1945-50

1945-50

The war is over and prices went up, and there was a talk of independence movement, but our school was on one class after another, new books and smell of question papers, new class teachers, sometimes new students and teachers. One new hindi teacher came from Bihar and asked us to write in reed pens which he sold at four annas, which was a lot in those days. He spoke only in hindi, which I used to understand how I do not know. One day my father came home and found that I am conversing with a kabuliwala negotiating fruit prices, when he asked me how do I understand his language and I had no reply? Books I could read without difficulty since the alphabets were in my memory from the trivasi. Another memorable event of my life was cycle, which was fascinating that it can move with two wheels. Since I was pretty tall I used a verandah to climb the cycle and cycle off, and never like my brothers hopping from a pin attached to the back axle, or by cross riding like the girls.

Then came ’47 when India became independent and I was in eighth class meaning proper high school, with different fascinating subjects like science, addl maths, and sanskrit. As usual I used to be bad in history but brilliant in geography and used to pass, as they were one paper. My usual roaming around alone continued only in holidays, which gave me a lot of insight and knowledge, but no outdoor games. My eldest brother however had devised many games for us to play at home in one of which my younger brother had an injury in the eye, which later was diagnosed at detachment of retina. Then during raja there used to be swings made out of wood for us play. In one at my uncle’s place I cut my armpit severely, which needed 21 stitches. Then in one ganesh puja I fell from a culvert from a height of about 10 feet on mud. More serious accidents were suffered by my two elder brothers in cycles and games. In most of the cases my father a doctor was absent on tour.

The other aspect of my life was among all brothers I was the favorite of my father, and when he goes on tour he used to take me along. I used to be treated royally by the asst surgeon of the hospitals, which was a matter of envy for others. The servants of the house were also differential to me due to this. My uncle and auntie also treat me with a lot of affection, may be to please my father or may be I was more outgoing than others. My eldest sister who was in college at cuttack used to come only in holidays and describe the place as hot with mosquitoes, in comparison to our place, which was cool in summer and very cold in winters. While driving I was curious to know the functions of different controls of the car, and used to ask my father all sort of questions. When he was busy in the inspection I used to drive the car forward and backwards but not in roads.

On ’48 jan the keonjhar state got merged with orissa and became a district and orissa province was renamed as a state for which my father used to say that orissa got merged with our state. One administrator and a superintendent of police came from outside. My father got absorbed and got a transfer to Koraput as Civil Surgeon. For the first time in 12 years he had to shift lock stock and barrel and it was traumatic for all, except me. I enjoyed the freedom with no responsibility for a year with my elder brother and two cousins, an aunt and multitude of servants.

For the first time I noticed that girls of my age are different and they avoid us not due to any quarrel or misunderstanding, but just because we are different. One girl in sixth class who was very friendly with me way back in ’46 reminded me of the lost opportunities, as I did not know what am I supposed to do. In high school only two or three were left, one was my cousin and the other was a beautiful one a Christian staying near the school. On the pretext of combined study I had gone to her house with my cousin but not alone. Then our house was given on rent to the newly posted vet asst surgeon, whose son became my friend for several years. When he was transferred, the new ones daughter aged 13 became my first girl friend. I had to meet her on sly, and do not know why.

Then our uncle had a tenant a sergeant major of police, who had a huge six seater weapon carrier at the garage, and was my first vehicle in which alone I took it out on the main roads and replaced it back in a small garage. This was during bridge games of the sergeant major uncle, aunty and my elder brother, in which I was the partner with dummy cards. This family remained our friends outside the close relatives for a long time.

The son of the SP became my friend and we used to go by cycle to distant places to see melas of adivasis. Then we used to go for small picnics and during half yearly holidays went to Koraput the place of posting of my father and it was the first house and a govt house outside my place of birth. It was a place more beautiful than any place I had seen earlier, the climate was cooler and there was a table mountain flat at the top with no trees except on sides. Then there was a bigger town Jeypore where my eldest brother was studying. During these holidays we saw Rayagada, Nawarangpur, and best of them Jagdalpur the capital of Bastar of MP with the waterfall chitrakoot, much bigger than any I had seen.

Going back in my memory lane, we had gone to see a waterfall known as khanadhar a thin stream like a sword falling about 750 ft from gandamardana, in our new austin car, which could not climb the last stretch of road. We revisited the same after 7 years in the weapon carrier when the road bridges were so rotten that they used to collapse after the vehicle passes over.

  

In ’49 my father got transferred to cuttack the capital town, as addl civil surgeon cum supdt of central jail and later as lect of juris in the medical college. The addl was removed after a year. Then we two brothers also left our ancestral place for the first time in our life. I was in class X, and stood first in general knowledge to go to the radio station for interschool gk competition, and we stood first as a team. This gave me a lot of attention, being from a small town. I tried to enroll in NCC, but you have to be in class IX to get in. I got a sanskrit teacher who gave me a few hints, after which I could easily get 80 to 90 % marks. My english also improved by association but math remained the same. The school was just in the back of the house, and we were staying in a doctor’s colony of eight houses.

I made many friends for the first time, but as usual very shy of the girls who were always older than me in our class, and going to meet other girls on lower classes never occurred to me. The town was big but no outside activity, no open land nor forests. But there was a big river and the islands therein were fascinating, and then I remained busy for two years on study only.