stroll down memory lanes

8/3/2019 Stroll Down Memory Lanes

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By Jairamchandran Iyer

A Stroll Down Memory Lanes

[Photo caption]

Sir had excellent dissection skill as I remember we students

tried our hands at frog dissection even at home. I got the

opportunity to meet Mukherjee Sir after 30 years in Octo-

ber 2011 and I was touched when he recognized me in-

stantly without me giving any kind of formal introduction. I

spent about 2 hours with Sir and shared the feelings of

good old days. Mukherjee Sir will always have a special

place in the hearts of all students as we take pride to offer

the due respect Sir deserves from us.

My Homecoming

Alittle over 3 decades ago, I remem-

ber my life in a small townBilaspur

formerly coming under Madhya

Pradesh in India and today a part of

Chhattisgarh. Those were the days when the

country did not experience massive popula-

tion fury and time used to be a sweet pie.

The only school in the town following English

curriculum was the S.E.Railway Mixed

Higher Seondary School (English Medium).

Built in 1903 by the erstwhile British Em-

pire, the institution was started for children

of Railway employees which was thrown open

for the general public with the passage of

time. The red building standing besides the

Cricket Stadium near to the Railway Station

is a heritage of its kind even today. From

1969 till 1977, I was one of its student when

Mr. K.N.Rai happened to be our Principal.

With inborn leadership instinct, he was an administrator par excellence. Nicknamed by the students as Tiger he had

a robust tone and his mere sight produced chill to the spine no less than an electric current. The teaching staff was

an amalgamation of senior teachers and middle aged staff. We used to idolize our Biology Teacher, Mr.B.S. Mukher-

jee who had a flair in the subject to the extent that his mere classroom lectures were enough for us to get the chap-

ters right into our memories. With Mukherjee Sir on command, the class used to observe pin drop silence.


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[Photo caption]

A walk down the same track and having a glimpse of the cur-

rent breed of aspiring pupils made me believe the reality in

Gita. WHAT WAS OURS YESTERDAY IS THE PRESENT FOR

THESE YOUNGSTERS THAT WOULD BECOME TOMORROW

FOR THE COMING GENERATION. CHANGE IS NATURES

DESIGN. Today our batch mates are successful in their pro-

fessional and personal lives. Credit

invariable goes to this institution and

our revered teachers who groomed us

properly with the right approach.

Moments of Nostalgia

What attracts many visiting our

school is the greenery in and

around its premises. While we

used to trudge along this narrow

lane through the olive background during

school days in the 1970s, we had little clue

that in the decades to follow, life would be-

come so hectic and time such a costly com-modity. Having a limited area, the school

could not accommodate all classes, hence

took over the neighboring Railway office

where the institution housed the primary

section. Those were the days when majority

students had to ply the distance from home

to school and back by walk and the few lucky

students had the privilege of bicycle. This

luck eluded me till I went to class IX. Today

after 3 decades, I could find the surround-

ings and culture to be just the same.

There used to be cluster of students in groups during recess in this road with each cluster involved within themselves.

That lovely sight of yesteryears came racing to my mind when I found a small cluster of present day students right in

the middle of the road. Annual examination would bring the

strange sweet fever into many of us. The day result used to

be declared was both thrilling and enchanting. Waving the

result cards in our hands we had the world going with us.


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I was little scared of Maam Prakash who

taught us Hindi. She was very particular to

check home assignments of her pupils where I

used to invariably get caught on the wrong foot

being a habitual home work defaulter. It is her

teachings which made me very strong in Hindi

vocabulary today despite being a Tamilian. On

meeting Prakash Maam after all these years,

all I had to offer was sincere thanksgiving for

all the hard work she had

put on me while I was

weak in her subject.

Maam had tears in her

eyes and so had I like

mother and son meeting

after long time.

Smelling essence of yester years

The dais from where our Principal would

address our daily assembly. It used to

begin with the national song Vande

Mataram and end on Current Events

anchored by top rankers from every class opting

to speak voluntarily. This was also the stage for

hosting the schools Annual Function which hap-

pened to be the elite show for all Bilaspurians to

witness with pride. G.Uma Mahesh, one of our

classmates was invariably everyones unanimous

choice when it came to singing. He had a silken

tone and at his best, one could never make out if

it was Mahesh or Rafi Saab himself singing the

melody. There were also some girl students per-

forming the local chattisgarhi dance show which I

can remember even today as I stand on the same

stage with my batch mates along with Mr. Mish-

rajithe Principal currently holding charge of this

institution. Such was the ideology of our school that aimed at all round development of its pupils.


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Another famous landmark in Bilaspur is the Swamy Narayan

Temple near Budhwari Bazaar. It houses all Hindu deities in-

side its premises and devotees throng this temple in large

numbers with the dawn of every day to make it meaningful.

The temple surrounding has such a pure aroma that you never

feel like going out of it. Chanting of religious slokas amidst

occasional chime of the temple bells reminds one about the

rich culture India is known for. Today the memories have

come alive dew fresh into my mind as

I feel proud about the stage I experi-

enced in this wonderful town from

childhood till adolescence. I recom-

mend everyone to visit this beautiful small town having people loving and giving.

Familiar Landmarks still fresh in memory

Divine land of Bilaspur is the ancient

Marimai Temple situated on the

other side of the Railway Station.

Very little is clearly known regarding

the origin about this temple but what is unique

is WISHES GET FULFILLED IN THIS TEMPLE IF

ASKED WITH SINCERE DEVOTION. It is also

believed that Divine Mother provides cure forher devotees suffering from any kind of illness

or trouble. A pleasant calmness is experienced

once you are inside this temple .A glimpse of

Divine Mother makes you feel her soothing

touch in your person. The neem tree just at

the temple entrance is still in its original place

which provides cooling effect to the mind and

body if you sit under its shades. This temple is

the termination point of one end of the town

limits. During school days, we would often

come here for picnic in the neighboring green orchard where sweet berry would grow by itself. There is also a pond

next to the temple which is eye catching amidst the temple background.


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If my memory does not deceive me, I remem-

ber our stay in the Type-3 Railway Quarters in

an area called Chuchiapara near to the railway

station. This was sometime between 1969 to

1972 while my father was posted in Bilaspur.

The railway line being close to our house, we

could see every train pass through day in and

day out. Those were the days when the elec-

tric locomotive was yet to make its entry and

the trains used to run on steam engines. TheBombay Howrah Mail was the most prestigious

train during that time.

We could witness the

gradual transition first to

the diesel category and later on to electric locomotive seen currently in action. My fathers

transfer to Jagdalpur forced us to vacate this railway quarter and move to a rented accommo-

dation in the town. It was real fun catching up with old memories once again.

Feeling Punch of Old Wine in new era

Budhwari Bazaaras the name implies used

to be a fun fair on Wednesdays, however

for the railway employees, this it was the

only choice available for shopping. Travel

on a horse cart or tonga as adressed in the local

limbo used to be the cheapest mode of transport

those days with the next available mode being the

slightly expensive cycle rickshaw. Three wheelerauto rickshaws made their entries in the early 80s

One could get farm fresh vegetables in this market

on every Wednesday and if I remember correctly,

we could shop the weekly stock of vegetables for

less than 25 rupees. There used to be the famous

Lalu Hotel which would always have customers

waiting for their turn to get piping hot samosas

with mouth watering tamarind sauce. One could

also get crisp and tasty jalebis taken hot from the pan under hearth. Experiencing everything on return to this beautiful

town was both nostalgic and thrilling.

stroll down memory lanes

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