A Stroll Down Memory Lanes

By Jairamchandran Iyer

My Homecoming
little over 3 decades ago, I remember 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 population 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 Empire, 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.

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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. Mukherjee who had a flair in the subject to the extent that his mere classroom lectures were enough for us to get the chapters right into our memories. With Mukherjee Sir on command, the class used to observe pin drop silence. 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 October 2011 and I was touched when he recognized me instantly 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.

Moments of Nostalgia

hat 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 become so hectic and time such a costly commodity. 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 surroundings and culture to be just the same.

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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. A walk down the same track and having a glimpse of the current 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 professional and personal lives. Credit invariable goes to this institution and our revered teachers who groomed us properly with the right approach.

he 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 happened 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 performing 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. Mishrajithe Principal currently holding charge of this institution. Such was the ideology of our school that aimed at all round development of its pupils. 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

Familiar Landmarks still fresh in memory

ivine 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 for her 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.

Another famous landmark in Bilaspur is the Swamy Narayan Temple near Budhwari Bazaar. It houses all Hindu deities inside 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 experienced in this wonderful town from childhood till adolescence. I recommend everyone to visit this beautiful small town having people loving and giving.

Feeling Punch of Old Wine in new era

udhwari 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 wheeler auto 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. If my memory does not deceive me, I remember 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 electric locomotive was yet to make its entry and the trains used to run on steam engines. The Bombay 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 accommodation in the town. It was real fun catching up with old memories once again.