CBS alumnus Justice Joymalya Bagchi (centre) with principal Raja Mcgee and a school captain at the archive. (Rashbehari Das)

His cane may have hurt at times, but there was no stopping the rush of memories about Clifford Hicks, the longest-serving principal of Calcutta Boys’ School (CBS), as the old boys got together for the 135-year celebrations of their alma mater.

Students, past and present, exchanged notes over tea and a panel discussion on Day 2 of Hitherto Henceforth, a four-day extravaganza hosted by CBS. After a special roll call on the school grounds, the former students visited the school archive, where Hicks’ portrait loomed large. “As a student this used to be the principal’s (Hicks’s) room and hence the sanctum sanctorum,” laughed Justice Joymalya Bagchi as he stood in front of Hicks’s desk, which has found pride of place in the archive.

“I got the cane many times, sometimes for insignificant reasons. But silly things were deemed very serious in those days,” said Alfred Martin, former student, teacher and principal of CBS.

The 1961-batch student recalled studying on the school terrace. “Since I was a boarder, I spent a lot of time in school. I did well in the Senior Cambridge Examination and got a job in my school soon after. I would study on the terrace for college after taking classes,” Martin reminisced.

Others took a trip down memory lane too. Economist Shubhashis Gangopadhyay admitted to doing “nothing much in school other than enjoy myself”. “In those days we were off on Thursdays. So I used to be very sad on Wednesdays,” he said.

“The school campus itself is my favourite memory,” chipped in Bagchi, while Amit Talukdar, retired judge, remembered enjoying sporting events.

A favourite topic among the old boys was Hicks, a strict disciplinarian but someone who cared for his students. Jayanta Gupta of the 1962 batch spoke of the time “when my mother was taken ill, he would enquire after her”.

For many teachers, too, Hicks was like a “father figure”. “I was part of his core group. We would call ourselves the Howrah Quartet. He would say that 90 per cent of good administration is bluff and now I know how true his words are,” said Martin, principal of CBS from 1975 to 1990.

Hicks and his ways were also part of a panel discussion on Spare the Child and Spoil the Rod moderated by Rudrangshu Mukherjee of The Telegraph.

To set the mood for the discussion, Hicks’s cane was put on display at the school playground, where veterans like Martin, Gangopadhyay, Talukdar and professor Anup Sinha of Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta were pitted against present students and those who have completed school recently.

The veterans spoke strongly against the use of cane. “Social pressure often forces us to beat up our kids as a way of disciplining them,” said Gangopadhyay. Talukdar spoke of mental torture, which could be more harmful for children. Sinha agreed, saying: “Whenever I was punished, it left an indelible mark on my psyche.”

“When I took over the headship of CBS, the policy was to use the cane. I was ill-experienced and thought I should emulate Hicks. But sometimes the boys were bigger than me and I hurt myself more in the process. Later I realised the cane is not the best policy,” said Martin as he apologised for using the cane at times.

“Six of the very best was part of any good English public school education and Hicks was a product of his time,” summed up Mukherjee.

The younger students presented a more liberal view on corporal punishment. Rhine Samajdar, a 2012 passout who scored 99 per cent in ISC, said: “I faced corporal punishment and I am better for such discipline. Values have to be instilled. As a child you learn values only through pain and fear. Training a child is like training a dog.” as friend Satyaki Majumdar added: “A certain amount of force is necessary. Let us compromise.”

Present students Bhavya Vohra, Surya Shekhar Chakraborty and Souryadeep Basak also joined in the discussion.