Life Back Then

President of the Indian Peoples Theatre Association and a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Ranbir Sinh has lived a multifaceted life as an actor, director, playwright, historian, author, and public intellectual. He resides in Jaipur and is still going strong with his research, writing, and theatre.

Each Princely dynasty in erstwhile Rajputana has its tradition for the coronation of a Prince. The common part is that it takes place twelve days after the death of the ruler, and his eldest son succeeds to the throne. Who should apply the tilak is decided based on political compulsions and historical events. In Bikaner, it is a Godara Jat who applies the tilak. In Jaipur, it is a Susawat Meena who does it, and in Jodhpur, it is the Thakur of Bagdi.

As a young man, I was fortunate to witness the coronation of Hanuwant Singh of Jodhpur in 1947. At that time, Jodhpur was still an independent kingdom, functioning under a treaty with the British. I am sharing my memory of the occasion, with all its twists and drama, below.

Coronation of Maharaja Hanuwant Singh of Jodhpur.  June 1947. Jodhpur.

21st June 1947, Mehrangarh

Dr. Anand - an unholy person born in 1932 in the holy town of Nankana Sahib, central Punjab. A lawyer father, a doctor mother. Peripatetic childhood - almost gypsy style. Many schools. Many friends, ranging from a cobbler's son (poorly shod as the proverb goes) to a judge's son. MB from Glancy (now Government) Medical College Amritsar, 1958. Comet 4 to Heathrow, 1960.
Widower. Two children and their families keep an eye on him. He lives alone in a small house with a small garden. Very fat pigeons, occasional sparrows, finches green and gold drop in to the garden, pick a seed or two and fly away.

This image is from a black and white picture postcard - I came across it in my old papers, a few weeks ago.

The postcard is of a "hill station", as it was known in British India. My father, Shri Amar Nath Anand, a lawyer, was in the habit of going to the hills every summer. This post card, I thought, was of Simla or Mussoorie. Vintage:1930s.

A niece living in India has searched (or researched?) through the internet, and concluded that it was Mussoorie of long ago.

My father was of course a Punjabi, a plainsman.

Jamil Urfi's book 'Biswin Sadi Memoirs, growing up in Delhi during the 1960's and 70's' which is a nostalgic, personal remembrance of the bygone 20^th century or the Biswin Sadi was published last year. Urfi was a campus correspondent for the ‘Times of India' Publication Youth Times during his student days in the 1980's. He has an abiding interest in history, architecture, period publications and popular cinema of the 1960s and 1970s-themes which figure prominently in his latest book. He is a teacher at the University of Delhi.

Editor's note: This is an extract from the author's book 'Biswin Sadi Memoirs, growing up in Delhi during the 1960's and 70's. CinnamonTeal Publishing, Goa, 2018.

Author's note: My family settled in Delhi in 1967. We lived in Nizamuddin East, a residential colony of South Delhi. My neighbours included several Punjabi families, who had been displaced by the Partition, and one Anglo-Indian couple, Mr. &amp\; Mrs. Andrews.  I write about our interaction with the Andrews family in this extract from my book. They lived in the flat just above our house. Though we were reserved with them in our initial communications, with time, living together for nearly two decades, we became close to the Andrews Family.

President of the Indian Peoples Theatre Association and a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Ranbir Sinh has lived a multifaceted life as an actor, director, playwright, historian, author, and public intellectual. He resides in Jaipur and is still going strong with his research, writing, and theatre.

In the British period, the golf course in Jaipur was situated where Hasanpura is now. However, over the years, it disappeared. It was Maharani Gayatri Devi, a tennis player of the standard of Davis Cup, and an excellent, keen golfer, who thought of having a new golf course.

Being a hockey player of the national level, I had always thought that golf was a game for retired older people. I learnt it after I  got married. My father-in-law, Rana Prakaram Jung Bahadur, was a very keen golfer. I had gone to the Allahabad golf course with him, and there he told me to hit some shots. Not knowing anything about golf, I took a No.2 club, which was nearer to the hockey stick, and asked him what I should. He told me that I should place the golf ball nearer to the flag. The first shot was an air one, and the second shot sent the ball miles away. I became a golfer.

