In my previous blog, I had mentioned that Rev. George David had chosen me from the Andamans to study in Bangalore at the Bethany Home School. In the year 1963, I bid farewell to my parents and relatives and followed Rev. David along with my cousins Saw Diamond Joseph and Saw Jimmy. I had no idea where Bangalore was and how long it would take for us to reach this city in the Mainland. I was told that we had to first go to Port Blair and wait there till we got a ship to go to Madras (Chennai).

At that time, there was only one ship that would sail once a month from Port Blair to the Mainland. I remember the first ship that we travelled to Madras on was The M.V. Andaman. When I came to the harbour to board the ship, I was taken aback by the size of the vessel. We had never seen such a huge ship like this before. We could only travel by the bunk class (a dormitory-style accommodation shared by hundreds of people) which had the cheapest fares. The fare was about Rupees 42 for a bed and each meal for the bunk class passengers was about 2 rupees. We were then told that the sailing time through the Bay of Bengal would take 4 days and 4 nights if the sea was calm, otherwise, it would take five to six days if it encounters rough weather and travelling by ship in such conditions can be most unpleasant and uncomfortable.

THE M.V ANDAMANS

At Madras, Rev David arranged for us to stay in the home of his sister Aunty Louis George for a few days till we got our reservation by train to travel to Bangalore. I’m thankful and grateful to this family for putting us up each time during our transit from Port Blair to Bangalore and even during our return to the Andamans.  

The train journey from Madras to Bangalore was so much more comfortable compared to travelling by ship even though the journey used to take seven to eight hours. After about ten to twelve days of travel from my hometown, we arrived in Bangalore.

MY SCHOOLING YEARS IN BETHANY HOME SCHOOL

After arriving in Bangalore, I realised that Rev. David had his brothers and sisters also residing here and so he brought us to his eldest brother Mr Joe David’s home in Richmond town, Bangalore. Mr Joe David and his wife Mrs Mignon David had started a little hostel and a small school known as Bethany Home school in Richmond Town in 1963. The school started in the home of Mrs Stella Masilamoni, a family friend of Mrs Mignon David with just one student and three teachers at its inception. Mrs Masilamoni was the first teacher of the Bethany Home School. This was the school that Rev. David planned to admit me into and when I joined in April 1963, the school had then moved to Serpentine street, Richmond town. The total number of students grew to about 30 children and five teachers.

THE BETHANY HOME SCHOOL

Bethany Home school was started by Mrs Mignon David in the memory of her two sons LEONARD and DARREL who died in a drowning incident in 1953 at Madras (Chennai) when Mr Joe David and Mrs Mignon David were residing and working there during those days. This was a tragic loss to the family – losing two children on the same day in a drowning accident.

Mr Joe David, Mrs Mignon David and their only daughter Miss. Yisult David (now Mrs E.H. Ryall) then moved to Bangalore and in the memory of Leonard and Darell, Mrs Mignon David started the Bethany Home school. I must mention here that Mrs Mignon David started the school with faith and trust in God, not knowing how the funds would come to pay for rent and salaries of the teachers.  She went ahead anyway with whatever moral and financial support that her husband Joe David could give. That was the reason why Mrs Mignon David framed the motto of our school which still stands today, TRUST & OBEY.

LEONARD AND DARELL

The school then moved to three rented garages on Serpentine street, Richmond town and it was here that I joined Bethany school in class 3. Our classes were done up well by Mrs David although the rooms were initially meant to be garages.

Things took off rather quickly and before I knew it I was writing my first test paper. I was reasonably good at my academics, thanks to the foundation I received at Mulla school in the Andamans. However, I had to work hard to keep up with the standard of the other students and to the expectations of my teachers and the school. Now there was no way of asking the teachers for doubts in my Karen language. I had to start speaking in English to everyone, and all my teachers who were very caring and supportive gave me all the confidence and encouragement that I needed. 

One area where I excelled was in games and sports, but our school did not have any playfield, however,  Mrs.Mignon David would identify different public fields we could have our sports and games. Our first sports was conducted in a church compound in Wellington street, Richmond town but in the years to follow, Mrs Mignon David got permission from the Bangalore City Corporation to use the Corporation ground (known as “Mud Tank”) to conduct our Sports and games. We walked down to this playground for all our games and sports. On our Sports Day, we used to march down to the field very proudly with our school and house banners from Serpentine street down Alexander street to the ground accompanied by the bugle band of St. Patrick’s High school, trained and conducted by late Mr Donald Hoskins.

RECEIVING A PRIZE FROM A MINISTER

I have very fond memories of this “Mud Tank” ground as my friends and I used to play to our heart’s content in the evening hours, weekends and during the school vacation. I used to love cricket and at times I used to go alone to this ground to practice my bowling by mounting one slab of stone which was supposed to be the wicket and kept bowling to get my stepping, line and length right.

