Tributes and Works in the Memory of a Guiding Spirit
A Deputy Remembers
Fr Louis Menezes, S.J. (Vice Principal, Campion, Bhopal)
I have very fond memories of my four years at Campion, Bhopal (1967-1970). I experienced what a person dedicated to a cause close to his heart can achieve. In Fr E.F. More I found a great variety of personal qualities at work as he hastened to lay firm foundations to Campion.
Fr More was a true leader of men - humble, dynamic, sincere, and approachable. And a great educationist. Upon my arrival at Campion in 1967 I heard a boy say to me: My principal is like a father to me - I love him!
And so did the four young teachers. Oh, how they loved him, held him in very high regard! Assisted by this small staff, Fr More made of Campion (then in Sector 1250) a true home away from home for the small batch of boys taken over from St Joseph’s Idgah Hills.
The Jesuit team was made up of Fr More (Superior, Principal), Bro Hernandez, and the two young Jesuit scholastics (future priests) – Joaquim Mascarenhas and Caesar D’Mello. When I joined them in 1967, I was coming to know Fr More for the first time ever. And within a fortnight or so I was sizing him up as an enthusiastic, energetic, sincere person, and very simple in his ways and loving in his dealings with students and staff. A man who inculcated a sense of responsibility, expecting each one to do his duty. He guided – never dictated!
My own reminiscences take me to the recollection of a bright Sunday morning when visitors came to see Fr More. I looked for him “all over the place…”, the Amby was in the ever-open garage, which meant EFM was IN. What made me look into the WC area? Can’t say, but I did…to find him in a closet, in his blue-grey shorts, scrubbing away with wood ash and coconut fibre – sans gloves!!! To me it revealed the depth of his love for Campion, i.e., for ‘his boys’ (of whom he was proud, v.v. proud). (I can say the same myself – I too was proud of you guys.) I often think of Fr More as a true Gandhian…that toilet incident reminded me of MKG’s showing his beloved Kasturba the toilets…and her “nauseous revulsion…” and a final joyful acceptance!
A child is nurtured by its parents; the home circle too has its role in a child’s growth. Also influencing the child is the environment in which the child lives. A school must be seen as an extension of the home, where the child’s academic training takes place. Campion excelled in academics (Jesuits being well known for their high aims and excellence in all they do!) and in the moral upbringing of the young minds, the men of tomorrow.
There was the elderly Mr Dwivedi (Hindi Master) whose calm and gentle demeanour exhibited depth of character – him I recall with much affection. I recall too very affectionately old Mrs Shinde. Campion benefited greatly from such really beautiful people.
I am reminiscing! …Ah! There was Mr Narasingh the PT master … who was truly dedicated to the school. The PT period used to be a favourite of the full-of-energy youngsters!. Ex-Campionites in touch with their schooldays will have their own memories of those long-ago years in which their character was formed. They carried with them the assurance that the school they loved so greatly had prepared them well to face the future bravely. I am certain that an occasional looking back to their Campion years will energize them in their pursuit of success in every field of endeavour.
So what did the Campion young man really achieve? A great deal, I am quite sure. A well-developed high intellectual life, a sense of doing one’s duty, the acceptance of personal responsibility, a team spirit (remember the final period of the day when the students played Football, Hockey, Cricket, according to the seasons; and the Saturday Scouting activities), the spirit of adventure.
I return to the formation of the young Campionite. Whenever I recall those good old days, I cannot but feel good about those challenging years. I’m happy about the boys’ academic achievements; I’m happier still to contemplate the values absorbed by them, of personal worth and dignity and integrity, of being true to oneself, of being helpful and ready to serve… (are my eyes getting wet?)
In the formal attire Fr More devised for the boys - white trousers and elegant blue blazer -the Campion boy looked smart; behind this attractive exterior lay the hidden determined youngster ready to play his part in life, both personal and national.
A third generation of Campionites is today being formed… Come 2015 there’ll be the Golden Jubilee celebrations. It’s already time to look back and acknowledge the Campion pioneers’ hard work and dedication; and thank God for the gift of Fr More to Bhopal. Can we consider him as a guru? Are there some/many who actually consider him as such? We’ll all be worthy of the multi-layered legacy of Fr More by living the lessons we learnt from him, of serving without counting the cost, of labouring without looking for rewards…
The mortal remains of Fr E.F. More lie in the Campion campus, but his spirit lives in us.
