Two founders, one day

Roopinder Singh

School students typically don’t read newspapers. When you live in a household where multiple newspapers delivered daily are a routine, you pick up what you can lay your hands on. In Patiala, in my childhood in the early 1970s, it was The Tribune. I started by reading the headlines and then graduated to going through the details.

Yadavindra Public School (YPS), where my brother and I studied, is celebrating its 75th foundation anniversary. It was famous for its sports prowess. Indeed, trainee coaches from the National Institute of Sports would often hone their skills with the students. The founder, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh of Patiala, was a keen sportsperson; the school itself is located in a grand stadium. As you enter, your eye falls on Baron Pierre de Coubertin’s quote: ‘The important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.’ Our school also laid a great deal of stress on debates, declamations and plays. Principal HN Kashyap took English literature classes, teaching us Shakespeare. Our teachers often commented that we needed to read The Tribune to improve our English.

While day scholars like me had access to the newspaper at home, the boarders would have to trek to the library for their copy to read. It was not uncommon to find specific words underlined, presumably to aid in finding them again while consulting the dictionary. Those who put more effort into their studies, rather than sports, embraced this activity more!

Some recipients of the All-India Merit Scholarship scheme were admitted to YPS. The Central Government paid their fees and even gave them pocket money. These brilliant students excelled at everything but English and thus worked hard on it. This affirmative action programme produced outstanding individuals who later held leading positions in the armed forces, academia and the corporate world.

Schools shape the trajectory of your life and launch you into the world. That’s when college and university education become the grounding for your career. I studied in Delhi and read philosophy.

A few years later, I joined The Tribune. I had the honour of serving the institution for three decades. Six Editors stewarded it while I was there, and I worked closely with all of them.

I still remember the booming voice of a somewhat irate teacher who said: ‘You have your nose in the paper again; are you planning to spend your life in it?’ Little did we know I would do so. The two institutions that shaped my personal and professional identity had to leave Lahore and begin anew after Partition. Both have the same Founder’s Day, February 2! Today, we salute the founders whose legacy shines bright.