Childhood in flames: Churni

The main building of the institution before the blaze with the junior section (in circle). Picture by Suman Tamang

Rajeev Ravidas and Vivek Chhetri, TT, Feb. 12: Dow Hillians reacted with shock and sadness at the junior section's destruction.

Actor-cum-director Churni Ganguly said when she had first heard about the fire from a forester friend posted in Gorumara in the Dooars, she thought it couldn't be for real. "Then I thought the gentleman (who gave her the news) couldn't be telling untruth. My heart wrenched. It was like a part of my childhood going up in flames. It hurts. It is like losing someone close to you. Even if something swanky comes up in its place, I will not be able to relate to it. When we were there, we could hear the creek in every plank of the wood (on the floors) we stepped on...,"said Churni, who passed out of Dow Hill in 1985.

For students like Robin Thapa, who studied in the early 70s, watching his alma mater burn right before his eyes was extremely painful.

"I reached the school barely half-an-hour after the fire was first noticed. It was an incredibly sad moment to see my old school burning right in front of me...When the first of the fire tenders arrived after the entire building was engulfed in flames, I couldn't help but shout at the fire fighters for coming late. It was a small fire tender ill-equipped to tackle such an inferno," said Thapa, who lives near the school.

Many ex-students of Dow Hill and its brother school Victoria Boys' School put up the picture of the school buildings on their Facebook profiles. Social media was full of messages expressing sadness from the school's alumni spread across the world.

The school started functioning in 1879 from a house called Constantia near Kurseong town with 15 boys and girls and was later shifted to the present site in Dow Hill.

Bardaan Sinchuri, a local resident, said: "I was on the school premises around 7.30pm and everything was fine. The renovation of the building was going on. Suddenly, I heard that it was up in flames. A lot of local people came here and tried to help in whatever way they could. However, nothing much could be done as the fire spread fast due to the wind."