Daughters of the Raj - students of the Auckland House School in India

Contemporary Review, March, 1997 by Sophie James

Broadening the mind takes on aspects of absurdity when the young mind in question has yet to deal with the consequences of her own social and political situation. For a few of these girls, Jacques' 'Seven Ages of Man' speech in 'As You Like It' will always be about reincarnation. Sometimes, the syllabus struck good - the happy plot of 'As You Like It' and the figure of clever Rosamund will, I believe, be with them for life. The theme of heroic love in their all-time favourite, Noyes' The Highwayman, caused emotional and intellectual response. Both texts, needless to say, display the relevant concept of women's choice - it's a love marriage! the girls would triumphantly say, of Bess (the black eyed landlord's daughter) and I, as their teacher and moral muse, had to restrain the desire for subversion and not mention that whilst love was present in the text, marriage was noticeably absent.

Today, the girls are given drama and singing lessons only when bewildered students (called Piano Ma'ams) come over from England. This is an annual exercise of enormous fun, but the stimulus it gives is obviously limited. Accepting the absence of any real challenge to their pupils' intelligence, the school contends that learning by rote is a basic discipline worthwhile in itself and that teaching their students the spirit of community, obedience and cooperation is much more important. Whilst the school is strict, the atmosphere is calm and because the girls' expectations are not great they can relax on the veranda during break, chatting before the view of hills that are as settled and unchanging as their own future. The modern Indian middle class regard English as essential to opportunity. These students, despite the fact that only six or seven girls in a class of thirty-four will be going on to higher education, are regarded as doing far better than their grandmothers - women who, as children, were not taught English and whose education did not extend to a school of such status.