Later life of our father: Our father moved with us from Kanpur to Lucknow in July 1951 and thereafter, from Lucknow to Allahabad in October 1955, from Allahabad to Ajmer in January 1958, from Ajmer to Jodhpur in November 1961, from Jodhpur to Ajmer in April 1962 and finally from Ajmer to Jodhpur in July 1962. He provided tremendous support to us, in whatever we did. Those were the days, when our sisters and close relations kept visiting us from time to time and in most cases had prolonged stays with us during marriages and other family functions, providing an aura and sense of belonging to the family. The days, months and years kept rolling and our father quietly witnessed the gradual transformation of children from sheltered environment of the family to nerve raking professional careers in distant lands.
Lucknow: Lucknow was a neat little city on the banks of river Gomati in 1951,. It was the capital city of Uttar Pradesh and was one of the fastest growing cities of India. Although Lucknow happened to be the capital city of U.P. it was much smaller and less developed then some of the fast developing cities of the state, like Kanpur, Allahabad, Banaras and Agra. Lucknw was well known for its historic buildings constructed by the nawabs of Awadh. Prominent among them were Bada Imambara, Shah Najaf, Rumi Darwaza and Chatter Manzil. Hazaratgunj and Aminabad were main shopping centres of the town.
Our family in July 1951: Ours was a small compact family, when we moved from Kanpur to Lucknow in July 1951 with our father, two budding kids and their mother Krishan Bala. My younger brother Jai Narain was already at Lucknow, studying in the final year of MBBS at King George’s Medical College, Lucknow. Other younger brothers Krishan and Hari had completed their studies at Birla College Pilani and had joined us at Lucknow. Our father was happy and relaxed, as the whole family happened to be together with him at Lucknow
Our Children: Mohan was our eldest child. He was born at Bareilly on 23 September 1947. Rashmi was our second child born at Jaunpur on 8 November 1949. We were reasonably well settled at Lucknow, when our third child Alok was born at Motinagar in Lucknow on 16 June 1952. Everybody in the family was happy and welcomed the arrival of the child. Alok grew up under the loving care of our father. Mohan and Rashmi were happy to have a sibling to fondle with. Nishith was our fourth child, born at Blunt Square in Lucknow on 1 July 1954. We had a comfortable house and everybody in the family felt excited to provide a caring hand for looking after the new addition to the family. Our father was happy to have all the children moving and frolicking around him.
Kamdhenu: Our father got our first cow at Lucknow. Light brownish in colour, she was more like Kamdhenu. With about three kilos of milk in the morning and three kilos in the evening, the cow made a great contribution to the nutritional needs and wellbeing of the family. Our children were deeply attached to the cow and they are, what they are, for the unwritten and unsung contribution of the cow to them, at a time, when they needed it most.
Our brothers and sisters: We had four elder sisters Sushila, Sheelwati, Satyawati and Tarawati and a younger sister Uma Rani. All of them were happily married and were visiting us at Lucknow with their children from time to time. Our younger brothers were Jai Narain, Krishan and Hari. As time rolled on, Jai Narain competed his MBBS and DOMS and commenced work for his MS in Opthalmology from King George’s Medical College Lucknow. Krishan completed his MSc in Organic Chemistry from Jodhpur and joined a degree course in chemical engineering at HBTI Kanpur. Hari Narain completed his B.Sc from Lucknow and joined a civil engineering diploma course at Civil Engineering School, Lucknow. All of them were doing well in their studies and were anxiously sitting on their launching pads for bright and satisfying careers, providing a sense of great relief and satisfaction to our father.
Marriage of Jai Narain: Jai Narain was married to Shashi Bala Mithal, the fourth daughter of Smt Ratan Devi and Dr Prayag Chandra at Meerut in December 1954. Shashi had completed her MBBS from Lady Harding Medical College Delhi in 1954. She happened to be the younger sister of my wife Krishan Bala and therefore, both the families were very happy at the union. Those were the days, when marriages were occasions, when most of the close relations congregated at the house of the bride and the bridegroom for weeks and all types of rituals and ceremonies kept them thoroughly engaged. Every member of the family enjoyed those occasions, because the living in those days was extremely homely. It is difficult to imagine these days, how twenty to thirty persons could squeeze in, in a limited space in the house and could go through all the routine conveniences of life with cheer and smile on their faces. The marriage party left for Meerut by train and was thoroughly pampered there for three days. The children seemed to have enjoyed all the rituals and ceremonies at Lucknow, as also at Meerut. For a short period, after the marriage, Shashi worked as house surgeon in Queen Mary’s Hospital at Lucknow.
Marriage of Krishan: Our sister Satyawati was married to Jaiprakash Bansal, who had settled down at Mirzapur and was involved in contract works of Irrigation Department of UP. Baijnath Singh was working there as an executive engineer and his family and the family of our sister Satyawati had developed reasonably good relations. Shashi was the daughter of Baijnath Singh, and on the initiative of our sister, the relation of our brother Krishan was finalized with Shashi. Krishan was married to Shashi in May 1954 at Banaras. The marriage party left from Lucknow to Banaras by train and enjoyed all the festivities during the marriage ceremonies. The children enjoyed the train journey as also the rituals and marriage ceremonies at Banaras.
