Shomie Das, headmaster of India’s trinity and tutor to King Charles, passes away at 89

NEW DELHI: Shomie Ranjan Das, the only person to have been headmaster of India’s trinity — first at Mayo College, and then Sanawar, before returning to his alma mater, the Doon School, founded by his grandfather Satish Ranjan Das — passed away in Hyderabad on Monday at the age of 89.

The educationist, a legend in the Indian school system whoseinfluence extended to generations of students, and the current King of England, is survived by two sons and a daughter. His wife, Phiroza, had predeceased him.

Shomie to his friends, or “Headie” affectionately to his students, was a liberal educationist who was born Aug 28, 1935. After school, he attended St Xavier’s College in Kolkata and followed up with a degree in physics at the University of Cambridge. Das then taught at Gordonstoun in the 1960s. He was a tutor and physics teacher to King Charles, then Prince of Wales, who he had described to UK’s Mail on Sunday as “the best schoolboy Macbeth” he had seen. Decades later, talk persisted of a “curry bet” that Charles had lost and owed a few quid.

Many of the things he learned at Gordonstoun, described by King Charles as “Colditz in kilts”, would be put to good effect at Sanawar where he ensured privilege ended at the platform for the train to school. His students travelled 3rd class, ate stale bread and butter or doggies (ship’s biscuit) with sweet tea for Chhota Hazri, ran the mile, and were allowed Rs 7 a week, if at all.

Das’ approach to education was to continue it outside the classroom, be it trekking up Chandrakhani Pass in a blizzard or sending students off to fight forest fires. His former students said he would reward intelligent curiosity with opportunity and unintelligent adventure with humour or the cane. One of his ex-students, Tushita Patel, recalled him as “delightfully light, and gentle with weaker students”. Another, Omar Abdullah, former J&K chief minster, said, “Headie showed me Halley’s Comet through a telescope in his back garden. For that reason and many more he will always be one of the greatest teachers I’ve had the privilege to know and be taught by.”

He loved the outdoors, trekking, and adventure, and was a terrible shot. “His nemesis in Sanawar, ‘Cut-Lip the Monkey’, lived on to sire many more of his brood,” Abhinav Saigal, one of Das’ former students, said.

Teachers who worked with him remember an individualistic man of great knowledge and greater humility. Samik Ghosh, who taught physics at Sanawar and was later headmaster of Scindia School, Gwalior, said Das would often come to the lab to help his teachers with experiments and “wasn’t above operating a copier” if the need arose. “‘Never align yourself with anybody or any group, and do what you have to do,’” is the advice Ghosh remembers receiving when he set out to be a headmaster himself.

Pathways Gurgaon school director Capt Rohit S Bajaj, who was both taught by and taught under Das, described his attitude as “bold and futuristic”.

The Doon School condoled his death, saying his “dedication to education, coupled with his humility and wisdom, earned him the respect of both his students and colleagues”.

Mayo College, Ajmer, where he was principal from 1969 to 1974, praised his “exemplary leadership and relentless pursuit of excellence”, saying these qualities had “left an indelible mark on the institution, profoundly impacting the numerous students who had the privilege of being mentored by him”.

The Lawrence School, Sanawar described Das as “an integral part” of the school from May 1974 to March 1988. “He will forever be remembered with love and respect by generations” of students, it said. “He had the ability to figure out instinctively and infallibly what was right for you as a person. This instinct was his greatest gift,” said Himmat Singh Dhillon, currently headmaster of Sanawar and a pupil of Das.


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