CKC school loses a slice of its history

Changing days

Demolition of older buildings giving way to newer state-of-the-art buildings has become the order of the day. Many buildings across the city are being razed to make way for new ones.

The new addition to the list is the Christ the King Convent on JLB road, situated near Ballal Circle.

This is one of the schools that has a history of more than 65 years and a construction that was on line with the umpteen number of heritage structures in the palace city. Some portion of the school is being demolished, much to the disappointment of hundreds of alumni, who are now settled across the state and also in other countries.

The then chief minister of Mysore state K C Reddy laid the foundation for the building on May 1, 1950, for the school which started functioning in 1940s. It was formally inaugurated by the then Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wadiyar on March 18, 1953. Some of the students of the school have secured ranks in SSLC exams year after year — bringing laurels to the school.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Srinivas, a businessman by profession, one of the alumni of the school recalled the nostalgic moments of his school days and said that only a couple of schools had van facility for their students around 40 years ago.

The school has produced a lot of people who have continued their education and have turned out to be responsible citizens and serving for the betterment of the society. The school was known for its high standards and people thought admitting their children to the school would bring in the much-needed discipline and quality of education so that it enables them to have a strong foundation, he added.

When contacted, Sr Bernie, headmistress of the school, said the building had to be demolished to give way to a new one as the old school building had gone weak with the time.

The roof had lost strength and many of the classrooms saw some portions of the roof collapsing. Moreover, seepage in almost all classrooms during monsoon turned out to be a nuisance, she said.

Moreover, the foundation was very weak, which also worried the authorities, who planned to construct a new building. The new block with classrooms are ready and the formal inauguration would be held on November 19. It will be a simple affair, and the Bishop of Mysore Thomas Anthony Vazhapilly will inaugurate it, she added.

The space would now be turned into a playground to encourage students to take part in sports, she pointed out. The ongoing truck stir in the state has also had an impact on the demolition works as the huge debris accumulated at the site could not be cleared. And, the debris stood as a metaphor to the part of the history that was torn down.