St. Joseph's College, Nainital - An Architecture Marvel
You know right you can study on the sets of ‘Koi Mil Gaya’ which is as magical as Hogwarts?
Imagine living in Nainital and studying at one of the very famous boarding schools in India which are so wonderfully built on a hilltop overlooking the hills of Nainital and have their very own history. It’s like living in a dream. The school was established in 1888 as St. Joseph Seminary (presently also known as SEM) by Italian Capuchin Fathers which was later converted to an all Boy’s catholic School – St. Joseph’s College. An ever-growing legacy of this school is now 132 years old. Living by the school’s Latin motto ‘Certa Bonum Certamen’ which translates to ‘Fight a Good Fight’, the alumni of this institution has spread all over the world, thus giving the school’s organization, a reason to never stop and keep growing.
The buildings of SJC represent the then British Colonial Era. The college front of the main building with the two symbolic rocket towers capped with a red pyramid hip roof on both sides can be seen from different parts of the town and for the tourists, it’s a treat to their eyes. Stonemasonry has been used for the walls which stands strong to this day supporting different types of beautiful arches used for the openings of doors and windows. Looking at the college front one can easily spot the Round Arches, Three-Pointed Arches, Four-Centred Arches, and Segmental Arches. After stone, wood is the second-most used building material on the campus. The pitched roof is constructed by wooden rafters and purlins and therefore covered by a wooden false ceiling from the inside. The buildings have huge glass windows and wooden doors. The floors have been covered by wooden planks thus giving the whole structure a Grand British look. Pitched Roofs such as Gable Roof, Cross Gable Roof, and Pyramid Hip Roof have been used as Nainital experiences heavy rainfall during monsoons and heavy snowfall during winters. Stonemasonry columns and I Beam columns can be seen on the ground floor while wooden columns with wooden railings on the first floor supporting the red rooftop.
The school has seven large playfields, a tennis court, a billiards room, a basketball court, a squash court, a quadrangle lawn, a church, a huge auditorium, a gymnasium, three dormitories, Three locker rooms, a swimming pool, a shower area for baths, classes, computer labs, science labs and a large dining hall that can accommodate all the boarders at a single time.
The grandeur of this school is such that many Bollywood films and series had been shot here such as Masoom (1983), Koi Mil Gaya (2003), Breathe – Into the Shadows (2020), and Candy for which the shoot is currently taking place. No kidding! Studying at a boarding school located in Nainital and experiencing great architecture and film shootings at the same time. Isn’t it Magical?
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