opposite. Both are good!

Palate

Which characteristics do you notice when you taste the whisky?

How to use

First, sip the whisky without adding water. Identify the balance of ‘primary tastes’ – sweet (on the front of your tongue), salty and acidic (at the sides) and bitter or dry, spicy and smoky (at the back). Then add a little water. This makes it easier to hold the liquid in your mouth for longer and further explore its taste. If you can resist temptation and leave a little liquid in the glass for 20 minutes or so, return to nose and taste to explore how the flavour has developed.

Finish

Does the flavour remain for a long time or does it disappear quickly?

How to use

Whiskies from the Glencairn Glass are best enjoyed neat or with a little water. Consider whether the flavours linger, slowly change or disappear quite quickly.