HAIL TO THE HERMON KNIGHTS

“We Shall Overcome”

Knowles

Dear Hermonites,

   First of all on behalf of the alumni let me wish our beloved alma mater Mount Hermon School and all Hermonites everywhere a very Happy Birthday! Today it is MHS’s 117th Birthday.

   Ever since the first week of the New Year (2012), when the Sikkim Hermonites Association (SHA) took the initiative to involve all Hermonites to campaign for ‘MH Revival’, there has been an overwhelming response from the alumni of all ages and places on the school’s future. The concern for our beloved alma mater – Mount Hermon School (MHS) – from Hermonites of the ’30s, ’40s, ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and right down to the present generation is not only very encouraging but also very inspiring. This is great! Which school in the world can boast of the ‘Hermonite spirit’? Hardly any. It is, therefore, our honourable duty to preserve this rich and unique heritage of MHS.

   Barry Ison – former MH student and teacher – once explained this unique phenomenon: “It is not emotion; it is passion.”

Stahl

   In the past so many decades since I left the old and friendly walls I never failed to think and even dream of MH! This is but natural for all Hermonites but more so for a person like me who did his schooling (1963-1972), Teachers Training College (TTC – 1974-1975), and even taught at MH for four years (1976-1979).

   Ex-students of the school under Rev. Mr. DG Stewart, who not only revived MH when he took over in 1953 but actually placed it among one of the best boarding schools in India – MH was on top of the list in 1961-62 – are still showing great concern for the school. This is amazing and an inspiration to us all.

“We Shall Overcome”

   Ever since its inception in 1895 when the school (then called Arcadia or housed in Arcadia cottage, located on the Lebong side of Chowrasta in Darjeeling) was born MH has had its ups and downs. But we pulled it through. With faith in God and missionary zeal our founders – Miss Knowles, Miss Stahl, Mr. Dewey and Bishop Fisher – made sure that failures and obstacles were stepping stones to success.

Fisher

   After shifting the school from near Chowrasta to above the railway station in Darjeeling and calling it Queen’s Hill School the school grew in leaps and bounds leading to the acquisition of the present premises for further expansion.

   Fifteen years after the school was renamed Mount Hermon School in 1929-30 MH almost closed down due to dwindling enrolment. The cause of this was the Second World War when many of its foreign students and staff members of the school left MH. It was Mr. Dewey, Bishop Fisher and finally Mr. Stewart who helped MH to pull through the crisis and regain its past glory. Mr. Graeme A. Murray, who stepped into Rev. Stewart’s shoes in 1964, built on the foundation laid by his predecessors. There was no looking back for MH after Mr. Murray’s takeover.

   However, in the 1980s MH and many schools in the hills passed through a very difficult and trying period due to uncertain political situation in Darjeeling. But Rev. Mr. John Johnston from Australia and later Mr. Jeff Gardner (India) kept the school going. Thereafter, MH faced a crisis of another sort as those who headed the school stayed only for a brief period.

Dewey

   The present Principal Mr. George Fernandes, who worked under Mr. Murray, Mr. Johnston and Mr. Gardner and who is also married to an ex-Hermonite (Saroj Pradhan), was able to stabilize the situation when he took over in 2000-1. We are, therefore, grateful to Mr. Fernandes for his contributions to the school.

    Hermonites all over the world have expressed their apprehension of MH’s future after Mr. Fernandes retires this month. Damages caused by the recent (Sept 18, 2011) earthquake to the main school building and falling enrolment, coupled with Mr. Fernandes’ departure and doubts over who is to step into his shoes, have prompted Hermonites to play a leading role in the choice of the next Principal.

   Hermonites now want an able and trustworthy Hermonite to head the school during this very trying period. They have backed Mr. Jigme N Kazi’s (Sikkim) candidature for the post and want the Managing Committee to appoint him as the next Principal.

MH Revival

   Several names were floated for the post of MH Principal last year. However, during Mr and Mrs. Johnston’s visit to Darjeeling and Sikkim in December – January 2012 it was revealed that though Mr. Barry Ison, Mr. John Glasby and Mr. and Mrs. Sherab (Roslyn) Namgyal – all ex-students and teachers of the school –were willing to help the school they would not be able to take the top job at the present juncture. Mr. Kazi’s name was then proposed and the Sikkim Hermonites Association (SHA) passed a resolution on this and urged all Hermonites to support his candidature and other resolutions on ‘MH Revival’. Sherab and Roslyn (SC 1972 & 1971), who were on a visit to Sikkim from Australia during this period, supported this move.

Johnston, Murray and Stewart

    One of the suggestions of the Hermonites is to have at least two active and credible Hermonites in the Managing Committee, which not only frames policy matters of the school but also appoints the Principal. Two other suggestions made by the Sikkim chapter and endorsed by global Hermonites was allotment of a space for the alumni to function from the school premises and also to route all Hermonites-initiated projects and funds of the school through Hermonites International (Hi!), a global body conceived during the centenary celebrations in 1995, when many ex-principals and teachers and students were present, and formed in 2005-6.

   No matter what the future holds for MH the resolution on ‘MH Revival’ must go on. It must not begin or end if and when Mr. Kazi gets the top job. The campaign for MH Revival is led by Roslyn & Sherab (Australia), Dipak Mirchandhani (UK) and Lucinda Gibbs (India). They are being assisted by a group of active and concerned Hermonites from all over the world.

   The Methodist Bishop, who resides in Bangalore and who is temporarily the Chairman of the Managing Committee of the school, has been briefed on the prevailing situation. We are eagerly awaiting his response to our proposals.  However, irrespective of what the Managing Committee decides on MH’s future the campaign for MH Revival must go on. The present crisis has motivated us into action. This is a good thing and must go on. We must say and sing the hymn “We Shall Overcome” and mean it and show the world that we can triumph over all our trials and tribulations.

   They may succeed in taking a Hermonite out of Mount Hermon, but they will never succeed in taking Mount Hermon out of a Hermonite!

   We must continue to believe that the Almighty is on our side and that He has a great future for MH and that while the past has been great and small the best is yet to come!

Hail Mount Hermon! And Happy Birthday to MH and All Hermonites!

(Jigme N Kazi)

President

Hermonites International (Hi!)

Email: jigmekazi@gmail.com

+9434630097

Gangtok, Sikkim

March 12, 2012