One day, Maharani Gayatri Devi expressed her desire of having a golf course. I volunteered to plan the course.

Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur playing golf. 1940s or 50s

Satinder Mullick received his doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in 1965 in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering, with a minor in Economics. He was Director of Economic Planning and Research for Corning Inc., where he worked on different consulting assignments for improving growth and profitability for 30 years. Later, he helped turn around Artistic Greetings (40% owned by American Greetings) and doubled the stock price in four years. He received Lybrand Silver Medal in 1971 from Institute of Management Accountants.

Turbulent times have affected many all over the world. Having met some people from Europe and USA, I realized that some hard times are forcibly imposed, like Holocaust, and some were economically imposed like depression of 1930’s.

Upon reflection, I realized that my family, specially my father and mother, experienced the worst of times during the 1940's -first with World War II, and then with the political change in 1947.

In this article, I write about my school days in Lahore and Delhi, both of which were sweet and sour.

Dharampura

Born and brought up in Jaipur, Chandralekha Mathur received her education at Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls School, and Maharani's College, Jaipur. Married to a tea planter, she lived in the tea growing area of North East India. Reading and writing have all along been my hobbies. After three decades on the plantations, she relocated to Jaipur. Along with some social welfare activities has authored a book on her life in the North East.  She has also been actively involved in the activities of the alumni association of MGD school, and has been the Editor of its newsletter 'Guild Today' for the last 15 years.

Editor's note: This memory was originally written for the coffee table book "70 Glorious Years - MGD Platinum Jubilee" published in 2013.

The Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls School, or MGD as it is usually called, was born on July 4, 1943, amidst the chanting of Sanskrit shlokas invoking the blessings of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Saraswati. It was a significant and auspicious event, and a royal gift from the Maharaja and Maharani of Jaipur to the daughters of the aristocratic families was unwrapped! It was temporarily housed in Madho Vilas, a garden retreat of the Jaipur rulers outside the walled city, with 24 girls of various ages on its rolls.

Being one of the 'First 24' has always been a matter of pride for those who were fortunate enough to enjoy that status.

Sarab Kaur Zavaleta is an American photographer, writer, filmmaker, and journalist. She co-produced the film Altered Minds (2013), starring Judd Hirsch. She is on the Executive Board of the Foreign Press Association in New York City. Born in India, she is a world traveler, speaks six languages, and has three grown children. Her experience includes working as a film editor at the United Nations, involvement in Sikh cultural events in America, chairing UNICEF charity events, serving as a newscaster and interviewer for the cable TV network Bombay Productions, acting in indie productions. More information at:  https://www.seamlyfilms.com/

Editor's note: Sarab is looking for funding and a producer/filmmaker/director to make a film based on this story. Please contact her at seamlyfilms@gmail.com or szavaleta2@gmail.com.

Sardar Khazan Singh, author's paternal grandfather. Lahore. 1880s.

I was a little girl in 1947 during the Partition, and although I remember a couple of isolated events, I did not understand what was going on. Why all the grownups seemed so agitated and careful about where they went and who they talked to. Normal talk within the house often turned to whispers.

Lahore, a place of fun, grace, culture and education had suddenly changed in 1947. The place where we roamed happily and fearlessly at all hours was suddenly different. Each day, it had become like a ghost town. We dared not go out alone. We dared not stay out till dark. We dared not go to unfamiliar and faraway places. The picnics, the late night cinemas, biking and roaming around in the parks were now full of danger.

So I started going to college not via Muzang Road, but via Temple Road and Mall, which was a longer route, but safer. Vachhowali Clinic in the walled city was out of bounds because that part of the city was full of danger. We took extra precautions and looked over our shoulders all the time so much.

By summer, we did not dare to enter our college across the road from the hospital, where we were now staying for our clinical training. For safety reasons, the female students were given lodgings in the only children's hospital in the country, yet to be opened. We were now prisoners confined within the hospital premises. At night, we huddled together and locked our rooms. When we went to the washrooms, we went in pairs guarding each other, in case an undesirable person was lurking around and made entry from the stairs below. Any unfamiliar sound scared us. We were like frightened little children.