Rajvansh Biradari: Rajvansh Biradari is a comparatively small community of Vaish Agrawals. Rising initially from Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor and Moradabad districts of Uttar Pradesh, they have gradually moved to almost all parts of the country and in most of the developed countries of the world. Members of the Rajvansh Biradari, by and large belong to the middle class society with a flair for pursuit of higher education and professional studies.
Lucknow unit of Rajvansh Sabha: Lucknow Unit of Rajvansh Sabha had a membership of about twenty to thirty families in 1952. Monthly meetings were regularly held by rotation at the residences of different members of the community. The meetings were like social get-togethers and all members of the families, including elders, ladies and children participated enthusiastically in the meetings. The informal interaction between the families gradually helped in the development of fraternal bonds and everybody anxiously looked forward for these meetings. Our father knew most of the elders and interacted freely with them during the meetings and other family functions. We moved from Lucknow to Allahabad in October 1955, with our favourite cow in tow.
Allahabad: Allahabad is one of the most prominent and fast growing cities of Uttar Pradesh. It is one of the five CABAL towns of U.P. viz., Cawnpore, Allahabad, Banaras, Agra and Lucknow. Allahabad is situated in the south eastern part of Uttar Pradesh at the confluence of rivers Ganga, Jamuna and mythological Saraswati. It covers the eastern tip of Ganga Jamuna Doab and forms a sort of cultural divide between western U.P. and eastern U.P. Allahabad was formerly known as Prayag and had pre-historic roots. Recently, Allahabad has again been renamed as Prayagraj.
Our family at Allahabad: After initial hopping from one house to another in the beginning, we had settled down comfortably in a three bedroom house on Beli Road in Katra, which was a busy locality, close to our institution. Our sons Mohan, Alok, Nishith and daughter Rashmi were school going. Our father had wonderful time with them. Children need all the care and attention at all times and the grandparents have all the time for doting on them. There is no generation gap. The relationship is very natural and thoroughly complementary and is reflected in the ultimate growth, development and values imbibed by the children. Incidentally, that frees the working parents of children from most of the household worries and they find themselves comparatively free for unflinching dedication to their careers and other tasks in hand.
Ram: Kamla Nehru Maternity Home, was built in the memory of Kamla Nehru on the sprawling complex of Anand Bhawan at Allahabad. Ram was our fifth child. He had his birth at Kamla Nehru Maternity Home on 5 September 1956. When he was one year old, Indira Gandhi happened to be on her way to the Ladies Club of Allahabad as chief guest of their Ram Naumi function. She happened to see a healthy child moving in a pram outside the gates of Ladies Club and at the spur of the moment, she took him in her lap and made a dash to the dias of the Ram Navmi function of the Ladies Club. That child was Ram. He was there for about an hour and during that period, he quietly went through all the fondling and pampering by Indira Gandhi and other distinguished ladies of the town.
Allahabad to Jodhpur and Jodhpur to Ajmer: We were on the move again, log stock and barrel, on January 2, 1958 from Allahabad, the green, flowering and leading city of eastern U.P, proudly standing on the confluence of the holy rivers Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswati to Jodhpur, the desert city of western Rajasthan, which stood as a bulwark, in shifting sands of sprawling Thar Desert. We landed at Jodhpur on January 4, 1958, had a comfortable house there and were in the process of settling down, when we were told, that, I was required to move to Ajmer for the establishment of a new polytechnic there. Thus, we were on the move again on January 6, 1958, after an extremely short stay of two days at Jodhpur.
White House at Ajmer: We were happy to land at the White House at Ajmer in the morning hours of January 7, 1958. White House was a lonely house built in hilly terrain, close to foothills of Aravalli range of mountains enveloping the city of Ajmer. White House had spacious lawns in addition to a lot of open space in front of the building and a very big courtyard in the rear. The built up accommodation was neat and clean and was substantial for meeting our physical needs. Incidentally, our father had visited Ajmer, sometimes in the year 1933, during the fiftieth death anniversary celebrations of Swami Dayanand Saraswati and naturally. he was very excited about visiting some of the old places in the town.
Mohan and Rashmi: Our visit to Government High School at Ajmer about the admission of our eldest son Mohan was extremely encouraging, as the Principal DM Jain stepped out of his room and greeted us. That was the middle of the session, but, he was very happy and helpful in admitting him to class seven on transfer from Allahabad. Next on our circuit was Sophia Girls School at Ajmer, which was the leading girls school of the town. Rashmi, our second child was studying in a convent school at Allahabad, as such, the headmistress had no hesitation in taking her in, after a brief chat with her.
