Four Golden Years at FCC
By Syed Ahmad Hashmi October 6, 2008. It all started from an Urdu class where all the young men and women who were Freshmen were sitting observing each other as if they all were on an airbus lost in the clouds. I never knew that this airbus would take me to the heavens in the next couple of years. E-103. Who can forget that room, the appreciation, the encouragement and the noise of the applause after a presentation? Being the class representative in most of the business courses and working in that capacity with all most every business school teacher, I soon realized that this business school would achieve new heights under our Dean Dr Bashir. The Leadership Forum was something which we made an integral part of SoM during our tenure. The students’ interaction increased so much that we had almost 90% voter turnout in every year’s election. The student body grew substantially and there came a time when events like FCC’s Got Talent set new benchmarks in FCC for all societies. The guest speaker culture was groomed by SoM in FCC and today I feel proud when I tune into a TV channel and see an FCC event being telecast as a special recorded broadcast. There was a time when I thought that studying general courses didn’t add much to the degree major subject but it was entirely the opposite. Psychology from Ms Ayesha Ateeq, Man and the Environment from Dr Kanwar Shoaib, Political Science from Ms Shakila Sindhu and Sociology from Mr Ather Azeem were subjects that need to be applauded for their ability to fit into whatever major a student has chosen. FCC showed lots of love and care every day as we made that long walk from the parking lot to E Building. The beautiful trees, the dancing bushes, the melody of the pigeons and the sweetness of the FCC breeze never made me feel that I was there only to study and get a high GPA. An average student throughout my academic career before FC, suddenly getting 97% in my finals in BSc was something unbelievable. Forman Christian College Lahore gave me a lot to cheer about in life. I am now waiting for the day when I give back to this institution the same honour and appreciation it gave to me when I required it the most. If you are a Formanite, you should know how lucky you are. You will realize this once you are out of there and in the real, tough, practical...
A Donkey in the Class
by Alfred Sohan Lall Dr Thoburn used to take a large general Physics class in P-10, maybe three or four sections together. This is the large auditorium on the ground floor of P Block and it has a door leading directly outdoors at one end of the room. During those days there was construction going on in the campus and donkeys were used to bring bricks and gravel and other material. One day a donkey wandered over towards P-10, probably because it felt the cool breeze coming from inside. The students opened the door, brought the donkey in and tethered it to the front of the class. When Dr Thoburn came in, he completely ignored the donkey and proceeded to take attendance. When all the students had been accounted for, he pointed towards the donkey and asked them, “What is the name of this student?” The students felt so embarrassed, that two of them quietly got up and led the donkey out of the auditorium. This story was told to me by Dr Thoburn himself. He was the head of the Physics Department when I joined FC in 1961. Image of donkey is in public domain. Photograph of P-10 in FCC...
The Good Old Days
By Anne Tebbe Kidd By the time my father, Dr Robert Tebbe, accepted an appointment to serve as principal at FC College, my three older brothers had already returned to the US. Instead of a family with five children, my parents moved to Lahore with their two daughters, Anne and Margaret. For me, the move opened up a whole new set of experiences in Pakistan. During the years my father worked at Gordon College in the heart of the bustling city of Rawalpindi, my sister and I had been mostly restricted to our residential compound. Although leaving our friends in Rawalpindi was hard, coming to the spacious peace of FCC campus gave my sister and me freedoms we had never before known in Pakistan. It was a time of building new relationships and having different experiences … like swimming in the campus pool, albeit a pool in desperate need of clean water; biking and walking through the residential parts of the campus without chaperones; and going to movies or bazaars with a new friend (the wife of a junior professor). My mother, a highly social person, had an insatiable interest in knowing and being a friend to all. One memory I have of our time at FCC is the several days of tea parties over the Christmas season that enabled our family to invite all faculty members and their spouses in for a few hours. My mother saw the faculty families as her extended family so she wanted to be sure she had a chance to share a bit of holiday cheer. My sister and I were pressed into service for these teas, which may be why they stand out in my memory. My mother managed the guest list to be sure the faculty whose wives observed purdah could attend by dividing the list so the number of wives in purdah attending each of the days could be accommodated in the study. What has stayed with me since I left Pakistan so many years ago is the feeling of goodwill and community among the staff and families at FCC. I loved our life there. Last month the Tebbe children moved my 92-year old mother who now lives in Lakeland, Florida, USA, from her house to a more convenient apartment. One of my brothers claimed the big tea tray she had kept since her FC College days. It was the tray she said she used to serve “hundreds of cups of tea.” Though hundreds of cups of tea may have been served from her tray, all of us shared memories of the thousands of cups of tea we enjoyed with others...
