Jawahar Quarters: We moved from Kota in May 1941 and joined our father at Meerut, where he had set up a small business and was living at Jawahar Quarters. He was sharing the accommodation with the family of his business partner. His business partner belonged to a zamindar family of Jansath from Muzaffarnagar district of UP. They were extremely nice and homely people and very soon, we settled down as a family. As usual, our mother assumed charge of the household and started looking after the needs and conveniences of the extended family. Those were hectic days for our father, who was always on the move from place to place for pushing up the progress of his works. Back home he was involved in managing the office and in looking after the financial affairs of his business. When the work expanded, he made frequent visits to Clement Town in Dehradun, where a prisoner of war camp was fast coming up and thereafter to Agra in UP and Sagar in Central India.
Abu Lane: When the work at Sagar expanded, our father moved from Meerut to Sagar with his business partner and we moved from Jawahar quarters to a residential house on Abu Lane close to Bombay Bazaar in the cantonment area, popularly known as sadar. We shared the accomodation with the owner of the house. The owner was occupying the ground floor and we were living on the first floor. Our mother had a nice time there, because a number of our close relations were living in the area. It may look strange, that, instead of feeling tired and exhausted, she felt relaxed and refreshed, when she was interacting with different types of people at almost all odd hours. After a short stay at Abu Lane, we shifted to Thatherwara in the city area, where the younger sister of our mother had built a house.
Thatherwara: Dhanwati the younger sister of our mother was living in Thatherwara, which was a compact neighbourhood in the southern part of Meerut City. Her husband was a revenue officer in Nanak Chand Trust, a prominent charitable trust of Meerut. They were living in a residential building of the trust, which had been allotted to them. The building was in the form of a large enclosure with a central hall and other conveniences. A portion of the enclosure was occupied by cows and buffalos. Mausaji had a small baithak (office) near the entrance, where he remained busy with his revenue records and handling an intermittent flow of visitors. Our mausi was very simple and soft-spoken. She spent most of her time sitting by the side of the chulah, looking after the needs of the household. They were living like that in that house for almost twenty years with their children, when they built a two storeyed house in an adjoining plot of land. The house remained unoccupied for some time, as they were not mentally prepared to leave the house of the trust, in which they had merrily passed all those years. That was the time, when we shifted to Thatherwara and settled down comfortably in the house of our mausi. Those were the formative years of our life and it helped us considerably in getting out of the heap and to start looking forward.
Kasthala: Kasthala is a small village located about 12 km from Meerut City. Jagwati, the elder sister of our mother was married in a zamindar family of Kasthala. Some time after the marriage, when everything was going on well, the dacoits raided the village and the husband of our mausi was killed by the dacoits during the encounter. Since then she had been living there with her in-laws. When we shifted to Thatherwara, she started paying frequent visits to Thatherwara and started looking after us. At that time, she made a substantial contribution to the physical and emotional wellbeing of our family. It is sometimes difficult to appreciate that somebody, who had lost almost everything at a very tender age and had almost nothing to see at the end of the tunnel, managed to open up an unending fountain of love, affection and support to her near and dear ones for the rest of her life.
Mohalla Pattonwala: Our story of the days at Meerut remains incomplete without a mention about pattonwala mohalla. That was the place where Pyarey Lal, the patriarch of a talented family was living in a very spacious house. Pyarey Lal had three sisters. All of them were very strong willed and talented ladies. The second sister was Bhanwati. She was married to Ratan Lal, the elder cousin of our father. She was a dominant lady and mentor and matriarch of our family. Pyarey Lal also had six daughters. All of them were married and were dominant ladies in their respective households. Pyarey Lal had three nieces also, whom he brought up lovingly just like his daughters. The second niece was our mother Kalawati. Pyarey Lal also had two sons. Elder son was Kishan Lal, who was working as head assistant in irrigation department. The younger son was a lawyer, but later on he worked on a ministerial job in the defence services. That was the time, when the parents of girls were expected to discharge many traditional obligations during the life time of their girls. The onorous responsibility of looking after these customary obligations in respect of three sisters, six daughters and three nieces of Pyarey Lal was enthusiastically assumed by his elder son Kishan Lal, who was a very simple and unassuming person and had very austere and frugal habits. He never had a surplus, but he made it a point to attend all the marriages and functions in the households of his buas, sisters and cousins and cheerfully arranged all sorts of gifts on all occasions and continued to discharge all customary obligations.
