Pran Nathji and Priya Nathji had studies at Hampton
Court for seven years, from 1945 to 1951 but as it was only till 4th
standard, they had to shift to another school for higher studies so in 1952
they enrolled at Allen Memorial Boys’ High School. The principal of the school,
Reverend W.J. Biggs, who was an Englishman, unlike the rest of the Anglo Indian
staff and teachers of the school. When he first Shri Nathji and Mateshwari he
invited them to meet Mrs. Biggs in their home on the first floor of the office
building. Both Shri Nathji and Mateshwari were struck by the absolute
cleanliness and spic and span décor of their house. Shri Nathji would ever afterwards
allude to Biggs house and urge people to emulate such cleanliness and order.Shi Nathji also occasionally invited Mr and Mrs. Biggs to their house for tea. Reverend
W.J.Biggs and his wife had developed a great fondness and respect for Shri
Nathji. Biggs knew that there was nothing in Shri Nathji's teachings that
opposed any religion in the world, and, he, as a Christian, found himself
perfectly at home with Shri Nathji. Both Mr. and Mrs. Biggs would visit Shri
Nathji's house at Savitri Nivas whenever invited by Shri Nathji and Mateshwari.
Shri Nathji would lay out the dining table in the dining room very carefully on
these occasions, calling for tea and pastries from Hakman’s Hotel for his
English guests and engaging a waiter from the hotel to serve the tea.
Often during prayer time in the morning school assemblies, Mr. Biggs
would ask the school gathering to pray for the recovery of the ailing
"wife of a loved friend." He would be referring to Mateshwari who was
ill at the time.
Both the boys had an unusual career at school. They were always at the
top of the class in each monthly test, in almost all of the subjects, and
first, in the final examination. This continued over the years. It was due to
the unusual blessings they derived from Shri Nathji each morning they went to
school; and also due to the enormous amount of hard studying they did, till
late hours in the night.
"Why do we have to study so hard to come first in the class, if
Pitaji is God?" the children would innocently ask their mother. And
Mateshwari would laugh: "God helps those who help themselves!"
It was obvious that Pran Nath and Priya Nath were not going to derive any
special benefits from their father's divine powers–they would have to struggle
for success like any other person in the world. Shri Nathji would not be
favouring his own family, in preference to the families of the world.
Pran Nath and
Priya Nath, who had been accustomed to an atmosphere of great love and
affection at home, suddenly found themselves in an environment that was hostile
and frightening. The soft spoken nuns and lady teachers of Hampton court were
replaced by the harsh male teachers of Allen Memorial. These teachers known as
“masters” invariably carried canes in their hands and spoke in tones that were
altogether imperious and commanding, giving the impression that they hated the
boys that they were teaching. There was not a trace of love in them. The boys
had to stand up before them and say “Sir” all the time.
Many of the boarders in the school had become hardened by their contact
with such sadistic teachers and were bullies of the worst sort. Allen Memorial
had at one time been an orphanage, and the customs and traditions of the
orphanage had been carried across to the school as it existed. The harshness
and discipline wielded on the students made life a nightmare for them. There
were instances of the masters getting carried away by their sense of power and
beating the students with their canes with ruthlessness.
Pran Nath had always been a brilliant student when he was at Hampton
Court and stood at the top of his class even at Allen Memorial. However, Priya
Nath had never cared to study when he was at Hampton Court, because of the
lenient attitude of the lady teachers there. He had always been amongst those
at the bottom of the class. However, coming face to face with the male masters
of Allen so terrified him that he studied hard for the first time in his life
and began topping his class in every test and every examination, thus realising
the vast potential for study that existed within him.
Mateshwari would ever afterwards say that Priya Nath had lost his jolly
nature after going to Allen Memorial and had become serious and studious, and
that it was a loss. Priya Nath’s humour and childish antics had filled the home
with great happiness and made Shri Nathji and Mateshwari laugh in the otherwise
silent atmosphere of the house.
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Wynberg-Allen School is a
boarding school in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India, founded in 1888. It is
located at Bala Hissar in Mussoorie, India. The alumni of Wynberg Allen School
are known as Alwynians
Initially started as Christian Training School and Orphanage with Eugenie
Catherine West (died 1895) as its first superintendent, later it was named
Wynberg Homes and eventually became the Wynberg Allen School.[4] It provided
education in the hills for twenty children. It was established as a
Non-Conformist School though from the beginning, as far as funds permitted, no
child of any denomination was refused admission. In 1894, the school moved to
the present Wynberg Estate.
In 1916 the Governing Society was formed. The object of the society was to
provide for and give to children, wholly or partly of European descent, an
education based on Protestant Christian principles. It was a boys school
but in 1963, the school became a
co-educational institution. The school further went through major renovations
during the last couple of years encompassed around a vast campus of over 300
acres. This included world-class sports facilities including an indoor swimming
pool, basketball courts, tennis. The school is managed by the Wynberg Homes Society,
a society registered under the Societies Act of 1860, on inter-denominational
lines through a Board of Management. Currently the school accommodates around
900 children.