Greetings to all of you, dear friends! I wish all Campionites, past and present, a life of Nishkama Karma! Tathastu!
Affectionately – Fr Louis Menezes, S.J.
Post Script
I bade farewell to Campion in May 1970. Where did I go? I first went to Bangalore (today known as Bengaluru) for a year of spiritual retreat (without deep spirituality can anyone ever achieve anything? While there, there came a call from GUYANA, south America - the country of cricketers like Clive Lloyd, Alvin Kalicharan, Rohan Kanhai - from the Jesuit Fathers there for one or two Bombay Jesuits to come and help them. I volunteered…was accepted (the government provided the visa in quick time) and in July 1971 I was off to become a ‘Caribbean-walla’.
I laboured there for twenty years in what we may call Human Development, over and above the religious duties I had to offer. One of the areas I pride myself on is the initiative to preserve the native language of the WARAU tribe among whom I was placed for a number of years. Guyana is known as the land of many peoples, including the tribal groups: Caribs, Patamonas, Wai-Wai, Arawaks, and others. And I appreciated not only language but their dances, songs, folk-tales, and so on that make a people’s cultural heritage. I compiled a dictionary of about 3,000 words/phrases, a couple of songs… the tale of the NIHABARAKA (crocodile)… I could even converse in Warau with the old folks (the young having no interest at all!); and even tease the ladies by saying (with a broad smile) ‘Ine ihi obonoya’ – I love you!
I had to return to Bharatmata in 1991 owing to ill health. Here in Mumbai I help our younger Jesuits in their academic pursuits (degrees and so on…) The horizon gets further and further away…but with the un-deletable memory of Campion as my constant companion, the future is what I want it to be…
Editor’s Note: Fr Louis lives a Spartan existence at St Xavier’s College in Mumbai where I caught up with him some years ago, still writing, even poetry in Marathi! Mellow now, like a fine wine, a far cry from the strict Vice Principal we knew – to hear was to obey! This article is a particular gift – an opportunity to critique and publish a contribution from my own English Master who marked my essays with a keen eye for a split infinitive! I still remember protesting against the book prizes he had chosen for me one year – a set of four in a boring Russian series ‘And Quiet Flows the Don’, by insisting I had already read them. In vain, I might add, but he compensated with at least one P.G. Wodehouse in the swag. Do look him up the next time you are in Mumbai, chaps.
Beatriz Pla Emmanuel Ferdinand Moré, called “Manolo” by his family, was born on July 20th, 1907 in Barcelona City in a high quarter town known as Pedralbes. Manolo had seven brothers. Alejandro, Luis and Tomás died when they were born. The others were It was here they proposed his travel to India. When Manolo was about 22 he decided to go to India. In those times it was not easy to travel so far, but his brothers had gone to India before the Spanish Civil War in 1936 - their parents did not see them again. When they were older, only three of them could come back to Barcelona for Christmas after many years. My mother remembers them as very friendly and very intelligent.Manolo and Joaquin were very
Father More's Roots: A Tradition of Sacrifice
The family lived in a huge house with a garden, and they also had a coach to go to Barcelona City Center. The house was built in a modernist style. This house was reconstructed a few years ago and now it is a lawyer's office.
When they were children they went to The Jesuit College. Manolo's father, José Moré, used to travel
very often to attend his business in Mallorca Island, where he owned some farms and cake shops. His
mother, Ana de Mora stayed always at home.
José, Orestes, Antonio (who died in 2006 at 93), and Joaquin. He also had three sisters: Mercedes who died at 33 years of age due to Parkinson's disease, Dolores who was my grandmother and died a few years ago, and Anita who died at 54.
When Manolo and his brothers finished school at around 18 years of age they went to a Jesuit school
in Barcelona to study to become priests.
José was the first one who went to India and he studied a lot of dialects to translate books there and
also taught Indian dialects. Orestes died in India in a Mission in the mountains due to a poisoned meal. He was living there with a tribe called the Katkaris - he helped them and taught them methods of work and how to combat diseases. José and Joaquin also died in India.
extroverted. José was very intellectual and didn't speak too much.
The second time Manolo came to Barcelona he gave my mother away in marriage in the cathedral of
Barcelona (see picture). Manolo was then 70 years old.
