CUNNINGHAM ROAD:Aditya Sondhi, senior advocate, has written a book about the Bishop Cotton Boys’ School. Called The Order of the Crest, it tells the story of distinguished alumni between 1865 and 2015, and is published by Penguin. In an interview, he tells City Express the story behind the book.
You have been active in the Bishop Cotton School Alumni Association, and organise the annual General Thimaya lectures there. What binds you to the school?
It’s maternal. The school seemingly adopted me when my mother passed away and I was only 11. Besides, the value systems and friends one picks up at school keep the umbilical cord intact.
What is the book all about?
The Order of the Crest traces the alumni of Bishop Cotton Boys’ School over 150 years of its existence, from 1865 to 2015, looking closely at their contribution to public life, teaching, science, art, social service and so on. It also looks at the way the school and the city have influenced one another, and how public schools are shaping a new identity for themselves in times of change. This is my gift to the school on its 150th anniversary this year.
Tell us a bit about some of the most distinguished alumni, and the most inspiring teachers.
Well, there are plenty, though the names of Dr Raja Ramanna and Gen Thimayya stand tall. The lectures that we organise in the memory of the General annually showcase the life-experiences of one eminent old boy each year. And in our 10th year, we’ve seen the likes of Philip Wollen, Dr Ajit Varki, Dr Dayalan Devanesen, Nandan Nilekani, G K Pillai, ambassador C V Ranganathan, Col Lalit Rai (Vir Chakra), Ramesh Vangal, Raj Chengappa and Gen Surendranath. We have those who have won distinction in the US, Australia and, of course, India, come down as keynote speakers. While many teachers have proven to be fine mentors, I can single out two.
My English teacher Hilda Peacock, who has written the foreword to my book. And my Hindi teacher Dr Iqbal Ahmed, who has remained a close confidante.
What is it about the school that has contributed to their accomplishments? Tell us about your favourite moments at school.
Perhaps a martial tradition of discipline, ethics and fraternity has helped its wards apply themselves with purpose to their chosen field. And an emphasis on merit and excellence. My favourite moments are aplenty, most of them centre around the cricket fields—we had four of them back then—and the courtyard of the Tower Block.
Have you faced questions about Doon School-like clubbiness and ‘elitism’ at your school? How would you respond to them?
Yes, of course. I only say that there is a distinction between being elite and elitist. Being elite in the context of education comes from striving to have a standard of thought and action that is worth emulating. And this has nothing to do with money. We had no idea of what economic or social background our classmates came from and this is simply what one calls the idea of merit. Elitism on the other hand is the manifestation of social or economic superiority, which I believe is alien to the spirit of Cottons. My book, in fact, comments on how the school today is even more aspirational, with children from working, middle-class families being in the majority, as against international schools that have a very different socio-economic composition.
And finally, how can anyone love school so much?
The answer is in the answer to the first question! When an institution is maternal to you, then love for it is infinite.
Launch of The Order of the Crest, 4.30 pm, Saturday, Smriti-Nandan, Palace Road
(opposite NGMA)
Leitourgia
Chandy Andrews (1972) is second in command at the office of the Controller General of Accounts for India. As the Additional CGAI, he is one of the principal advisors to the government on its accounting matters. He belongs to the 1981 batch of the Indian Civil Accounts Service and has served the Ministry of Finance with distinction in various capacities. He was a boarder at Cottons in his middle school.
Civilitas
Dinesh Gundu Rao (1987) is Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in Karnataka. An MLA for three successive terms from Gandhinagar constituency, he won the 2004 election by a massive margin of over 28,000 votes. ‘Dinny’ has earlier served as the President of the Youth Congress. An engineer by training, he is now a prominent face of the Congress Party and a popular grass-roots leader. His brothers Mahesh (1986) and Rajesh (1989) at one point belonged to the BJP and the JD(S) though Mahesh returned to his pet vocation, farming. Besides politics, Rajesh also dabbled in films till he passed away suddenly in 2013. Their father, the late R Gundu Rao, was chief minister of Karnataka from 1980-83.
Regalis
Bala Gopala Varma (Revati Tirunal) (1969) is from the Kulasekhara dynasty of Travencore. He went to Berkeley in California, and is a businessman based out of Bengaluru. An amateur artist, he has won international acclaim for his charcoal portraiture. His mother, Lalithamba Bayi (Uthram Tirunal), is a descendent of the Travencore House that had Ravi Varma Kulasekhara, better known as Raja Ravi Varma, as one of its eminent ancestors.
Scientia
Raja Ramanna, Padma Vibhushan (1939), went on to become India’s greatest nuclear scientist. He, however, wore his distinctions lightly, never missing a chance to play his piano at the hall or at his friend Admiral Dawson’s cottage in Richard’s Park. Dr Ramanna took charge at the Atomic Energy Commission (and) became its director in 1972. He oversaw the successful nuclear tests at Pokhran in 1974, calling the prime minister from a telephone booth and informing her in code that ‘Buddha is smiling’. He remains a torchbearer for the Cottonian community.
Medicinus
Dr Varun Shetty (Captain of School, 2004) is executive director with Narayana Hrudayalaya and is shaping well to take over the reins from his father, Dr Devi Shetty. He is a resident cardiothoracic surgeon at the department of cardiac anaesthesia and has published on the prevention of cerebral injury in cardiac surgery. His elder brother Viren (2002) is an alumnus of the Stanford Business School.