My time at Dharan Public High School

 

My time at Dharan Public High School

 

Ambika Prasad Adhikari, DDes.

Phoenix, Arizona, USA

 

 

I attended Dharan Public High School (DPHS) grade 7 to 10, and passed the SLC exam from there. The four years I spent at DPHS were my formative and enjoyable years, while I acquired basic knowledge in arts, science, history, geography, math, and humanities providing me a strong foundation to build on for my higher studies and professional career. The school also provided me an opportunity to forge deep friendships that have lasted a life time.

 

Many teachers provided me valuable lessons not only in academic subjects, but also on life skills related to personal discipline, physical well-being, social skills and civic responsibilities. I still vividly remember some of my teachers imparting lessons in respective fields. My teachers included Devi Lal Shrestha (Geography), Rewati Nanda Jha (English), Jageshwar Jha (English and Physical Training), Bhagawan Shrestha (Rural Economics), U. C. Dutta (Science and Math), Gopal Khanal (Nepali), Gangadhar Upadhyaya (Sanskrit), Sushil Sharma (Various subjects), and Hemant Aryal (Nepali). Harihar Prasad Srivastav, and active educational leader, was the Head Master of the school during my studies there.

 

My memory is full of several interesting events that took place during my time at DPHS. Here are some example episodes.

 

Our teacher Mr. Devi Lal Shrestha was a legend (and somewhat feared) in disciplining students. He made students stand on the benches in the class for some time if the student misbehaved. I also had to face his ire a few times including doing sit ups in the class. Discipline then was thought of differently than these days, and his actions should not be viewed from today’s standards. I must also add that Mr. Shrestha was a kind man, and wanted to instill a sense of discipline and responsibility to his students.

 

Mr. Rewati Nand Jha received training in teaching English in an American program, and was mesmerized by the American language education system. He helped us with many phrases and sentences from that perspective. Although he based his teaching of grammar on Nelson’s classic book The Hidden Treasure, he also updated us with the new uses of English phrases prevailing then.

 

Nepali teacher Mr. Hemant Aryal was an eloquent speaker. He had a solid mastery of the Nepali language, and was passionate about the Nepali literature. When he spoke about the beauty of the language, quoted poems, and proses from the master-writers, he inspired the students and left us awe-struck. I often would get lost in the imaginary realm when he described poems and proses with a fervent passion and interest.

 

Mr. Jageshwar Jha was a man of high energy. Later, he lived in the school’s residential quarters that were built on the back side of the school’s sports ground. During the summer months, he made us come to school early for about an hour of physical training (PT), and led us to jump up and down to exercise. He would pick up anyone slacking and take disciplinary action on that person. In classroom too, he was equally strict.

 

Mr. U. C. Dutta taught us math and science. He also ran a book shop near the school and sold books and stationaries. He mixed some Bengali words in between when he was teaching in Nepali. One word I still remember is the Bengali word “tarpore” has used to say for the word “next’. He had a knack of teaching algebra and geometry by simplifying and making the logic of math sound easy at the high school level.

 

In retrospect, I am amazed by all the teachers we had at DPHS. The teachers had limited education themselves, had minimal training and exposure and were paid very low (perhaps around Rs 100-200/month. Still, they had a passion and drive to teach and change the lives of the young kids. Many graduates of the school were later able to get high quality higher education and many excelled in their careers. Many DPHS alumni of my days became doctors, engineers, architects, professors, teachers, political leaders, social role models, sportspersons, entrepreneurs, academics, and leaders in other fields. The excellent basic education and trainings received at DPHS made all of this possible.

We also had two American teachers who came to teach us under the Peace Corpse program. It was an interesting opportunity for us to encounter two overseas foreigners first-hand and hear them. The two teachers were trying to learn Nepal themselves, and often would sound comical with their spoken Nepali that sometimes mismatched the subjects and verbs. However, they helped us expand our young minds to foreign cultures.

 

The DPHS had an impressive building for its time with great classrooms, a big common hall, relatively clean bathrooms, large playground and central location. It also provided venue for sports and civic events in town. It hosted inter town football and other sports, civic events such as public meetings for the visits of dignitaries. I remember late King Mahendra visited the school once and addressed the town residents at the DPHS grounds. DPHS also regularly presented well known writers of those days. I remember that poet Kul Mani Devkota, and well-known writer Surya Bikram Gyawali came and spoke to the students during my years there. The High School ground s also served to host town fairs and other events that came to Dharan. Town leaders often visited the school and spoke on the issues that were important during those days.

 

After passing the SLC examination from DPHS, I moved to Morang College, Biratnagar to pursue the Intermediate of Science degree. I then went to India, USA, for higher education. I had a chance to see and experience the many countries, meet people from many parts of the world and make my humble contributions towards solving some problems in Nepal and elsewhere.  Most importantly, I also became a teacher, mentor and counsellor to countless individuals living in several countries. I often go back to my memory and think of my days in DPHS, and profusely thank the selfless teachers who nurtured my young mind.

 

As I approach the end of my professional career that has spanned several countries including Nepal, Canada, USA and several other countries, I still reminisce the good days spent and fine education obtained at DPHS. I came from a humble economic background, and had extremely limited exposure to the world, but DPHS provided me with the first window to the world.

 

The nearby British Library was also a resource I personally was able to use well. I am thankful the then librarian Mr. Ishwar Thapa, who made it easy for me to use the British Library and borrow good books on science, which had nice colorful images, well bound and printed in high quality paper. In those days, that level of quality in the text books seemed extraordinary.

 

I am thankful to all the teachers and administrators of the school who served the students with all their heart and deep dedication. Thanks also to the friends I made in the young days at DPHS, who have been a source of comfort and enjoyment ever since. These include Deep Shrestha, Govind Sharma, Chandeshwar Mayur Chaudhary, Chuda Basnet, Kedar Bhattarai, Netra Bandhu Karki, Harihar Acharya, Yubraj Dhakal, and Krishna Acharya, and Subarna Shrestha.

 

All the local people who supported the high school also did an excellent public service by providing a great platform for students in Dharan and surrounding areas who could get quality education locally and practically free.

 

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