During the Spanish Civil war the family house was half destroyed by the communist tanks and they all
were persecuted. Manolo's parents managed to escape in a boat to Italy, where their son Antonio was living, and they came back when the war was finished.
His sisters Dolores and Anita stayed in Barcelona during the civil war working as nurses and they had
many difficulties. When his parents came back from Italy they couldn't go back to their house since it was half-destroyed and they had to rent a flat in the centre of Barcelona. His father died then and his mother died few years later, they were so old.
His brother Antonio built a Jesuit school here in Barcelona called “ San Estanislao de Kostka”, the
school I attended. Now we live in the same house as my grandmother (Dolores Moré, sister of Fr. Moré) with my uncle, my mother and my sister.
My mother Ana de Mora does not work, my sister Marta Pla works in a Navy Agency, my uncle Orestes de Mora worked all his life in a bank and now he is retired.
We are very proud of Manolo and his family even though we have not had the opportunity to see all
their work. We would love to visit India and congratulate all the people who took care of Fr. Moré. We hope we can come soon and we appreciate so much all the work you are doing for the centenary.
[Beatriz Pla is Fr.More's grand niece and works for a sports company in Barcelona. Our heart felt thanks to Beatriz and her mother Ana for their very personal and illuminating contribution.
This is an edited version of an article first published in the Centenary Tribute, July 2007. Editor]
Centenary Tribute to Fr More
The Tribute is a publication to commemorate the 100th birth year of the Reverend Father Emmanuel Ferdinand More, Society of Jesus, born on 20th July, 1907 in Barcelona, Spain.
Published on 20 July, 2007 by the alumni of Campion School, Bhopal who graduated in the years 1969-71, with the kind support of many other alumni, Campion School staff and well-wishers.
We hope you will find this small tribute to Fr. More inspiring.
Table of Contents
Tributes
The Institution that was Fr. More
Timeline
Gold Medals
Our Founding Fathers & Gurus
The School Band
The Scouts
Father More: A Nation Builder
A Brief Moment in Time
Father More: Inspiring by Example
Understanding Father More
The Father More Foundation
To download the Tribute document (in Adobe PDF format) please click here:
Tribute to Fr. More July 2007.
To view this you will need Adobe Reader which you can download here.
Message from the Hon. Dr. Balram Jakhar, Governor of Madhya Pradesh
"I appreciate that former students of Father E F More, Founder Principal of Campion School have instituted a Father More Foundation, as a public charitable Trust, to undertake various activities to perpetuate ideas and ideals of Father More. I convey my good wishes."
Dr. Jakhar also quoted a couplet in Punjabi:
"Dadhiyaan chup jaandiyan ne,
Gallan reh jaandiyaan ne!"
[Faces go away but the spoken words and teachings are remembered forever].
Although we never interacted with Fr. more in person but have always felt the greatness of the man through many of his students with whom I interacted while serving as COBA president. I was present on the day Fr. more was cremated at the school, the then Principal in his tribute said looking at the sea of humanity (ex-campionites) "Today at his death a seed has been sown in the ground and we will see hundreds and thousands of flowers bloom through his students in this society." This statment of his I tirelessly repeated at every forum and platform I got from COBA, never realising that some day all this would come true. It is great to see the efforts of our seniors in the shape of FMF and various other projects to pay their tributes to the great man that was Fr. More.
M S Jagan (1971/72) said: September 27, 2007
Fr. More was probably one of the best persons I have had the privilege of being with. A compassion that actually came from the heart and a dedication that came from really God knows where, he built an institution which is growing in stature. Thinking back, his principles of simplicity and adaptability to the local environment were astounding. I also acknowledge he was probably the greatest secularist ever in India. The school started with groups called "Xavier" Loyola" and "Britto". He changed it to "Ashoka" " Gandhi" and "Tagore" and, I recall, when we protested as was the fashion then, he said we ought to be proud of our heritage and we would understand this later in life. How do you praise a person of Fr. MORE's status? The MORE we write and speak about him the MORE we realize, it is not good enough. Suffice to say that there are hundreds of his students and admirers all over the world who are flying his flag in the form of good human beings, unflinchingly attributing their own success to the "magnanimous soul." For more tributes, see: Guest Book.
GAUTAM GANGULY (1970) said: August 21, 2007