|
The exhibition in the
college library of the college’s archives is not only a trip down
memory lane for ex-Bedians and visitors but also a reconstruction of
history. Earlier principals are seen wearing frilly caps and trailing
habits and students wearing crinoline skirts and hats. If there are
pictures showing a bomb extinguishing workshop in progress, there is a
pretty tablecloth embroidered by the TTC students of 1928, called
"In perpetuity" with the embroidered autographs of all the
students.
The library, that started
off with 200 books, has more than 2,000 titles now and has been
computerised. It is a treat to see rare books on display, some of them
dating back to the 15th century. For instance, Christmas with the
Poets, a collection of songs, carols and descriptive verses from
the Anglo-Norman period to the present, dates back to 1647.
Embellished with 53 gold inlaid illustrations it was published by Ward,
Lock and Tyler, Warwick House, London. The pictures as well as
signatures in the visitors’ book include those of eminent visitors to
the college like Jawaharlal Nehru, Vijaylakshmi Pandit, Lord and Lady
Mountbatten, Jacqueline Kennedy, the Beatles, Benazir Bhutto and Indira
Gandhi with Sanjay and Rajiv. One realises that as a student, the
importance of the institution had not sunk in. It was just the sense of
belonging that was overwhelming.
It was Sister Agatha, the dynamic Irish principal who infused life into
an institution which was on the verge of closure. As she remembers her
tenure, she says her guiding principle has always been love and not
discipline that she gave students and which was returned to her in ample
measure. Looking back at her tenure, she says though the environment
matters and Bede’s ambience certainly is captivating, it is people who
are of prime importance. She managed to get the affiliation of the
college with Panjab University first and later with Himachal Pradesh
University and raise funds.
Further progress was
overseen by Sister Rose, warm-hearted and with her roaring trademark
laughter. She ticked off girls with as much apnapan as she hugged
them. Sister Collete, who was as gentle as she was friendly and
soft-spoken and the present Principal Sister Melba, gracious and
charming—all stress upon the need to impart an education that is
holistic and extends from the classroom to life. From gauche, socially
awkward, impressionable girls to young women with a definitive
personality, social skills and values that will see them through life is
what the staff at Bede’s ensures. Perhaps that is the reason that for
most girls who pass out of convents, there is no rupture and college
remains an extension of school. Not many seem to mind this lack of
unlimited freedom, as is the case with other colleges where students are
largely left to their own devices.
Along with the phenomenal
growth of the institution not only in terms of newer courses, increased
students’ strength, benchmarks in academic performance as in
consistently good results every year, is the contribution towards
personality development. The college badge symbolises the lamp of
wisdom, open book of knowledge (learning is an ongoing process and one
is a student throughout life), unity stresses the need for unity for
students and the spray of lilies towards the side portrays purity in
thought, deed and word not for ourselves alone but for all those whose
lives we might impact. After all, the motto, designed by Mother St.
Clare was Non Nobis Solum or Not for ourselves alone. Skills are
of no use unless they are used to guide us through the eddies and
troughs of life and in spreading the light of love into lives other than
ours.
The most significant
aspect of St. Bede’s is the manner in which the students and the staff
relate to each other. They encourage them to participate in activities
that will help them to realise their potential. That is why it is sad
that the institution that gave so much to so many girls should face a
financial crunch now. Only if the state steps in to save the situation
can we hope it will survive hundreds of years ahead and continue like a
lighthouse of learning.
Talking to Ma’am Devi,
the librarian who guarded the library with as much diligence and
ferocity as she inculcated the reading habit in each of us, brings back
memories of those formative years.
Walking through the
tree-lined roads, sitting on the iron benches or sitting in the parlour
in Marion Block, the oldest building, memories form a collage. Whispered
secrets, shared laughter, suppressed giggles and unshed tears,
friendships that survived the upheavals of life and above all an innate
strength that has helped one face life head-on. Many Bedians would join
me in saying: "Thank you St. Bede’s we owe a lot to you."
|