26 May,2026 08:23 AM IST | Mumbai | Shriram Iyengar
Freddie Mercury, the iconic songwriter, composer, musician, and frontman of Queen. PIC/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
In 2013, when Brian Robbins took over as principal of St Peter's School, Panchgani, he had more than one reason to be excited about the job. Robbins was fascinated with the school's most famous student, Farrokh Bulsara, aka Freddie Mercury, the iconic frontman of the English rock band Queen, of whom he was a fan. Now, in his second stint at the helm, Robbins has been working on a memorial gallery in the school and hopes that it will be a space for music lovers and historians alike.
In 1953, an eight-year-old Farrokh Bomi Bulsara arrived at Panchgani from Zanzibar, Tanzania. He spent eight years at the school before returning to Zanzibar and later moving to England.
Freddie Mercury (third from left) with classmates
Robbins admits that few of his surviving classmates admit to knowing him well. However, he is trying to reach out to the surviving members of Mercury's first-ever musical venture, The Hectics. "We know of two people, one in Nepal and another in Pune, that we hope to speak to in the near future," he added.
Brian Robbins, principal of St Peter's School, Panchgani
Robbins began working towards the gallery early in his first stint. "In 2013, I first started looking around. The starting point was when I found a portion of a burned grand piano that had survived a fire in the erstwhile Music Room," he stated. Unknown to many, it was also the instrument on which generations of students, including Mercury, would learn music.
A rare photo of Mercury reclining on a bench as a student
The gallery is housed in the Visitors' Room, once the Art Room for the boys at the school. "Incidentally, we later discovered a photograph of Freddie reclining on a wrought iron bench, quite stylishly, if I may add. Imagine my surprise to learn that the bench was situated right outside the Visitors' Room," said the principal.
A view of the memorial gallery honouring Freddie Mercury
Photographs and rare documents, including Mercury's school leaving certificate and the school's annual registry, which bears the singer's name, have been framed on the walls. An avid LP collector, the principal is also seeking vintage Queen vinyl records to add to a listening space in the gallery.
While the vocalist's historical connection to the school has been well explored, it has attracted little local attention, Robbins admitted. "I was surprised to learn that Freddie had visited Panchgani in the late 1970s. It astounded me to learn that no one took any photographs, created memorabilia, or asked him to sign anything. I am still trying to locate if there was anyone who could help with it," he said.
The standing piano on which the rock star learned music as a boy
Open to visitors, the school has already seen a few young rock fans drop in over the years. "Such legacies present a valuable opportunity to nurture music as an integral part of co-curricular learning, and St Peter's remains committed to preserving it," Robbins concluded.