Our school sports also used to be conducted here at the Mud Tank Ground. Mrs Mignon David and the teachers would work hard to see that we had a good sports day and that all the arrangements were made with sheer class and style despite the fact that we were a small school. This was the hallmark of Mrs.Mignon David, someone who always wanted to do things well with whatever resources she had to her disposal. One year for approaching our sports day, I remember how it rained very heavily the night before, and the field was terribly wet and soggy as it was a ‘mud ground’. Anyone else would have cancelled or postponed the sports, but  Mrs David and Mr Ian Satur, our games master came down to the field in the early hours of the morning, surveyed the condition of the ground and in no time went around collecting a whole lot of gunny sacks and all of us joined in mopping up the ground and by 11.00 in the morning the ground was in some condition to lay the tracks for the sports.  Bethany did not have any support staff those days to see to the preparation of the ground for sports day. It was Mrs Mignon David, Mr.Satur and some of us students who did all the preparation of the ground. At 1.00 PM, we were ready to have the sports with the field decorated for the function. From the example that our Founder Mrs Mignon and Mr Satur set for us, I learnt even in those days that with determination and commitment one could face up to challenges and emerge successfully. I am indebted to Mrs Mignon David and all my teachers in Bethany during my schooling years at this institution as I’ve learnt so much from them – not just academics but life’s lessons as well.

Little did I realise that a few years down the line, Mrs Mignon David would ask me to join Bethany as a teacher to handle and teach Physical Education and Music in the school. The lessons of hard work, dedication and commitment that I observed from such stalwarts like Mrs Mignon David and Mr Ian Satur helped and motivated me when I began to take up the responsibility of organising different events in the school. These qualities of hard work, commitment and dedication I believe are important assets that one should possess to be successful in life. We may have all the academic qualifications to our name but without these qualities, we cannot achieve much in life.

THE FIRST BETHANY HOSTEL

I continued my studies at Bethany Home school and was staying in the Bethany hostel that Mrs Mignon David had started. The hostel had a few boarders, and I was one of them. I had adjusted with hostel life and the food in the hostel. We used to get a little pocket money every week, and I used to get 50ps. a week, but this would not last me through the week as I was perpetually hungry and would spend the money to buy some junk food but we learnt the lesson of living within our means. Mrs Mignon David and Mr Joe David were my guardians, and they looked after me like their own son, but I did miss home and my parents in the initial years of my stay in Bangalore. It was quite hard for me, especially during the school breaks when all the hostel students went home for their vacation and I was left alone in the hostel. Due to the travel time and irregular ship service to the Andamans during those days, I could not go back home during the vacation every year. It was once in three to four years that I managed to go but invariably used to come back late to join the school because of the non-availability of shipping services. When my father passed away in 1967, I received news of his passing away only after two weeks through a telegram sent from home.  That was the fastest mode of communication at that time.

MRS. MIGNON DAVID

With the determination and the vision that Mrs Mignon David had for the school, she put in her heart and soul to see that Bethany’s growth was sure and steady, and by 1969, the school functioned in two more rented buildings on Serpentine street known as Annexe I & Annexe II. Classes were upgraded every year till Class 9, but since Bethany wasn’t still recognised by the state government and ICSE council at that time, Mrs Mignon David could not introduce a Class 10 and have students go up for the Board examination. My classmates Ajit Shah, Shoukath Ali and I were three students who completed class 9 and Mrs Mignon David saw to it that we got admissions into Bishop Cottons Boys High school in 1970 to complete our class 10. It was difficult for us to leave our homely school – Bethany, but we had to move on.

Some of the teachers who impacted our lives at Bethany were Ms Sushila Stephen, Ms Vimla Stephen, Mrs Luke, Mr Satur, Mr Kumar Doss, Mr Mirza Hussain. I’m grateful and thankful to them for shaping and moulding me during my schooling years at Bethany. 

Rooted In The Principle of Trust and Obey

The Bethany school song taken from a well-known hymn says:

TRUST AND OBEY

FOR THERE’S NO OTHER WAY

TO BE HAPPY IN JESUS

BUT TO TRUST AND OBEY

The Founder Mrs Mignon David chose this hymn as the school song and adopted for Bethany TRUST & OBEY as its motto. Through the years Bethany has learnt what it means to Trust and Obey God as HE leads and guides the destiny of the school.

I am grateful to Mrs Mignon David for taking me in as one of her own and giving me the opportunity to become who I am today. This article is dedicated to her and the immense love and support she had for me as well as all the other students who were a part of the Bethany Home School.