Meerut College: Meerut College was established in the year 1892 and was one of the oldest and prestigious institutions for higher education in the country. Meerut College was the only post graduate college in Meerut division at that time. It was spread on an area of about 100 acres at the junction of Abu Nala and Western Kutcheri Road. It had a magnificent double storeyed building, which accommodated the classrooms. There were separate departmental buildings for science subjects. That was the time, when the spread of education in the country was extremely limited. Economy of the country was mostly agricultural. Infrastructure development, industrial growth and business was almost stagnant. Meerut College was affiliated to Agra University for under-graduate and post-graduate courses. Intermediate classes were affiliated to the Board of High School and Intermediate Education, Allahabad.
In those days, the Principals and senior faculty members of most of the prestigious institutions of the country used to be be British officers. Meerut College was no exception. Our principal at that time was Col TF O’Donnel. He used to teach military history, which was an optional subject at that time. All other members of the teaching faculty were post graduates in their field and were painstaking and popular teachers. Research facilities were not available in the college at that time. Most of the students looked to law, education or public service as their career options.
There was also a business department in the college, where the students could join part-time courses during their free periods. That was an excellent facility and I utilised the opportunity for taking shorthand and typewriting lessons, during my spare hours in the college.
Hostels: There were three hostels on the campus. One hostel was earmarked for the students of the intermediate classes and was known as New Blocks. Another hostel known as the New House was meant exclusively for students of the undergraduate classes. The third hostel known as the Old House was occupied by students of post graduate classes. Students living in the Old House and New House belonged mostly to zamindar and business families, which were affluent families of those times. They followed an easy, carefree and comfortable life style. Students living in the New Blocks were mostly drawn from the rural areas. They were rough and tough and enjoyed their newly acquired freedom from their traditional households in the villages.
Victoria Park: Victoria Park was located about 5 km from Meerut College. It had a central parade ground and playgrounds for hockey, football, tennis and volleyball. It also had a newly built indoor swimming pool. Special feature of Victoria Park in those days was physical training parades for students of intermediate and undergraduate classes in the evenings. Days were earmarked for students of each year. First year students had parades on Mondays, second year students on Tuesdays, third year students on Wednessdays and fourth year students on Thursdays. All students of first year, second year, third year and fourth year had a combined parade on Fridays. Students of the post graduate classes were exempted from parades. All parades and physical training exercises were conducted by senior students. Principal used to be present during the parades from time to time. While, participation in the parades was compulsory, the students were free to choose, whatever games, they wanted to play.
Community life: Looking to the public places, markets, theatres, educational institutions and neighbourhoods, the community life of Meerut was happy and cordial. People interacted with each other normally and without any inhibitions. There were no ripples or commotions. The traffic moved on safely, almost everywhere, without any hassles or problems on the roads and in the lanes and bylanes of the city. There were regular throngs of people crowding at temples, mosques and other religious places. Most of the festivals were celebrated by people with all the enthusiasm, gaiety and fervour cutting through all barriers of caste, creed and religion. Apparently, there were no law and order problems.
Hindu Muslim riots, once in a while, were a dark spot in the social, economic and political life of the people. Sometimes, the sparks would start flying on non-issues and found expression in the release of pent up feelings of people belonging to different communities. There were no social, economic, political or class conflicts. Everybody enjoyed the proximity of Delhi and the city functioned more like a satellite town, decades before national capital region was born.