Old school in Bangalore gets a new lease of life

The Hindu Balika Patasala located in the bylane of Shivajinagar is not your average ‘small school’. It just, deceptively, looks like one. This institution, which qualifies to be a landmark, dates back to 1854. It counts among its alumni people who have gone places and are returning to do their bit. Thanks to one such former student, a part of the school was renovated and opened for use on Monday.

“My great grandmother, grandmother, grandfather, father, and aunt studied here. I too studied here for three years and had to quit when we moved out of here to Indiranagar. I did not want to leave,” said Srinivas P Kamisetty, managing director of Lapp India, who inaugurated the renovated block, housing the science lab.
“We lived on Narayana Pillai Street. This was the only school in the area that had a playground. I remember losing two footballs here,” he said, recollecting his days as a student.

Kamisetty’s interest in the school also got the attention of Andreas Lapp, chairman of Germany-based Lapp Holdings, which supports seven schools in the country.

The idea that the company could work with the oldest and first school for girls in the city had appealed to him from the moment he heard about it. The company has also taken responsibility of maintenance.

How South India’s second school for girls came to be in the Cantonment region under the British administration is a story of how five men living in the area wanted a school for their daughters. Sir Charles Wood Dispatch gave his permission, and someone later gifted a building. It eventually became a co-educational school and the strength rose to 1,200. Now the number stands at 400.

“The number will only go up,” said G Sulochana, headmistress of the higher primary section. Last year, five students passed SSLC with a first class, 100% pass in English.

“We have scored as high as 84%. The average is 50%. The pass percentage is 85%. We are positive that these achievements will bring more students,” she said. Also, volunteers from Each One Teach One, a charitable organisation, have been working with the students for the past three years here.

In Bangalore, this is one among two schools that the organisation is working with.

There, however, is one problem—sewage backing up and stagnating on Bharmaraj Koil street, where the school stands.
“The sewage line was blocked and it stagnated on the street for many days.

Students would fall sick often. We complained several times, but there was no response,” said N Panchajakshi, a retired staff member, who continues to help out at the school.

“We just want the school surroundings to be clean,” she said.
This, probably, is the only demand of all other historical buildings that have seen better days in Shivajinagar.