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Pages from Fergie’s history
Never-known-before facts, rare photographs and memoirs of famous alumni of the 125-yr-old Fergusson College are being put together in a 3-volume book by former principal Dr VM Bachal
Arundhati Ranade
Posted On Wednesday, January 21, 2009 at 02:29:15 AM
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Or that it was first started in a small room in Gadre wada (presently near Ahilya Devi school in Shaniwar peth)? Or that freedom revolutionaries like Bal Gangadhar Tilak and GG Agarkar were among the founders of this famed college and the initial history of the college was deeply linked to the political changes that were fast sweeping over pre-Independent India? You now have all the more reason to be proud to be a Fergussonian, as facts like the above and much more from the pages of the 125-year-old Fergusson College’s history are being compiled into a three-volume book by former principal, Dr V M Bachal. The book, in Marathi, is titled Vatchal Sawashe Varshanchi, roughly translating as ‘Journey of 125 Years’, and will carry rare photographic images and accounts by ex-Fergussonians like VP Singh and PV Narasimha Rao. The first volume which covers the period 1885-1935 has just gone to print and is expected to hit book stalls by month end. The second volume covers the period between 1936-1985, while the last volume covers Fergusson in contemporary times. Speaking to Pune Mirror, Dr Bachal said, “The first volume focuses on background of the institution’s establishment. Its the reflection on the education scenario in post-Peshwa period. Also, an entire chapter has been devoted to memoirs.” Interestingly, the language in which these memoirs have been penned have not been changed, to give the reader an idea of the English used then. The first girl student of Fergusson, Krishnabai Kelavkar, who joined in 1895, has also written about her experience. Her memoir reads: ...we (girls) were given seats in a corner of the hall near the professor’s seat with chika curtains all round us. It was then that I experienced what a purdah lady felt. A separate staircase was also kept for us. All these precautions, as it was found afterwards, were not at all necessary. We never had any occasion to complain about our fellow students’ behaviour towards us...That is one reason why these curtains disappeared in the next term... Bachal has been associated with the college since 1950, first as student and then as teacher, and now as member of Ex Fergussonians Association (EFA). |
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