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Stamps issued on Parsi high school's 150 years
By: Saadia Qamar
KARACHI - On the eve of
completion of hundred and fifty years of Bai Virbaiji Soparivala
Parsi High School, Karachi, the Pakistan Post has issued the
commemorative stamps of Rs. 5 each. The stamps will be available in
the markets from today (23rd May 2009). The designer of the stamp is
Faizi Ameer Siddiqui and its format is rectangular in shape.
Not only the Parsi community of Karachi but the entire city is
indebted to Seth Shapurji Hormusji Soparivala and his family for
laying foundation of the respected and prestigious school in 1859.
It was a small Parsi Balakshala housed in the residence of one
Dadabhoy Palonji Paymaster.
As the school going community increased, it outgrew the building. In
the year 1869 Shapurji was deprived of his beloved wife Bai Virbaiji.
In May 1870 Shapurji who had been so far the greatest benefactor of
the school, donated a sum of Rs. 10,000 on the condition that it
should be named after his late wife. The opening ceremony was
performed in September 1870 by the then Commissioner of Sindh, Sir
William Mereweather; and Jamshedji Framji Master was nominated as
the Headmaster of the institution. During the formative years,
Gujrati was entirely a co-educational institution.
In October 1904, the eldest son of the Founder, Seth Khurshedji
Soparivala laid the foundation stone of the present school building
on Victoria Road. In 1909, the school observed its Golden Jubliee.
In 1919, the Cowasjee and Virbaiji Variawa family set up a trust
fund to feed and cloth the poor Parsi students and to date the
‘Bhojan Fund’ does just that.
The period from 1920-1946 was momentous. The school was raised to
the status of High School, saw the extension of building. It boosted
the motto ‘Towards that Best Light’.
In 1947, at the request of M.A. Jinnah to the community and the
Principal Behram Rustomji, the school opened its doors for the very
first time to non-Parsis.
Hence as of today, BVS Parsi High School thus holds the distinction
of being one of the oldest and prestigious institutions for young
boys in the city of Karachi.
The Nation:May 23,2009
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