"On 3rd March 1961, I wrote to Miss Linnell. I had lost myhusband that morning and a Divine Power gave me the wisdom to ask if she would give me a job in Welham as my only child studied there. There could not have been a faster response and she asked me to come to Dehra Dun as soon as I could. August term 1961, I was on the staff of Welham. Miss Linnell was my friend and guide, so deservedly; I addressed her as "Guru". She knew that I had never stepped outside the realms of home; she held my hand and taught me how to face a very different world. " All who knew Miss Linnell, her friends, students and colleagues believe that she had a great sweetness of nature, great freshness of ideas, great generosity of spirit - and so, rightfully, she became my role model. I marveled at her dedication. In every conversation we had I had a lesson to learn. Guru was a Karam Yogi. Nostalgia overtakes me when I think of my years spent in Welham, the love and affection the ex- students give, stories they remember, hilarious incidents they narrate...all of it makes me smile even now..." Mrs. Johar.

JHARE

What better way to say something about Mrs. Johar, than to quote from what she herself wrote and shared. It somehow reduces the loss we all feel at her passing and brings her alive in true "Jhare' form.

To think of Jhare, (a nickname that by no means reduces her size or her spirit), in the past tense, somehow doesn't make any sense at all. She was one of the most alive and vibrant teachers the school has ever known. Iconic, bold, absolutely no-nonsense, and - as was usual in those times - a complete 'character'. One could write a compilation of short stories about Jhare if one were to catch hold of each Welhamite who knew, feared, loved (or hated)... her. So varied are the experiences we had with her and so vibrant the tales.

Uncrowned Queen of No. 6 in her hey-days, Jhare was the epitome of the perfect House Mistress. She could smell trouble brewing before one had even begun to contemplate the thought, she could sense homesickness through the bravest smiles, she could spot an oncoming bout of flu before you could sneeze and she was the true solver of unsolved mysteries, our own Sherlock Holmes!

What was almost uncanny about her was the fact the she knew each child inside out for good or 'bad'. The bad eggs were kept on the shelf and severely watched. Her sharp eyes missed nothing. The good eggs were often invited into her cozy set of rooms at No. 6 and given the occasional treat and exhorted to become examples and leaders. I am certain that no captain ever made it to captainship unless Jhare gave her final and very vigorous nod.

No. 6 was her baby and subsequently her domain, she reigned supreme there and all of us who passed though those hallowed portals, in some ways, became a lot wiser for having known her and been guided by her. She had this knack of suddenly calling out your name when you were in the middle of something exciting and beckoning you with an imperious Jhare finger. Obviously you did not dare to disobey her. You went. What would normally follow would be her putting an arm around your shoulder and talking to you in a philosophical manner. The talks were meant to chide, tell you that she knew what you were up to and to let you know that no matter what, there was hope of redemption! Those talks never failed to bring results.

Although she retired from school several years ago, her presence at every function, her joy at meeting old students - (eventually we all ended up loving her) - her gleeful laugh recounting old stories and her incredible memory for names and faces, kept alive the bond that ex- Welhamites have with Welham. Jhare embodied the guiding spirit of the teachers that made our school so special and so different. We were lucky to have known her.

Some of us were fortunate to have met her about 4 months ago, before she fell very sick. Over an evening that stretched from 2 to 4 hours, Jhare told us stories that had us splitting our sides with laughter and others about her relationship with Lin that brought tears to our eyes. Although she was ill, her shining spirit, her no nonsense attitude and her sense of humour, didn't sag for a minute. Jhare was no loser.

So though this is being written on her passing & we will all miss her sorely. Especially when the Big Celebration, our 50th, rolls around, I cannot call this an obituary. This is purely a celebration of the memories we have of Jhare, a tribute to her spirit, and a salute from every Welhamite, past, present and future, to that inimitable quality that made her who she was...