Life Back Then

Kanwarjit Singh Malik was born in Rawalpindi in 1930. His family moved to India at the time of Partition in 1947. He joined the Flying Club in Jalandhar, and was later selected by the Indian Air Force. After the retirement from the Air Force, he served as a senior captain in Air India and Air Lanka. He got married in 1961, In 2011, when they were living in Chandigarh, his wife fell ill, and passed away in spite of the best available medical aid. Then, his daughters, who live in Dubai, California and Hong Kong, requested him to move back to his old flat in Mumbai, as it was easier for them to visit him there. He passed away in Mumbai on July 24th, 2017 fulfilling his desire to visit his Rawalpindi one last tim.

Editor's note:  After Captain Malik's passing away, this story has been finalized with the help of Gurpreet Singh Anand, who had accompanied Captain Malik to Rawalpindi. In the original text, Captain Malik had quoted Gurpreet: "For us brothers who had got a 30-day visa [for Pakistan] after much persuasion the trip was solely to go down memory lane. I am content we made your dream come true, for there is no greater satisfaction than taking someone to the place he is born and yearned for all his life .That one's wish is fulfilled is indeed a blessing."

Gurpreet has facilitated another story about pre-Partition Rawalpindi, available here.

I was born in Bannu, NWFP to Mr. Hira Nand Batra and Mrs. Subhashvati (aka Mukandi Bai Banga). I studied at IIT Madras (B Tech Chem E 1964 1^st Batch); IIT BHU (M Tech 1966), Taught at IIT BHU and IIT Delhi before going to University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada in 1968. Got my PhD in 1973 and moved to USA. I served at PEDCO-Engineering Firm and Procter & Gamble in various Business Units. Retired in 2000 as Associate Director R&D from Health Care, P&G.

I was only 5 years of age at the time of partition. What I remember are the stories and tales from the family elders. I got input from my elder brother, Dr. Subhash K Batra, Distinguished Professor, Non-Wovens Technology, North Carolina State University, NC.

Subhash K Batra (Extreme Left), Balraam Chacha Ji (Extreme Right) Circa 1941/1942

I was born in Bannu (NWFP) in a Batra family - my Mom came from a Banga family in Bannu.

Senior members of the Banga family. Mum Baba, Pam Baba (seated), Nutty Baba in Bannu
Pam Baba holding Picture of Khushal Chand Banga (Nana Ji)

Bal Anand was born in 1943, in a village about 20 km south of Ludhiana, in a family of saint-scholars who practised Ayurveda. Graduated from DAV College, Jalandhar, and did Master in English Literature from Govt. College, Ludhiana. After a stint for a few years as lecturer, joined the Indian Foreign Service. Served in nine different countries and retired as India's High commissioner to New Zealand. Now reading, reflecting and writing in nest in Greater Noida.

The result of my Matriculation Examination, the life-defining culmination of the ten years of studies in school, then conducted by the Panjab (note spellings) University, Chandigarh, was declared on 16^th of June in 1959. When introduced in 1897 - with 1,779 candidates declared successful - by the then Punjab University, Lahore, the examination used to cover the entire original-i.e. the Punjab of Five Rivers- and also included the vast territories of the native states of the region.

Ashok Khanna has a B.Sc. (Econ) from London University, an MBA and PhD from Stanford. He has worked with Deloitte Touche (London, New York), taught at New York University's Stern Graduate School of Business, and worked for more than 25 years for the World Bank. He got his first chance to travel out of India when he was seventeen and has not stopped traveling since. In 1998, he began to sporadically write travelogues for friends. These essays increased over time as he traveled more after retiring, and also cover other interests.  Bloomsbury will publish his book on Emperor Ashoka in India in 2019.

Center, family retainer.  Right, Brindaban Nath Khanna, my paternal grandfather sitting on chair with my father, Mohan Lall Khanna, on his lap. Left, my father's sister (my aunt). Lahore. 1910

y grandfather was meticulously hard working. It was said in the family that one could tell what time it was by seeing what he was doing.

My maternal grandfather, with my mother Sushila. Meerut. c. 1920.

My maternal uncle. Meerut. c. 1925-30

Subodh Mathur and Sfoorti Mathur, with help from Rakshat Hooja, have co-edited and published a book India Before Independence: Memories. This is a collection of true stories related to the lives of people before India became independent in 1947. In a few stories the narrative continues beyond India's independence. There are 31 contributing authors. They are Indians from different parts of India, Britishers, and one Pakistani.

The stories are based on the memories of the authors, which we know are sometimes fuzzy and selective. Some of the memories are about national events, some are personal remembrances, and some are mini biographies.

The purpose of collecting the stories in this book is to convey a sense of life as it happened during the pre-Independence years. We hope older readers will find the book nostalgic, while younger ones will enjoy the personalized narrative of history.

The stories originally appeared on this website. There are many more pre-Independence and post-Independence stories on this website.

Cover Page. 2019
Top. Left, A Punjabi couple in Lahore 1930s. Right, A man from Rajasthan who went to Assam as a teenager in the 1980s
Bottom. Left, A Bengali woman, 1930s. Right, a Kannada family, early 1900s
Middle. Left, A Parsi gentleman, 1940s. Right, An Agra woman's wedding proposal photo, 1930s

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.

Editor’s note: This material has been provided by Camy Rea, who is a descendant of the Herrmann family.

SILVER YEARS OF SERVICE

THE CALL!  "Go Ye"

On January 6, 1903 at two o'clock in the morning, on my, knees, l volunteered to become a

Editor’s note: This material has been provided by Camy Rea, who is a descendant of the Herrmann family.

Dear friends:

Each year on 15th August when Independence Day is celebrated, most people are not even aware of the price their elders paid to get freedom. Of course, it is an occasion to celebrate, because after years of struggle, Indians were at last successful in attaining freedom. It is a cause of rejoicing since they were able to free from the clutches of the foreign rule. I am glad for the younger generations, who are now able to have their own laws, own rules, own government and freedom without being dictated by the foreigners. They must rejoice because they are now able to have own president, own prime minister, own ministers. They should be happy because they are now a free people in a free country with an end of foreign rule.

Jay Khandeker is B.E. (Mechanical Engineering) from B.H.U. Varanasi (1959), and M.S. (Industrial Engineering) from Purdue University, Indiana (1964). He worked in senior executive positions with many large organizations including Tata Motors Limited, Pune, Arcelor Mittal, Mexico, and LPL Financials, San Diego. Now retired, he lives in San Diego CA.

This story is about a person who led an exceptional life, devoted to bettering the facilities for handicapped and blind people.

Lal Advani. c. 1950

"I have always stood by moral principles and strict integrity. This integrity did not always pay. This was the influence of my father who had told me when I was leaving home to pick up a job in Dehra Dun to be strictly honest and work so hard that nobody would think of terminating my services."

Lal Advani (1923-2005 - not to be confused with Lal Krishna Advani, the politician) was blind since his childhood. Lal being blind seems almost irrelevant, though commendable, when you consider his achievements. He was a blind child in India in the 1930s, when blind people were neglected, considered burden to the society, had no schools to go to, and often considered worse than untouchables. Think about this background when you consider his accomplishments!