The Burn Hall School

INDUSTRIA –FLOREMUS By Deligience we Florish

50 years of excellence in studies with alumni meet was just too good to forget and recall all the memorable moments.

It was like a dream sequence-entering through the same gate, walking through the same corridors, seeing once again the same rooms, same friends and the same environment except that I was no more a student. The Alumni Meet brought a million memories alive. I suddenly realized that perhaps I would not have been what I am now if the Burn hall had not shaped me from a child to a young man. Years have gone by, but the memories linger on.
A few years ago I had written some of my reminiscences in the GK about my student days in the Burnhall. This is now a follow up to what Majid Hyderi wrote in the GK Plus. I remember an ex-student from USA complaining last year that the School had started losing its glory. Perhaps he forgot that he owed his own foundation to this School. Free expression is a fundamental right but if you start running down your own alma matar I would call it being ungrateful. As a believer I am expected to express my gratitude to anyone who blesses me. I think all the Burnhallians would agree with me that we were taught several fundamentals of life-discipline, good behaviour, good manners and above all respect for values of life. May be the student-teacher relationship is not the same. May be the environment has changed. May be the insurgency has taken its toll and they don’t get such committed teachers as we were lucky to have, but no institution can survive or retain its credibility if it compromises on the quality of education. I haven’t heard any one cribbing about it.
At the Golden Jubilee Celebrations and the alumni meet I think every one who had been associated with this School felt proud that he belonged to this School. Fifty years are not a lot of years for an educational institution but judging by the kind of human material it has given to the Society is an achievement by itself. Be it the public men of eminence who are shinning on our political horizon or other fields like engineering, law, administration, education, entrepreneurs or some who have become successful ambassadors of this state overseas, Burnhall has carved out a niche for itself locally, nationally and internationally. Globalization has brought new challenges, new concepts and new expectations. I hope the day will not be far off when people will talk of Burnhall in the same manner as they talk of the Doon’s.
Attending the Alumni Meet has left many indelible imprints. It was wonderful meeting some old friends, hugging them, cranking jokes with them, thinking of the days gone bye, talking of the dreams we dreamt, the naughtiness and the mischief we committed, discussing our successes and failures or the tomfoolery we indulged in. We all go through a process of evolution. We all agreed that we would relive our lives the same way again if we had another chance. When finally identical mementoes were distributed it brought yet another awareness that we were all a family.
I must admit that the GK has played a stellar role by encouraging the youth to contribute to it. In a way the roles of the Burnhall and the GK are complimentary. Both have given the educated youth a platform. While we all have grown with the GK since its birth, let me, somewhat uncharacteristically, give a short history of this school and its strength that binds people like Mirwaiz Umar, Hasseb Drabu , Sajad Lone, Amitabh Matto and so many others who have excelled in diverse fields. We all missed another alumni Omar Abdullah who was conspicuous by his absence. Golden Jubilee comes only once in fifty years and all those people who consider Omer belonging to a different genre of politicians, missed him. It was an occasion he should not have missed. I wish the School management had formed a Celebration Committee and devised a comprehensive programme. One thing that we all missed was the absence of our old teachers. I spent almost 13 years from the Nursery till I passed out. I just cannot forget those formative days of my life that I spent in the school where I was taught that becoming a good human being was more important than carrying your religious tag on your forehead. Amongst my friends there were Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and some who knew nothing about religions at all. It didn’t matter who you were and what background you came from. Once you entered the Schooll premises you where only a disciplined student. I am proud that I was a student of this prestigious Institution which laid more emphasis on turning you into a better human being, on social fabrication and developing your personality rather than preparing you only for a white collar job. That did not mean we were being programmed. We did commit follies, we were mischievous and at times impish but it was all within drawn lines. It was amazing how over stepping the permissible limits would be detected by our eagle eyed teachers like, Mehinder sir, Mrs. Nazir the most strict teacher whose memories we will always cherish, Chandan sir ,Mrs Rath , Late Mr. Gomes , Mrs Shamiri . Gulam Ali the chaprasi to Bahadur the gatekeeper and how can I forget the ever loving bright face of Late Shah Sir . It was customary to prefix Sir with all other teachers. We all had our share of spanking or rebuke or admonish by our teachers but now I realize how important it is to keep a child under leash.
Although after tumult started one hardly had in his mind, what the next decade had in store for all of us. In the school itself we refused to believe the story little realizing that an era had begun that would devour a full generation. The environment in the campus started changing slowly. The moral degradation had started by leaps and bounds. Students started getting over their teachers and suddenly became defiant to get their work done. The atmosphere in and around the school started getting worse. All Non –Muslim teachers started quietly disappearing. There was vacuum and emptiness everywhere. Discipline, Respect, Love, and Strictness suddenly lost their meaning. It was a full stop to all that was good about our society. Friends became foes .All the activities started getting curtailed and suddenly it seemed that we had lost control. But today looking at the same school yet again gives a sense of satisfaction that this school has withstood the worse phase of Valley,s history. There are no strikes, no hullabaloos, and no in-discipline in side the campus. Today, the Burn Hall is still the most preferred school in the city for its discipline, student care, extra curricular activities and above all quality education and on its 50th celebration crossing a milestone by upgrading itself to Higher Secondary is something we all longed for .
While I reserve the right to my opinion on matters that used to happen in the school campus, this column is chiefly dedicated to teachers , ex-students and colleagues and the new generation about how Burn Hall School continues to impact our lives even now . An institution that started in 1956 with Fr. Boeakamp as its first principal and then great luminaries like father Hugh, Fr. Dominic and those affectionate sisters has served this society with all their love and care produced people who are serving this state with all vigor and vitality, we all should not forget that.
And finally, I just have one regret , I wish our Non-Muslims teachers and friends were with us enjoying each bit of what we saw in the photo exhibition right from 1956 to 2006, memories that cannot be replaced, Guess its too late or impossible now .