On Friday (Saturday 17) evening, St. James’ School lost one of its most popular former teachers and principals, as John A. Mason passed away in Chennai, aged 78. Mason, who is survived by his wife Anjali, a son, a daughter, and two grandchildren, breathed his last in a Chennai hospital, where he was admitted following a fall on a holiday in Puducherry. The principal of St. James’ between 1978 and 1991, Mason was also one of the school’s most beloved English teachers and went on to have stints at the Modern High School in Dubai and The Doon School in Dehradun, where he was headmaster.
‘I took his words so seriously that till date I get my haircut done every two to three weeks’
“He turned us into gentlemen — into prim and proper human beings. What stood out about him was his modesty. He’d greet the staff just as nicely as he’d interact with the students,” said Pratap Daryanani, from the St. James’ batch of 1984 and the present secretary of the St. James’ School Alumni Association. “I was actually supposed to meet him in Delhi for lunch later in February. It’s hard to process his loss, but for those of us who were blessed to know him and be taught by him, he’ll remain immortal,” added Daryanani.
Recollecting some memorable stories about Mason from his school days, Daryanani said: “There was this one time when I was playing cricket in school and got out. While drinking water, I remember Mr Mason putting an arm around my shoulder and asking, ‘Daryanani, are you busy this weekend?’ I thought he’d give me some sort of task but he simply asked me to get a haircut in time for Monday morning’s inspection. I took his words so seriously that till date I get my haircut done every two to three weeks. I never let it grow, even my barber is surprised at how frequently I pay him a visit!
“I also remember trying out for a play organised by the British Council and failing to land the role I had auditioned for. I had given it my best, but it wasn’t good enough. Mr Mason sensed that, but instead of discouraging me, he told me: ‘This time around, we need your brains more than your brawns’. And I was made the stage in-charge. He knew what to tell people to make them feel good and he was also unfailingly kind. When we’d be working all night long for our science exhibitions in school, he’d personally come down at six in the morning to give us tea and pakoras. Which principal does that?!”
When Daryanani’s son (Raghav) went to Chicago for his higher studies, Mason’s daughter was also based in the same city. “Mr Mason told me that my son could drop in at any time to have a meal at his daughter’s place. When my son was much smaller, Mr Mason would come over, bringing autobiographies of great personalities with him. He thought that was the best way to shape a young mind,” narrated Daryanani.
‘When I opened Wow! Momo, he was extremely encouraging and supportive’
Mason joined St. James’ School in 1978 as principal and became a crucial part of one of the most successful periods in the institution’s history TT archives
Sagar Daryani, CEO and co-founder of Wow! Momo and an alumnus from the St. James’ batch of 2005, did not have the pleasure of being taught by Mason personally, but he reminisced how his elder brother got admission into St. James’ because of the school’s then iconic principal. “My parents weren't happy with my brother’s previous school, and so my mother just walked into Mr Mason’s office at St. James’ one fine day and asked him to take my brother in. Mr Mason didn’t make my brother take any examination. He simply asked my brother to open the window in his office. My brother, still a toddler at the time, got hold of a chair, stood on it and eventually unlocked the window. And that was it! He was inducted into St. James’. Mr Mason had his own ways of testing people and spotting talent. Decades later, when I opened Wow! Momo, he was extremely encouraging and supportive. He was a big fan of the Chicken Darjeeling Momos and I remember him commenting that ‘Wow’ when inverted reads ‘Mom’. ‘You’re doing what you’re doing because of your mom’s blessings,’ he told me. I can never forget those words,” said Daryani.
‘He was extremely good at seeing what was best in you’
“With his passing, we’ve not just lost a principal or a father figure. We’ve lost an institution,” said Atul Chatrath, who passed out of St. James’ in 1994. “Mr Mason had this remarkable ability to remember every single student by name. Back then, when we were in school, it used to scare us. Now, looking back, we find it touching. No wonder then that when I met him 20 years after leaving school, he recognised me right away from my name. Mr Mason was the reason I started playing sports and took up cricket seriously. He was extremely good at seeing what was best in you and pushing you towards your goals,” continued Chatrath.
