My dear children, when God created me, He asked me to love and protect you.
Late Sh. Ved Prakash Chauhan
Blessing a young Orientalian
What he believed
He never treated education as a business.
He started the school in April 1960 to love and protect every child. What mattered most to him was that his students grew up to be good human beings.
With his students, years on
A teacher to the last
He never retired.
In accordance with his wishes, his mortal remains were donated to Government Medical College, Jammu, immediately after his demise in 2018, at eighty-six. He had been associated with students throughout his life, and wished to go on serving society by being associated with the medical fraternity of Jammu.
Today's students, below his portrait
The school today
The flame still travels.
Three generations on, the school he built on Afghan Street is still teaching Jammu's children.
In their words
The students who remember him.
Memories shared by students he taught over six decades.
“Mr. V. P. Chauhan who founded Oriental Academy school was a great visionary who laid emphasis on education in a big way. He used to teach English personally and poetry was his favorite subject. He never compromised on the quality of teaching. He recruited staff who dedicated their entire life to this prestigious institution of Jammu and Kashmir. He also ensured that children stayed glued to heritage, culture, and ethics, and besides education learn the basics of life.”
Simranjeet Singh (Sunny) Duabatch of 1983-84, journalist
“He was a visionary for whom teaching was not a profession but a mission. He moulded the destinies of so many students like us. I never came across such a great English teacher again in my life.”
Arunhis student
“Professor Ved Prakash Chauhan was my English teacher at GGM Science College from 1957 to 1959. Respectful regards.”
Bansi Laltaught by him before the school
“Truly blessed to learn from the icons. I can’t forget Chauhan Sir’s poetry, his English literature, and especially his Urdu class, where Sir himself would make the pens, to be sure every student wrote perfectly. He was the epitome of wisdom.”
Mamtabatch of 1996
“I was his student fifty-six years ago. He laid the solid foundation of a school still considered among the best in Jammu, shaping the future of innumerable students.”
Pradeephis student
“Sir once told us: when you grow old, you will remember my words, that classrooms build more than knowledge; they build bonds.”
Avinashhis student
“As a student, I saw him as a strict but caring leader. Later, working under him, I understood him even better: kind, fair, always ready to listen. He led by example and inspired everyone around him.”
Renustudent, later colleague
“When Sir taught poetry, he would get so lost in it that four periods would pass without our noticing, then came the shayari, the jokes, the Dogri stories. Where are such teachers now? Thank you, Sir.”
Jaihis student
“A person of great vision, a pathfinder and a light in the dark for uncountable students. Forgiveness, humility, kindness, inspiration: these he shared with us all. He lived his life for the betterment of his students.”
Karanhis student
“So many sweet memories of this institution from 1965 to 1975, especially the Dalhousie tour, where Sir shared the story of his struggle in establishing this school.”
Shyambatch of 1965-75
“In my whole life I have never seen a principal so heart-touching, so wise an advisor, so disciplined a person as Chauhan Sir. That is my school: Oriental Academy, Afghan Street, Jammu.”
Ashokhis student
“Oriental Academy holds a special place in my heart, and most of all our Principal, Ved Sir. I still remember his English classes, his way of teaching, his discipline, and his kindness.”
