Huzurpaga

Huzurpaga is the oldest Indian run girls' high school in India.^[1]

Huzurpaga Campus

History

Bene Israel Students of Huzurpaga from early 20th century

The school was established by the Maharashtra Girls Education Society (MGE) in 1885.^[2] The school's founders included noted social reformers Vaman Abaji Modak, Justice Ranade and historian Dr. R. G. Bhandarkar.^[3][4] Ranade's then young wife, Ramabai Ranade had presented a petition to the governor of Bombay, James Ferguson in 1884 about the desirability of opening a high school for girls. Ferguson inaugurated the school in 1885. The school was originally called the Poona Native Girls High School (PNHS). It was the first Indian-run school to offer education to girls to the level of matriculation.^[1] The school started with twelve girls, two of them widows. Mary Sorabji, sister of social reformer, Cornelia Sorabji was one of the first teachers.^[5] The subjects taught included those required to appear for the matriculation examination such as English literature, arithmetics, geometry, Marathi, and science. Sanskrit was an optional language on the syllabus.^[6][1] The establishment of the school and its curriculum were vehemently opposed by Lokmanya Tilak in his newspapers, the Mahratta and Kesari.^[7][8] A play disparaging the English language curriculum went to second edition. The play also on ran on stage in Pune for many performances.^[1] In 1887, the ruler of the Princely state of Sangli, Tatyasaheb Patwardhan, offered land on Laxmi Road in Pune, where the high school is based. The girls' hostel and the elementary school were established later on the same campus.

The school has offered a boarding option for out-of-town students for more than a century. The school and the boarding option were popular among the Bene Israel community in the early part of the 20th century.^[9][10] Notable boarders of school include Anandibai Karve and actress Reema Lagu.

In the 1990s, MGE started a new branch of the school in the Pune suburb of Katraj. It started with a preschool and gradually extended to include high school and higher secondary school, respectively.

Academics

Huzurpaga School entrance on Laxmi Road

The school is officially called the H. H. C. P. Girls High School in honor of Tatyasaheb Patwardhan's father, the Maharaja, His Highness Chintamanrao Patwardhan of Sangli. Huzurpaga is located in the main commercial area of Laxmi Road in Pune. The school location was historically used as horse stables for the Maratha cavalry during the days of Peshwa rule. The school opened its second branch at Katraj. In 2001, the MGE Society established a senior college of commerce exclusively for girls called Huzurpaga Mahila Vanijya Mahavidyalaya (HMVM).^[11]

At present, the school offers instruction from grades 5 to 10 to nearly 2,400 girls. The school's medium of instruction is mainly Marathi with some students being offered the chance to learn science and maths through the English language. The latter option is called semi-English curriculum. In the S.S.C. exams conducted by the Maharashtra government for 10th grade students, the school consistently achieves a pass rate in the high 90s percentage.

Notable alumni

• Anandibai Karve (1866 -1950) - Was a boarder with her son in 1890s after her second marriage to social reformer Maharshi Karve and birth of their son^[12][13]
• Kashibai Herlekar (1874 -1936) - Social reformer, educationalist and writer^[14][15]
• Rebecca Reuben Nowgaokar (1889 - 1957) - Bene Israel educationalist - Miss Reuben also taught at the school for three years.^[16]
• Padmabhushan Tarabai Modak (1892 -1973) - Advocate of Montessori education ^[17]
• Muktabai Dixit (1901 - 1980) - Writer in Marathi
• Irawati Karve (1905 – 11 August 1970) - Eminent social scientist & anthropologist
• Malati Bedekar (née Baltai Khare) - Writer in Marathi
• Kamal Ranadive (8 November 1917 – 2001) - Biologist specializing in cancer research
• Shanta Shelke (19 October 1922 – 6 June 2002) - Poet and writer in Marathi language
• Shirish Pai (1929-) - Writer in Marathi and English
• Sai Paranjpye (1938-) - Broadcaster and film director
• Rohini Godbole (1952-) - Particle physicist
• Reema Lagoo (1958- 2017) - Stage and film actress^[18]
• Mrunal Kulkarni (1971-) - Actress
• Tejashree Walavalkar - Actress. she played young Ramabai Ranade in the Marathi TV serial, Unch Maaza Zoka.^[19]
• Prajakta Gaikwad (1998-) - Actress. She has worked in the Marathi TV serial Swarajyarakshak Sambhaji as Maharani Yesubai, the wife of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.^[20]

