De Nobili School, FRI

De Nobili School is a school located in Dhanbad, India. The De Nobili School shield displays part of a Sanskrit sloka Vidya Dadati Vinaym (Education Bestows Humility) in Devanagari script in the scroll under the school shield.^[1] The school is named after a Jesuit, Roberto de Nobili, who was the first foreigner to master Sanskrit, incognito, in sixteenth century Madurai. He apparently conducted himself like an orthodox Brahmin and is even said^[2] to have declared himself to be a descendant of Brahma.

On the school shield Vidya Dadati Vinayam is the opening fragment from the sixth verse^[3] of the preface to Hitopadeśa, Hitopadesha a collection of fables that provide "Good Advice". The entire verse translates to^[4] "Knowledge giveth humility, from humility he attaineth worth, From worth, wealth he attaineth, from wealth the power of being religious, from thence happiness".

Past Principals

History

In the early 1950s, the prominent people in the coalfield asked the Jesuit fathers of Jamshedpur Province to open a Cambridge school for their sons and wards. Jesuits were already running Loyola School, in Jamshedpur, on the invitation of Late J.R.D. Tata. Fr. F. X. McFarland, S.J. an American Jesuit, was the pioneer, under whose able guidance, De Nobili School started, in a rather humble way, in the unfinished girls school building at the Fuel Research Institute, Jealgora, (now Digwadih) courtesy, the then Director of F.R.I., Late Dr. Adinath Lahiri. It had 36 students with teachers. That was February, 1956. In 1959, a significant piece of land was handed over to the Jesuits by industrialist and philanthropist, Late Banwari Lal Agarwalla and on 28 October 1959 the ground was broken for the new building. In 1960, with the help of Lions Clubs, an adjoining piece of land was acquired for further expansion. In 1961, the school shifted from its temporary quarters in F.R.I. to the unfinished new building. In 1963, while De Nobili was still in its infancy, Rev. Fr. George A. Hess, S.J., took over as the new principal of De Nobili. His 17 long years as the Principal, had been a period of much expansion and progress that resulted from his able leadership quality, coupled with tireless and selfless service to the school and for the cause of quality education for the children of the coalfield people.

School song

See also

• Category:De Nobili Schools alumni

References

External links

• Official website