Jaipur house - originally known as Thomas House, moved into its present buildings on 27th of March 1937.

 

Mr. C.L. Howell was the first housemaster. He stayed in the house till 1941, when he joined the Gorkhas and went on to be ordained as a priest. Twenty boys were transferred from the three existing houses as 'Pilgrim Fathers'. They formed the nucleus of which the forty new boys were rapidly organized to form the new house. Mr. Lovraj Kumar, who later became the chairman of the board of governors, was one of those twenty. In 1947 Jaipur House held 69 boys out of the total strength of 300 of the school.
The postponed founders day of 1939 was held in the courtyard of Jaipur House in 1940 with Sir V.T. Krishnamachari as the chief guest. It was perhaps the only instance of the founders being held in the premises of the house.
Mr. V.N. Kapur took over as the housemaster from Mr. Thomas. He was the person who set the P.T and the games system of the school. He was succeeded by Mr S.C. Roy and I joined the house in 1959 in his tenure. After that it was Mr. Gurdial Singh, the inimitable guru of the Indian mountains. He was a superb geography teacher and everyone learnt from his knowledge of birds and the trees. He took over in 1963 and it was in his time that the house was divided into two parts 'A' and 'B'. Guru continued as housemaster of Jaipur 'A' while K.C. Gupta took over as housemaster of Jaipur 'B'. His athletic skills were well known. Five years later, Mr S. Kandhari, a tutor of Jaipur B became the housemaster of Jaipur 'A'. Charlie, with his brown swimming shorts and a coffee mug was quite well known to the boys. He may have sounded strict and stern but he was very understanding and one of the most tolerant housemasters. I, a tutor of Jaipur A became the housemaster of Jaipur B. I, for some reason had acquired the name 'Bond' and that name has stuck with me ever since. We had a very happy house at that time, winning almost everything in school. When Mr. Kandhari left, it was Sheel Sharma, an old boy and a student of mine who became my colleague. He was a 'super' sportsman. I continued till I handed over to another old boy and ex-Jaipur house boy Sumer Singh who ran the house for a year before going off to Sanawar. He handed over to Mr. Sunil David who in his quiet way was running the house while Sheel Sharma became the Dean of Activities and handed over to Mr. Philip Burrett whose passion for cross-country was well known. He trained the boys in a very nice way and we won the competition many times under him. While Mr. David succeeded Mr. Sheel Sharma as Dean of Activities, Mr. Jayant Hari Har Lal, another old boy and a student of mine who came from Hyderabad house and was absorbed into the Jaipur House culture immediately. He went on to become the Deputy Headmaster and Mr. L. J. Dias became the housemaster of JB. Over a period of time, Jaipur House functioned as one house with two housemasters. It has had a unique way of putting things across. In 2003 we reverted to a single housemaster, Mr. S. Dargan, and added a deputy housemaster, Mr. K.L. Ahuja, to carry on the good work.
The house was divided in 1970 but in Jaipur house the division was more physical than anything else. We were the only house which retained a common "common room" and remained one in spirit as well. This feature has helped the house to grow in every sphere and made the EAGLE soar higher and higher.
On the physical side the old dinning room was originally converted into living rooms and later into our common room and library. The "cutlet" in memory of a vivacious old boy of the same nickname serves as a eatery and cooking corner. There used to be a verandahs and a small terrace on Jaipur B side as well but these were converted into toyes on the ground floor and living space on the first floor. All vehicles used to be parked in the leechi grove and weren't allowed into the majestic courtyard. The single tree served as a wicket for many a generation of promising cricketers. The badminton courts near the leechi trees on the JA side were maintained well and were regularly used. There was a volleyball court as well.
Many changes have occurred but the basic character of Jaipur House has not changed. Many of our old boys have distinguished themselves in various fields and I can recall quite a few but my main endeavour here is to remember all of them who have passed out of the portals of this house and wish them all the best wherever they may be.