Armenian College
The Refurbishment Programme
Armenian College
The Refurbishment Programme
Contact Details:
The Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy (ACPA):
56B, MIRZA GHALIB ST. KOLKATA (Calcutta), India
E-mail:
armeniancollege@yahoo.com
website: http://www.armeniancollege.in
Manager: Very Rev. Father Oshagan Gulgulian
The school refurbishment programme is a long term on going project. Below are some pictures of just some of the things going on to improve the fabric of the school.
 These buildings at the far end of the school grounds are being converted into a large laundry area. |
 Eventually the laundry area will contain industrial style washing and drying machines, and an area where the children will be able to pick up freshly laundered and pressed clothes |
 The school building is old and during the heavy rains the roof leaks very badly. This shows the roof being completely refurbished in the hope that when the rains come the building will be water-tight |
 Up on the roof there is accommodation for staff and at the far end (to the right of this picture out of view) is also a small dormitory for some older boys to give them a little more freedom and independence |
 This shows one of the terrace rooms being refurbished. Again done to the same high standard as all the other refurbishments. This room has a self-contained kitchen area with a large shower and toilet, it will eventually be allocated to a member of staff. |
This shows a different style of staff accommodation on the terrace
nearing completion. Toilet and shower to the left, kitchen through
the arch. |
 Staff accommodation. Ceramic flooring and simple painted walls will finish this room off. Air conditioning units are being introduced around the school as the refurbishment programme progresses. |
My favourite part of the current refurbishment programme has to be the junior dormitory. It has under-gone the most drastic of transformations from the stark cold unwelcoming interior to this wonderful modern child-friend room. It could be any child's' bedroom - just on a BIGGER scale!
I cannot begin to describe how much of a major achievement this is, and will therefore let the pictures tell the story but personally, I think it is nothing short of a miracle that so much renovation has been completed in such a relatively short space of time to the highest of standards in a country that is not as fortunate as other countries in terms of skills and facilities. It is my belief that Fr. Gulgulian and the current management and staff/teaching team, along with the extremely and constantly supportive Armenian Church Committee in Kolkata have perhaps, unwittingly formed the best cohesive partnership that the school has ever seen. Certainly records do not show that any other manager has achieved so much at the school in the same short time frame of three years, yet against all odds, this school really is becoming a school to take on the challenges of the 21st century. The children, having been given this new and invigorating environment in which to live, must now raise their own game and standards from an academic view point and utilise every new and exciting educational opportunity that comes their way.
 Any ex student of the AC will find all this quite familiar |
 I'm told it hasn't changed much over the years! |
 so far, this is all the boys have known. |
 The jungle theme on the walls goes all the way round the dormitory. New and refurbished furniture will soon be in, and so will the children! |
 Plenty of interest and colour to feed the imagination of the younger children |
 New double glazed windows have also been installed, and plenty of electric sockets are installed in the walls. |
 A nice touch, and no doubt a comfort to the children, are the night lights built into the walls either side of the main doorway
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 Every picture tells a story!
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 To add some interest to the flooring these ceramic panels have been inserted randomly in the dormitory. It helps to make the overall effect warm and welcoming for the children |
before (above)
Through a door at the end of the junior dorm is this area which will include a small facility for the children to wash small items of clothing, without having to go to the main laundry service. Right: the modern shower area |
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 old style |
 new style |
 old style (above) new style (below) |
showers old style (above) |
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 Next to the older boys dorm, this newly refurbished room is ear-marked to be the school infirmary. It will have a 6 bay bed area, with a doctor consulting area and be fully equipment to cover most eventualities. Right: toilet and shower area in the infirmary |
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 A new generator was delivered on the back of a lorry. A piece of equipment that has been long overdue. The old generator just couldn't cope with the requirements of the modern day electricity demands of the school, but this one will manage very easily. |
 Slowly it was manoeuvred into place |
 Father Gulgulian is never far away and was on hand to ensure that the generator was being placed in exactly the right position, attention to detail being upper-most in his mind with this, and all the other parts of the refurbishment programme |
It isn't just the fabric of the school that is being overhauled, the lessons, curriculum and academic activities are constantly being reviewed and if necessary revised to suit the educational plans and requirements of the system in which the school participates. One area that Fr. Gulgulian has spent a lot of time and effort on is the re-development of the school library which, over the years has found its contents sadly depleted. Only recently did I find a reference to the well stocked Ararat Library (for that is what is was known as) in a book written by Mesrovb Seth in 1895 in which he stated:
"In 1890 Mr. F. Conybeare and his wife went to India in a search of old Armenian manuscripts. He visited the Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy in Calcutta, which at one time had on its shelves more than a thousand valuable Armenian volumes, many of them in manuscript.
After looking at the title pages of one or two Armenian books (one of which was printed at Madras in 1773) he then requested to see the manuscripts, and was visibly disappointed on learning that they had long ago disappeared, no one knew where”
It is hard to believe that over a 1000 Armenian manuscripts once graced the library of the Armenian College and it does beg the question as to where they went, and who took them sometime prior to 1890. However, historical and significant books and documents may have passed through the school, but today a major concerted effort is being made to restock the library of good and various books on all subjects. Library software has been introduced and every book is now on the school library database. There is a full time librarian who, in conjunction with Fr. Gulgulian is systematically transforming a disorganised and shambolic library into something that the students can use and gain a great deal from. Further improvements with additional computer stations are planned for this year and who knows, maybe 50 years from now the library will once again have some good works sitting on its shelves.
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Then in 2005 |
Now in 2008 |
 The school hall in 2005 |
 and in 2008 |
 The school kitchen in 2005 |
 and in 2008 |
 the water cooler in the dining room in 2005 |
 and in 2008 |
 the school library in 2005 |
 and in 2008 |
 One of the classrooms in 2005 |
 and in 2008 |
