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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.
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