A Memory
by Muhammed Abdullah Hayat I began my freshmen year at FC College on 7th October 2013. As I entered the campus I remember feeling both excited and a little nervous. It was the start of a new chapter in my life. I was finally a university student. At that moment I had no idea what this institution had in store for me. With every passing day, life at FCC became more and more enjoyable. The great architecture, the amazing people and the wonderful blend of nature made this place my second home. Within a month, I managed to create memories which will last a lifetime. One such memory, which makes me smile every time I remember it, is what I have decided to share here. It was my first week at FCC and I had just come out after taking three consecutive classes. Needless to say, I was exhausted. My friends and I decided to sit at the stands above the cafe. We grabbed some snacks and made our way towards our “adda” as we like to call it. With winter just around the corner, the evening was chilly with a cool breeze blowing. Black clouds had taken over the sky and with every passing moment the wind was catching speed. The main sports ground was full of people enjoying the wonderful weather. With the sound of laughter below and packs of birds hovering above, the sight was simply poetic. I had never seen such a sight in my entire life. My friends and I sat there and just looked. We observed the majestic view of the Armacost Building, the rustling of the trees and the flight of the birds. We observed peace and serenity. It was in that moment that I had a sudden realization. In that overwhelming silence I had my great epiphany. Sitting there, I smiled and said, “Guys, the best four years of our lives have...
What FC Taught Me
by Elishba Abel I honestly have to admit that FC was not my first priority when I considered going to college. It had this negative image in my mind, and I told my dad that the only way I’d go, was if my brother was going with me. Thankfully, he did. Imagine my surprise when I came to FC and found civilized human beings – a far cry from the cave-dwelling, extremist, women-hating people I’d thought existed there. One of my favourite things about being at FC was the fact that the campus was stunning –that every tiny flower bed was full of splashes of colour (the violets!) only made me like the place even more. There were wide open spaces, and much glorious sunshine – even more welcoming that first, cold, winter’s day. Chatting with the gardener in the Rose Garden next to N-block or lolling under the yellow flowered amaltas tree come spring are tied up with my memories of FC’s undeniable charm. I have thoroughly enjoyed my years here. From being challenged by concerned, well-informed teachers, the healthy rivalry with my peers, the making and keeping of new and diverse friendships and being a part of numerous extra-curricular activities on campus. I love how I could walk into any building and find friends, how teachers stopped in the corridors, or in E-square to ‘hang-out’ or answer questions. I liked how the parking lot attendants knew who I was, and how they told us to be careful when we were driving out to Liberty for paratha rolls. How I could ask for, and get, a loan from the cafeteria, how the librarian rolled his eyes when I walked into the library to look for some obscure book. It felt like home – everyone knew everyone, people looked out for you. Text messages went around when Mr Nawaz was on the warpath, notes were photocopied for friends during class time; once a deep and intellectual conversation started in class, both teacher and students were inevitably late for the next period. FC has given me what I wanted from a college experience, at a price my parents were more than happy to, and could, pay. I got to study under teachers who were knowledgeable in their particular fields and who had different world views. I got to interact with people from all across Pakistan and even some places beyond our borders, who represented different strata of society and often from backgrounds very different from mine. I got to act, sing, play a musical instrument, compete in a track event, care for the environment, debate, do social work, do fun-literary things,...
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