Saturday, 25 October 2025

St. George’s College


 In 1956 Priya Nath was studying at Allen Memorial School in Standard X, which was then known as the Senior Cambridge. Shri Nathji had to find a College for Pran Nath, as he had passed out of the Senior Cambridge from Allen Memorial School. There was only one English medium college in Mussoorie at the time and that was St. George’s College. It was run by an Irish Catholic institution. The principal of the college was Brother Ryan. The distance from Savitri Nivas to St. George’s College was unbelievably long. Shri Nathji could see the College from his home, standing out far away in the valley of Barlowganj.  However, undeterred by the distance, Shri Nathji walked all the way down to the college to speak to the pricipal for Pran Nathji. Shri Nathji met Brother Ryan, the principal of the College, and asked him about the admission of Pran Nath. The man was only too glad to give the admission.  Although he was a stern and formal person, by no means having a good reputation amongst the students as a benign mentor, he was touched to the core by Shri Nathji's personality. He saw in him something that was very holy. Before Shri Nathji left Brother Ryan’s office, the principal said to him:
 “Pray for me!”
 Those who had even an iota of truth in them instantly recognised the truth in Shri Nathji. 

Pran Nath study at the distant St. George’s College, trudging back and forth over the miles and miles of unending hill road. His health continued to deteriorate from the stress of the exertion as well as the studies. There were all kinds of nefarious characters along the route that made life miserable for Pran Nath. His honesty and goodness had become well known and people would exploit him. His friends had frequently borrowed his text books during examination time and not returned them. He frequently gave whatever money was in his pocket to the poor he met along the way, but, instead of being grateful, these poor people had begun to make fun of him and to tease him as he passed their way. Albeit Pran Nath completed his Inter-science studies at St. George’s College despite the adverse circumstances.

 Next year in 1957 Priya Nath ji also got addmitted to this college. Although Priya Nath’s natural bent of mind lay in the Arts, yet he had followed his elder brother into Science unwittingly. He decided to continue with Science and Mathematics and to pursue his Inter-Science in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, the same subjects Pran Nath had studied at St. George’s College.

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St. George's College, Mussoorie, is an all-boys boarding and non-boarding school in Mussoorie, in the state of Uttarakhand, India, affiliated to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations board. The school, an all-boys residential and non-residential institution, spreading over 400 acres (1.6 km2) of land, was founded in 1853 by the Capuchin Fathers and entrusted to the Society of the Brothers of St. Patrick (Ireland) in 1893. It was opened in a cottage known as Manor House; the name by which the campus is still known. The students are known as Manorites.

The school is named after Saint George, the patron saint of England and a number of countries and cities around the world. The legend of Saint George slaying the dragon is known throughout the world, and forms the theme of the school's emblem.

A clock tower was erected on the field in 1936, and was the first clock tower in Mussoorie. It was installed by JB Joyce & Company, who imported the clock from England. The chimes, ringing every 15 minutes, would also help keep away the wild animals from the surrounding woods
The school has an alumni network spread across the globe. In 2005, the Indian Air Force gifted the school a trainer jet aircraft, TS-11 Iskra, as a tribute to the distinguished service of the school's alumni in the armed forces.

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