References

1. Chandra, Shefali (2009). "Mimicry, Masculinity, and the Mystique of Indian English: Western India, 1870-1900". The Journal of Asian Studies. 68 (1): 199–225. doi:10.1017/S0021911809000023. JSTOR 20619679. INIST 21459677 ProQuest 230392647.
2. Ghurye, G. S. (1954). Social Change in Maharashtra, II. Sociological Bulletin, page 51.
3. Bhattacharya, Sabyasachi, ed. (2002). Education and the disprivileged : nineteenth and twentieth century India (1. publ. ed.). Hyderabad: Orient Longman. p. 239. ISBN 978-8125021926. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
4. "Huzurpaga". Huzurpaga.
5. Richard Sorabji, Opening Doors: The Untold Story of Cornelia Sorabji, Reformer, Lawyer and Champion of Women's Rights in India (Penguin Books India 2010):13-14. ISBN 9781848853751
6. Bhattacharya, Sabyasachi, ed. (2002). Education and the disprivileged : nineteenth and twentieth century India (1. publ. ed.). Hyderabad: Orient Longman. p. 240. ISBN 978-8125021926. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
7. Rao, Parimala V. (January 2008). "Women's Education and the Nationalist Response in Western India: Part II—Higher Education". Indian Journal of Gender Studies. 15 (1): 141–148. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.899.6299. doi:10.1177/097152150701500108. S2CID 143961063.
8. Rao, Parimala V. (June 2007). "Women's Education and the Nationalist Response in Western India: Part I—Basic Education". Indian Journal of Gender Studies. 14 (2): 307–316. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.901.4831. doi:10.1177/097152150701400206. S2CID 197651677.
9. Feinberg, Miriam P.; Shapiro, Miriam Klein (2010). Hear Her Voice! Twelve Jewish Women Who Changed the World (First ed.). Pitspopany Press. ISBN 978-1936068029. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
10. Roland, Joan G. (1998). The Jewish communities of India : identity in a colonial era (2. ed.). New Brunswick [u.a.]: Transaction Publ. p. 318. ISBN 978-0765804396. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
11. Mahila Vanijya Mahavidyalaya (HMVM)^{[permanent dead link]}
12. Kosambi, Meera, ed. (2000). Intersections: Socio-cultural Trends in Maharashtra. Orient Blackswan. p. 109. ISBN 978-81-250-1878-0.
13. Ellen E. McDonald (1963). The New Brahmans: Five Maharashtrian Families. University of California Press. p. 74. GGKEY:U3PU2CLAUDR.
14. Anagol, Padma (2006). The emergence of feminism in India, 1850-1920. Aldershot: Ashgate. p. 231. ISBN 978-0754634119. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
15. Das, Sisir Kumar (1991). A history of Indian literature, 1800-1910 : western impact: Indian response (Reprint. ed.). New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. p. 250. ISBN 978-8172010065.
16. Feinberg, Miriam P.; Shapiro, Miriam Klein (2010). Hear Her Voice! Twelve Jewish Women Who Changed the World (First ed.). Pitspopany Press. ISBN 978-1936068029. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
17. Srivastava, Gouri (2000). Women's higher education in the 19th century. New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co. p. 190. ISBN 9788170228233. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
18. "फोटो आणि रिमा लागूंची पुण्यातली एक आठवण" (in Marathi). Zee News. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017. ज्येष्ठ अभिनेत्री रिमा लागू १९७० ते १९७४ या कालावधीत हुजुरपागा शाळेत शिकत होत्या
19. "In full swing". Pune Mirror. No. July 29, 2012. BENNETT, COLEMAN & CO. LTD. 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
20. "Prajakta Gaikwad a warrior queen in reel and real life". Punekar News. No. November 11, 2019.

18.5148°N 73.8528°E / 18.5148; 73.8528