Ajmer

Kenneth Hugh Staynor was  born at Madhupur on 16 September 1927. In 1929, his family went to the United Kingdom, and returned to India in 1931 to Kurseong, where his father was a teacher, and later Headmaster, at  Victoria School.  Kenneth was educated at St. Josephs College, Darjeeling, and St Mary's High School, Mount Abu. He left India in August 1951 for permanent residence in the UK to get into research and development in engineering, which was not available in India, and because his ancestral roots were in the UK. He lives in South Wales after retirement. His wife passed away in January 2010\; he has three sons, five grandsons, five granddaughters and one great granddaughter.

Editor's note: This is part of a chapter from Mr. Staynor's forthcoming book. A shorter version this article first appeared at http://irfca.org/apps/trip_reports/show/410.

1943 saw a significant change in my life.

Before that I had got used to life in relative civilisation in places like Calcutta, Darjeeling, Delhi and Simla and several towns on the East Indian Railway where there was mains electricity, running water on tap and proper up to date sanitary arrangements such as flush toilets, et cetera!

Tilak Mathur is a PhD in English Literature with specialisation in the British poet and playwright T. S. Eliot. Tilak is very actively engaged with social and charitable work in and around Jaipur. Basically a homemaker, she came into her own as a natural leader when she got an opportunity to lead. She lives in Jaipur with her husband Subhash. She often travels to Ahmedabad and USA where her two sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren live.

When I was a child, my mother, Rummni Devi Bhatnagar, narrated many stories about her Nanaji (her mother's father), Shri Gauri Shankarji, a Barrister stationed at Ajmer. What fascinated me was not his profession. I was more awed by the description of one his havelis and tam tam (4-horse carriage). My interest in his background grew when my son Gaurav became a lawyer. I was happy to have a pedigreed advocate

Recently, at a family meeting in Ajmer, I became aware of a handwritten document that had been written about Gaurishankarji by his son, Shri D. G. Verma. (The document was with Shri Surendar Shankar Bhatnagar, son of Shri D. G. Verma. Shri Bhatnagar, now about 93 years old, lives in Ajmer, and is still quite active. He has provided all the materials and photos in this story.)

The document appears below. As you will see, several parts of the document are illegible, and there does not appear to be a proper conclusion. Still, it tells a fascinating tale that Is more than 125 years old.

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.

At the end of the Second World War it was decided to host the World Jamboree of Boy Scouts. The battlegrounds where the fierce battles were fought in north of France were selected as the venue. In all about 70,000 Boy Scouts from all over the world attended it. The Indian contingent consisted of 165 Boy Scouts from all parts of India. The Rajasthan contingent consisted of seven Boy Scouts from Mayo College, Chanchal Singh, Nahar Singh, Prithivi Singh, Bhim Singh, Guman Singh and myself, and Aftab from Jamia Miliya of Ajmer. Jasdev Singh and Kaul (I have forgotten his first name} from Jaipur State, and in Nasrulla from Bombay's Daly College joined us. Mr. Dhanmal Mathur of Mayo College was our Scout Master. Mr. Thadeus was the leader of the Indian contingent.