A part of the same batch as Chatrath was Dr Rahul Jain, currently an internal medicine specialist at Kolkata’s Belle Vue Clinic, who recalled how Mason would “weave whatever he had to say through stories as he was a gifted raconteur. The way he taught us Pygmalion (by George Bernard Shaw) was outstanding. He’d enunciate each and every word to make the character of Eliza Doolittle come to life. Across my career, I’ve met so many people from so many walks of life. But I’ve never come across anyone with the same stature as Mr Mason.”
‘He was a disciplinarian, who could also transform into a gentle guide’
Dr Vikash Kapoor, an alumnus from the batch of 1988 and presently the vice-chairman of Medica Superspeciality Hospital in Kolkata, recounted how Mason left an impression on him through his personality: “He was a strict disciplinarian, who could also transform into a gentle guide. His resounding baritone, the inimitable way in which he’d walk the school corridors and the exemplary way of life he maintained also made him remarkable. One of his most outstanding achievements at St. James’ was his administrative rigour, which ensured that when my batch passed out of school, 38 out of 40 students in science got placed into the top institutions across the country. That was virtually unprecedented at the time. Many of the outstanding professionals and leaders that St. James’ has produced came during the school’s golden era under Mr Mason.”
‘He put St. James’ on the map’
Such was Mason’s impact at St. James’ that it resonated long after he had left the portals of the school, as evident through the words of Agneesh Barua, a research fellow at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University in Japan: “While I was personally never under his tutelage, his influence percolated throughout my time in school (Barua passed out in 2010). Mr Mason was a regular during Founders’ Day meets, where we’d remember everything he did for the school. What was most inspiring about him was how his influence went beyond St. James’. I can’t tell you the countless times people have mentioned Mr Mason whenever I’ve told them that I’m from St. James’. He put St. James’ on the map. His sense of charity and dedication to his students was groundbreaking. He was an icon, one of the prime examples of Kolkata’s educational fidelity.”
‘Mr Mason calmly stepped in one hour before the show and played Vijay Mallya’s role himself’
Prior to his time at St. James’, Mason (second from left) dazzled students as an English teacher at La Martiniere for Boys TT archives
Before joining St. James’ in 1978, Mason served as English teacher at La Martiniere for Boys (LMB) in Kolkata. Even though his tenure there was not as long or as storied as what would await him at St. James’, he still managed to leave an indelible mark on his pupils. “Mr Mason devoted his life to the pursuit of knowledge and the betterment of his students. With a passion for English, he instilled in his students a love of learning and a commitment to excellence. He had a unique ability to connect with students, making even the most complex concepts understandable and engaging. His classes were always filled with enthusiasm and he brought out the best in everyone,” remarked Vishal Jhajharia, a member of the batch of 1987 at LMB and the current president of the Association of La Martiniere Alumni (ALMA).
Another student at LMB who got an opportunity to come under Mason’s wing was Dr Ronen Roy, batch of 1979. “When I was in school, Mr Mason was my class teacher and English teacher besides being the teacher-in-charge for all the co-curricular activities I was involved in, from elocution to quiz, from dramatics to debating. Some of my most cherished experiences with him came as part of two plays that he directed, one of which was Saint Joan (by George Bernard Shaw). It was a difficult play with challenging roles, so much so that some seniors who had passed out of school were brought back especially to act in the play. One of them was Vijay Mallya. Unfortunately, Mallya couldn’t make it on the day of the dress rehearsal due to an illness. When he did turn up on the main day, he had a tube attached to his stomach as a result of a surgery the day before. It was unlikely that he’d be able to play his designated role of the Inquisitor. But it didn’t matter, as Mr Mason calmly stepped in one hour before the show and played Mallya’s role himself. He was an innately compassionate man who loved to teach and took his teaching very seriously. When he taught us Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, he took the entire class to his flat and made us watch the play as performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Even today, after more than 45 years, we remember each and every line of the play,” described Dr Roy.
Mason’s burial took place in Chennai and his memorial service is scheduled for 3pm on Monday, February 20, at St. James’ Church in Kolkata.