A Pupil Remembers a Great Teacher “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” ― William Arthur Ward I was lucky to have just such a great teacher in the form of Miss Kamala Sengupta, who was the Principal of my school, the Lady Irwin School for Girls. The school is located on Srimant Madhav Rao Scindia Marg. But when I studied there, it was called Canning Road. The Lady Irwin School was established in 1927, when the capital of imperial India shifted from Calcutta to New Delhi. Though the school was primarily for the daughters of Government employees, egalitarianism was the key word. To break class distinctions among the children, the education provided was so good as to attract the elite. At the same time, the school was thrown open to the less affluent by linking fees with income. There was a distinct Bengali bias because many families had shifted from Calcutta. In fact our school continued to have a Bengali medium section even till the late 1960’s. Before Independence, the whole school used to shift to Simla for the summer months, along with the headquarters of the Government of India! Miss Sengupta joined the school as Principal in 1944 and had an astonishing tenure of almost thirty years - till 1973! Under her charge, the school achieved the distinction of being the best school for girls in the capital. She left the indelible stamp of her personality on every facet of the school, as also in the field of education. Though neither married nor a mother, she always referred to the students as ‘my children’. Her powerful personality and adherence to values left an indelible impression on her ‘children’, a large number of whom were high achievers. We all remember her with great affection, respect and awe till this day. Ms. Sengupta was a pioneer in the field of education, believing as she did that a complete education could be imparted only by involving the student and teacher in a ‘4H’ relationship – of the Head, Heart, Hands and Health. As a result, the school adopted and evolved educational practices in the sixties which came to be practiced in most public schools only decades later. Till I finished my schooling in 1966, our school had no prescribed uniform. Miss Sengupta argued that the congregation of girls must resemble a rainbow.” Once Dr. Rajendra Prasad, President of India, whose grand daughter was then a student in the school, asked Miss Sengupta why the girls were not required to wear a uniform. Pat came the reply, “Babuji! The achievements of my children are their uniform.” Dr. Rajendra Prasad, a great lawyer himself, was at a loss for words. Under the tutelage of Miss Sengupta, girls of the school excelled in various fields, both in studies and co-curricular activities. Every batch produced its share of doctors, scientists and national scholarship winners. All of us fondly remember the camps in the holidays, mass PT exercises on special occasions and the regular stage events and activities involving all the girls of the school. Today, students of the school can be found in every walk of life, excelling as they were taught by Miss Sengupta. One of her former students aptly said “Whatever I have achieved has been due to my school. We owe our values to our stay in Miss Senguptas Lady Irwin School. She was so much with us, each one of us, and yet - so much above us!” It was a sad day for all Irwinites when Miss Sengupta passed away in 1978, aged sixty eight years. It has taken me more than thirty years as a teacher to fully understand the profound truth of William Arthur Ward’s statement. I now realise what a towering personality you were, Madam. I salute you!
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 09:30:33 +0000
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