If one stumbles upon a picture of the city of Visakhapatnam, which was clicked about a 100 years ago, then the only prominent structure that dominates the landscape in sepia, is the building of St. Aloysius Anglo-Indian High School.
The first impression that the stone edifice gives is that of a fortress standing tall and wide beside the blue waters of the Bay of Bengal.
The school is celebrating its demisemiseptcentennial (175 years), and the old students of the school are looking forward to it. It is a moment of pride for the students who have passed out and are now well placed across the globe and also for the teachers, brothers and fathers of the missionary, who have walked across the long gothic corridors to the classrooms.
History
The school was incepted in 1847 by the Missionaries of St Francis de Sales who first arrived in Vizagapatam in 1846, from France.
The small MSFS team led by Fr. Tissot acquired a small tiled two-room house on the east side of the present school building and set up the school for catholic children of the army personnel from the East India Company. The first principal of the school was Fr. Johan Decompoix, who served till 1864.
The initial days were very difficult, as most of the catholic children of the army men had to attend Army School, which was present at that time. So the army or the East India Company refused to extend any financial help, says Fr. Mariadas, the present principal of the school.
But 1857 Sepoy Mutiny thankfully changed the fortunes of the school as the rule passed from the East India Company to the British Crown. The then government relaxed the norms and encouraged the setting up of both Protestant and Catholic schools and in 1864, the school got is first aid in the name of St. Aloysius School and since then it never looked back.
With a grant of about ₹13,000 the school took up expansion in 1868, and the first buildings that we see on the three sides of the spacious quadrangle had come up. They were then built up to the first floor.
As per the school records, in 1873 the student strength was around 140, with 83 boarders, of whom about 63 were orphans.
Post 1873, the school expanded bit by bit and it extended from the Old Lighthouse to the present workshop.
St. Aloysius was not the only catholic school in this region, but it was the only English Medium school with a workshop then between the Madras and Calcutta presidencies, says Fr. Mariadas.
The present building had come during Fr. L.F Contat’s tenure between 1899 and 1927, at a cost of little over ₹1 lakh. In 1935, the present chapel was built at a cost of ₹28,000.
Artefacts
Many artefacts had once adorned its famed parlour and corridors, right from the famous 12-foot grandfather clock to the glass paintings behind the altar in the chapel. But what stands out till date is the school bell, which was gifted to Fr. Tissot by Pope Leo XIII in 1863.
An unexploded World War II bomb from a Japanese bomber had also adorned the parlour. It was picked from the beach and kept in the school parlour by Fr. Gaston Poncelle. The bomb can still be seen at Visakha Museum.
Memories
Many old students who had passed out still talk about the golden beach and the blue water of the bay that could be seen from the east-side classrooms.
“We never felt the summer heat, as cool breeze from the sea drifted across the gothic-styled open windows and doors. We also excelled in sports, be it athletics, cricket or football,” recalls P.R. Narayan Swami, a former student who passed out about six decades ago and was also the former Physical Director of Andhra University.
It was the only school that had a boxing ring and personnel from the Eastern Naval Command would conduct tournaments there.
“The school always had its own band and we continue to maintain the tradition,” says Fr. Mariadas.
The school today faces the problem of pollution, as the beautiful beach that once existed beside the school today has given way to the berths of the Visakhapatnam Port Authority.
“The pollution was very high till a few years ago, but post modernisation it has now come down. But the issue is student profile. Unlike in earlier days, when we had students from across the city and neighbouring districts, giving the school a diverse profile, today we have students only from the neighbouring areas,” laments Fr. Mariadas.
