Doors & hearts open,Bishop Cotton welcomes Pakistan
As the sealed central doors of the Irwin Hall at Bishop Cotton School,Shimla,opened after 62 years,those present held their breath.
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As the sealed central doors of the Irwin Hall at Bishop Cotton School,Shimla,opened after 62 years,those present held their breath. Old Cottonian Humanyun Khan,former Pakistan Ambassador to India,followed by 25 students of Aitchison College Lahore,walked in through the doors that were closed after he and 40 other students had left the school for Pakistan after Partition.
An emotional Khan said: Earlier,it used to take a two-day journey to reach Shimla. And,though we missed home for a few days,after a week the school was our home. Ever since I have stepped inside the school gate two days ago,that feeling has returned.
Headmaster of Bishop Cotton R C Robinson said the ceremony was also symbolic of the need to keep Indo-Pak ties on good terms and our hearts open.
After the ceremony,the atmosphere on campus took a different hue as a thrilling football match was held between the teams of Bishop Cotton School and Aitchison College Lahore.
The goodwill match was won by Bishop Cotton by a lead of two goals. Cottonians Arnav,Parmar and Siddhant scored three goals,while one goal was added to their tally when the Lahore team made a self-goal.
For Lahore team,Rehan Iqbal scored two goals.
Headmaster of Aitchison College Lahore,Fakir Sayed Aijazuddin,said: In 2005,we went home victorious after a match with Bishop Cotton School. We hope that this defeat gives us a reason to return soon and claim the trophy again.
A group of septuagenarian Old Cottonians,including Rajinder Singh Gupta,Behram,Daljeet Singh and Samarjeet Singh,who came in from as far as Switzerland,Germany and United Kingdom,said they enjoyed the excitement.
I felt young again. We had the best times of our lives sitting in the school ground cheering for our team, said Gupta.
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