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Designed , developed & Hosted By Kishoo, Barkur |
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The
pride and asset of Barkur
Before
1948, Barkur neither had a high school
nor a pre-university college. So people of Barkur or the people
in the vicinity had to go to Kallianpur or Udipi or distant Mangalore St.
Aloysius for further education. Those days very few people could afford
to send their children for high school, leave alone college. It was hard
to earn money and majority of people were hailing from agricultural
background. They did not have the privilege what I had, that is having a
high school and a pre-university college in my own hometown. In that way
many people have been robbed of getting better education. I am sure in
that respect they are hard done by. Thanks to Almighty for all His grace
and the benevolence of our elders. The need for a high school was
strongly felt. Soon their vision turned into a reality and that gave
birth to a school and college, soon gave education to thousands.
Contribution from people varied from donation of land, money and other
monetary help. In a tiny town like Barkur, to have a school and college
spreading across a sprawling 18 acres land is like a dream come true.
Many educational institutes today
envy the campus of National Junior College. Here I thank the
generous contribution of Mr. V.L. Roche, late Mr. Lewis D’lima, late
Mr.Denis Picardo, and late Mr. John P. Sequeira. These are the stalwarts
whom we are indebted forever. I
had the privilege of studying 5 years in this prestigious and worthy
institution. Even my brothers and sisters got education from the same. Since the college is geographically located in a strategic
location, it caught a large population of students from distant places
like Brammhavar or even Kundapur . I think every one have their own tales
to tell about National Junior College. Our time every boy has to go
through this school, as Maryknoll Girls School did not have admission
for boys. For us to go to high school was like going to moon. It was
totally different atmosphere and different people. We even used to get
bullied in the first few days of joining 8th
standard. Later we were accepted in the mainstream. We had to
tread 4 miles to reach school daring the windy rains, floods, fields
inundated with water and the scorching summer. The monsoon days were a
nightmare and now I ponder how did we manage to travel in such adverse
conditions. There were no days where I can think of bunking my classes
or avoiding the school. My mom used to keep a close watch on our school
attendance. It was most gruelling ordeal to cross the river, wade in the
water in the floods. By the time you reach school you are bone drenched
with water dripping from clothes. To make matters worse we had to
carry the heavy load of books and our lunch box. That lunch box was our
panacea in the afternoon. There were umpteen times the lunch box had a
dip in the flood water. But I still enjoyed those days and it taught me
and others to be more resilient and determined to study hard and come up
in life. Though
travelling to school was an arduous job, studying at that school was an
honour and privilege for us. It had developed us into good citizens, it
gave importance to sports and physical fitness. We did have PE classes,
NCC and other cadre groups. We did have fixed time set out for playing,
assemblies and cultural programmes. We did have outstanding athletes who
have won district level laurels and awards. My elders told me that even
people from Barkur have represented state levels and Barkur cricket team
was a reputed cricket team and played with season balls. In brief it had
given others and me a complete and perfect education. We had brilliant
and dedicated teachers both at high school level and at Junior College
level. Such was their devotion that we had some teachers who used to take
special classes every Saturday and Sunday. After all, they did this
to our benefit. Those days I was sceptical and even cynical at times
about those extra classes. Now I think it is well worth the time spent in
those classes. We had teachers like Mr. V. Hande, Mr. Bhatt , Mr. S.
Udupa, Mr. Aithal, and Late Mr. Jerome Picardo to mention the few. Each
one had their own style of teaching. My hats off for their unique
style of teaching. A word of mention about Maths teaching abilities
of late
Mr. Picardo. Derivation of physics formulae from physics lecturer are
memorable. In the science section 4 teachers were 1st
or 2nd Rank holders in their MSc. They were all
bright and clever. No doubt National Junior College brought the best
results in Science, Commerce and Arts section. We even had students who
secured ranks in whole of Karnatake State. Who can forget the bright
principal Mr. Bhoja Rao, strict disciplinarian Mr. Sitaram Shetty,
physical teacher Mr. Surappa Bhandari and humorous
Mr. Ananth Naik. Each one had their own charisma and character. Then it
is hard to forget the fruits we used to eat as snacks that were grown in
plenty in the orchards in the NJC campus.
The frantic efforts of law enforcing peons to catch the elusive
students who attempt plucking the fruits and students hoodwinking them
remain vivid in my memory. To
conclude the write up, National Junior College has contributed
significantly and all credit should go to the teachers and the
munificence of our elders who donated liberally at that time. Today the
students who studied there have spread all over the globe and have made
their name in their fields. A feeling of deju vu is creeping in my mind
when I think of National Junior College. It was one of the best
institutions I have studied and I shall remain indebted to my Alma Mater
National Junior College. Let us not forget our Alma mater NJC and our
great hometown Barkur. Long live
Barkur and NJC. A
well wisher and Ex student of NJC, Dr
Derick D’souza, London,
18/07/2002. |
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Barkur, located in Udupi Taluk, Karnataka, India. 576 210 |
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Copyright Kishoo, Barkur 2002. |
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