Well known as the ‘padri’ school, St Xavier’s was established by the Jesuit priests in 1943. It was indeed a unique school, one of its kind in the entire state. St. Xavier’s School was founded more on contemporary American thought and values, synonymous with modern education and progressive ideas which was in sharp contrast to the ‘colonial’ mindsets of schools like Mayo. It was the elite of the city who sent their children to study at the Xavier’s. Sudhanidhi , Anil Kasliwal along with Srikant Bulak were perhaps the first of our batch mates to get admitted in 1958.

There were many unique things about this ‘American’ school which we took for granted. This impressive building had a Public Address system installed in each classroom so that the Principal could communicate with the entire school at once. Though I must admit it was rarely used. And in the corridors, there were drinking water Fountains placed in the corners for thirsty students. Indeed a far cry from our traditional ‘piao’. In those early days, there was a dedicated audio-visual room with projectors and audio players. And in the School Hall, there was a Projection Cabin for proper film screenings every Saturday evenings. Here we saw some of the classic westerns like Stagecoach, Man Who Shot Liberty Valance etc. Among other field games and athletics, there were Yankee sports like baseball, handball and basketball. In Raman Gupta, the school produced a national level basketball player who represented India in Asian Games. Jungle Jim was another concept unknown to other schools where children could swing, climb, hang, sit and do other maneuvers to move swiftly through the iron bar structure.

But of course, the most important part of the school was the Canteen where in exchange of our pocket money, Dayal ji dispensed Buns, Cream Rolls, Milk Shakes, Patties and Ice Cream Cones. That time these goodies were not readily available in town and were highly sought by the kids. Apologies to the Papri Chaat & Churan guy positioned just outside the periphery wall for just getting a passing mention here.

When we came to XI std we officially became entitled to the Senior Common Room where we played Beatles and Bollywood records on the Gramophone. Sunil Aggrawal’s lines stolen from Tanuja in Jewel Thief are singed in memory:
रात अकेली है बुझ गए दिए …….आके मेरे पास ……..

Our School also gave us opportunities to do Scouting or join the NCC. There was DK Singh sir who supervised marching practice for 15th Aug parade at the Secretariat. The Scout Patrols under Mr. Saiyyad, Mr. R.L. Sharma and Mr. Barno went for various camps at Tara Devi in Himachal, Pardi near Mumbai and Udaipur. Perhaps one of the most memorable things about the School was the Overnight Picnics. No batch mate can ever forget the trip to Sariska. Swimming in jungle pools, unmindful of the crabs and water snakes, the starry lit heavens at Pandu Pol, the search for Father Pereira in the night and songs competition with medico students spearheaded by Sunil: रमजान के अब्बा! हाजी ! Cycle Picnics, although very tiring, were also a lot of fun. More than 60 kms cycle ride to and fro Ramgarh lake was a day long affair. Fateh Singh was the ‘Speedy Gonzales’ who was the first to reach Ramgarh.

Special mention must be made of Pink and Grey Cards. Kanwar said “3 pinks = 1 grey and 3 greys meant bye bye school.” And nobody can forget the caning or ‘Bend Overs” we got for all kind of reasons like failing inspection of nails, hair, clothes, shoe polish, arriving late etc. Get ready to get hit by ruler on knuckles!

As we look back, we realise the values school gave. There was no distinction between religions and castes when we were in school. In fact, it was in college we came to learn of the difference between Jats and Rajputs. There are small things in our character we notice today that we seem to have imbibed from our years in St. Xavier’s school like the habit of reading books we acquired from the vast selection in the School Library. School also gave us a good command of spoken English to present our ideas clearly and succinctly to the world in different spheres of life. It made as proud to be known as a Xaverite.