Queen Mary's Institute, Pune
Painted on a red-and-blue sign in the compound of the former army camp outside Bombay, dotted with stone buildings that served as bar- racks during the Great War, is a verse translated from the Sanskrit, a message of hope to wounded war veterans. 'Although hurt (stricken or maimed), I grow, become young again, and thus offer shade, flowers and fruit in the service of humanity'.
The mono was chosen by Lady Willingdon for a school that she opened in 1917 to train Indian soldiers who had lost legs and suffered other disabling injuries in the First World War.
In the visitor's book, each page decorated with a border of lotuses and rural scenes, is the message 'With all good wishes and profound admiration'. The signature is Lady Edwina Mountbatten's. The date, February 1st, 1957. Other signatures include Jawaharlal Nehru in 1959 and his daughter, Indira Gandhi in 1963.
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