As YPS enters its 75th year, a former student remembers...

AS Yadavindra Public School, Patiala, begins celebrations to mark 75 years of its founding, my mind takes me back to 1953, when I joined the kindergarten section of the school and then went on to complete my Senior Cambridge there. The school started on February 2, 1948, after a number of teachers and students from Aitchison College, Lahore, migrated to India and the need for a good public school here was felt. Maharaja Yadavindra Singh was instrumental in setting up a world-class public school in the region.

The school had already moved from Bhupinder Kothi to the stadium by the time I started studying there. I was a day scholar till Class IX. In the last two years of my school till Senior Cambridge, I became a boarder/hosteller. There’s an interesting story behind it. The school belonged to the family. Principal Colonel Frank von Goldstein called me to his room one day and said for my career in college and further in life, it was important that I should stay for two years in the hostel. Also, since I was captain of the cricket team, it would be beneficial for me as besides preparing me for tournaments in the country, the school residence will help me in becoming House Prefect.

I readily agreed but the most difficult part was convincing my family about it. I’d lost my mother when I was seven and my father and grandmother were taking care of me. When I broached the topic, my grandmother got very upset and asked me, “You are not happy at home?” It took much effort and persuasion to make both agree to send me to hostel.

The time I spent as a boarder was great fun. There was very good food in school. In fact, out of all public schools, ours had the best food. The class had mainly boys but in every class there were four to five girls too. Though most of the girl students were either from our family or daughters of the staff members, many from outside too came to study here. The late Parmeshwar Godrej was my classmate. The bonds I developed with my friends, especially with Dhrup Raj Singh, have sustained for so many decades.

We had a very strong sports team. Harpal Singh, an ace hockey player himself, was in charge of the sports department. He was a fine teacher and a strict disciplinarian. We had to go for a run early in the morning. In the evening, it was only after half an hour of athletics that we could play a major game. This emphasis on physical training helped me a lot when I started shooting for India, which I sustained for 31 years.

I fondly remember my teachers, who inspired us with their presence. Col Goldstein was a great principal. Then there were fine teachers like Gurdial Singh and Jaidev Singh. Mr Baweja, our chemistry teacher, was also our cricket coach. All our teachers played sports. Harpal Singh and Col Goldstein would play a full game with young boys every day. It was a delight to watch them play with the schoolboys.

Everyone in our family is sports-oriented. Maharaja Yadavindra Singh himself captained the Indian cricket team. My father, Bhalindra Singh, was instrumental in bringing the 9th Asian Games to Delhi in 1982. No wonder our school has been able to give the country some of its best sportspersons — be it polo, hockey, cricket, shooting or athletics. Sportspersons like Navjot Singh Sidhu, Reetinder Sodhi, Jagdeep Phulka, Heena Sidhu, Harveen Sarao are among the many who have brought laurels for the country and added to the fame of the school.

But it is not just sports that the school has contributed to. Alumni from the school have a proud presence in the armed forces as well as civil services. That’s what public school education is about: the focus is on all-round development and not just studies.

The Yadavindrians Old Student Association (YOSA) is quite active and they meet regularly. I haven’t been able to attend many alumni meetings because of commitments to the Olympic Committee. Earlier, we would regularly hold matches or go to play with Aitchison College, Lahore, but this has been put on hold due to present-day restrictions.

I’m happy that the school still represents the kind of values that it envisaged when it was first started. Rather, it is becoming better with each day. I was on the board of governors earlier. Now my cousin Malvinder Singh is heading it, and he’s done a brilliant job. The school management recently built a new hostel, squash court. A new shooting range is coming up, besides swimming pool, cricket pavilion and a beautiful indoor stadium. The board is also trying to make the infrastructure in the Mohali branch of the school compatible with the one in Patiala.

To all the young people, I would like to say that it is only discipline that will help you get through in life, irrespective of the field you choose. There are no short-cuts in life. I strongly advocate the guru-shishya tradition. You have to respect your teachers and coaches to learn from them.

— The writer is honorary member of the International Olympic Committee

(As told to Seema Sachdeva)