“THE NORONHAS IN NAINI”

The Sem Tattler (July – December 2008) has a query from Dr Bhuroze K Ghandhi (Milwaukee USA) about which family could stake a claim to having the longest association with SEM; and makes a guess that it could be the Noronhas, one of who had studied with him. Another contributor from England (name not mentioned) hazards a guess that the Allens family, of Indian Olympic hockey glory, had the longest run at SEM. But Ghandhi is probably right, for the honours should go to the Noronhas of Kanpur.

My late father, Chevalier Peter de Noronha KSG, CE (1897 –1970) passed out of SEM in 1916. He had simultaneously passed the Roorkee Civil Engineering exam, coming third in the All India merit list, and winning a scholarship. In the College Muster Roll of 1916 (as per the “Education Record 1916” of which I have a copy) his is listed as the second name among the boarders. I do not know for sure when he joined SEM, it could have been around 1909 – a hundred years ago! His younger brothers Willie (1899 – 1975) and Stanley (1901 – 1970) were also with him in SEM. From SEM he went on to the renowned Thomason College of Engineering at Roorkee (now IIT Roorkee) from where he did his Civil Engineering in 1918. Since it coincided with the First World War he was simultaneously commissioned into the King George’s Own Royal Sappers & Miners (now the Bombay Sappers).

The next generation of Noronhas all studied in SEM, and the girls in Ramnee. My eldest brother Douglas (deceased) was there in the late 1940s and early 1950s. My first cousins William, Terence (deceased) Johnny (died while duck shooting while still in SEM) and Errol were all there. Errol was College Captain in 1961, and anchored the SEM relay team to a historic win from behind, against archrivals Sherwood.

I myself was there from 1958 to 1965, and my younger brother Neville was there in the 1960s. My nephews (sister’s sons) Peter Wu and Francis Wu had brief stints in SEM in the 1990s. So the Noronhas of Kanpur have been associated with SEM for well nigh 90 years and three generations. If any other family can beat that, then we will gladly hand over the baton to them

Interestingly, when my father went to SEM about a hundred years ago, he and his brothers were among the very few Indians there. Most of the boys were either European or Eurasian (Anglo-Indian would be incorrect). There was no motorable road from Kathgodam. They went up on ponies.

I also recall my father reminiscing about the puree tack at Kathgodam. This was an Anglicism for puri tarkari. So I was tickled to read Bert Hand’s reference to puree tack in his “Footsteps of Time” in the same issue of the “Sem Tattler”. May the magazine and the old boys tattle and prattle on!
MARCH 2010