Marriage of Hari: Our younger brother Hari had started working after completion of diploma course in Civil Eingineering from Lucknow in 1956. The marriage of Hari with Rajrani, daughter of Shri Raj Kishore Gupta was celebrated with all the fan fare at Delhi in December 1958. Our father felt very happy and relaxed with the marriage of Hari, who happened to be the youngest child of our father.
Move to Adarshnagar on Nasirabad Road: After all the twists and turns and some wrangling we were able to finalise the permanent location of Ajmer Polytechnic on the sprawling lands of Khrashtria Vidyapeeth on Nasirabad Road near Makhupura. Adarshnagar was a neat and clean neighbourhood with well built houses. It was located about five kilometers on the southern side of the city along Ajmer Nasirabad Road. The new campus of Ajmer Polytechnic had its location, at about one and a half kilometers south of Adarshnagar. It provided a great sense of relief to find that most of the houses at Adarshnagar were lying vacant and were available on rent to the staff and students of the polytechnic. The first house inside Adarshnagar Gate was a well built house with three bedrooms and a very spacious inner courtyard and a lot of open space and trees, within the boundary walls outside the building. Our father was very happy, when we moved into the open surroundings of this house in 1959.
Our Family: Our sixth child Roopam was born at Ajmer on 31 January 1959 bringing cheer on the faces of everybody. Our seventh child Reena was born at Ajmer on 7 August 1961. Both of them were the youngest and most loved children of the family. Our father was extremely happy as he remained busy with his morning and evening strolls and religious practices and was surrounded with the loving group of seven children, hovering round him, most of the time. Those were the days, when there were very few places for relaxation or entertainment in the city. We started screening some educational films alongwith feature films on 16 mm projector in the open ground of the compound on Saturdays and Sundays. The show on Saturdays used to be for the staff and their families and that on Sundays for the students and their parents and other members of their families. In course of time, the people of Adarshnagar started attending the show. Both the shows ran full and provided some sort of bonding of the staff and students with the local community. Our father enjoyed the shows with children and interacted freely with everybody in the neighbourhood.
Move to Jodhpur: We spent almost twenty years at Jodhpur from November 1961 to April 1962 and from July 1962 to January 1980. Those were the most eventful years in our life, in the life of our father and in the life of our family. We had spacious living accommodation in our bungalows, with big inner courtyards and a lot of open space outside. Our father was extremely happy to get the open air environment of our bungalows and soon got involved in the development of lawns and fruit trees, wherever, we happened to be living. He was also fond of morning and evening walks and was able to find the company of parents of other officers living in the area. A meticulously dressed group of five to ten elders, briskly walking on residency road became a talking point of all those, who had an opportunity to look at the exuberant group of elderlies. Our father followed a very regulated daily regime with physically active life and frugal food habits.
Mohan: Our son Mohan completed his Higher Secondary Examination from Ajmer in 1962 and first year of the three year degree course from jodhpur in 1963. This was followed by B.E. in Electrical Engineering from MBM Engineering College Jodhpur in 1968, and ME in Advanced Elelctronics and Servo-mechanisms from the University of Roorkee in 1970. Thereafter, he left for USA for graduate studies in the department of electrical engineering and computer sciences at the University of California at Berkeley.
Trip to Canada: Our father went on a trip to Canada with our mother-in-law Shrimati Ratan Devi for a period of four months in 1972. He was extremely happy to have an opportunity to live with Jai Narain and Shashi and their children Sharad and Shalini at Cambridge. He also went to Grandmere in Quebec and spent time with Krishan and Shashi and their children Vivek and Meeta. Thereafter, he stayed at Toronto with Hari and Rajrani and their children Sanjoy and Anita. He always cherished memories of his short stay in Canada with children.
Marriage of our daughter Rashmi: Our daughter Rashmi had completed her higher secondary course from St Patrik’s Vidya Bhavan Jodhpur in 1968 and MBBS from Lady Harding Medical College in 1973, New Delhi. Her marriage with Dr Hemendra Rajvanshi son of Shri Vishambher Dayal of Churu was celebrated at Jodhpur on 26 December 1973. Bride and bridegroom garlanded each other on a dias, surrounded on all sides by the invited guests. Those were the days, when there was guest control order prohibiting service of normal dinner to more than 25 persons. As such, non-serial food was served to about 800 guests, with the consent and active support of the marriage party. That was one of the happiest occasions in our life and the life of our father.
Marriage of our son Alok: Alok completed his higher secondary course from Sardar School Jodhpur in 1970 and BE in Mechanical Engineering from MBM Engineering College Jodhpur in 1975. He was married to Gauri daughter of Shri Mool Chand Rajvanshi of Nohar in December 1978, with all the fan fare and thorough pampering of the marriage party by the hospitality at Nohar. Our father was extremely happy after the marriage, as Gauri started looking after all the conveniences of our father.
Nishith: Nishith completed his higher secondary course from Mahesh Senior Secondary School Jodhpur in 1970 and after completion of BE in Electronics from MBM Engineering College, Jodhpur in 1975, he went to Canada for further studies at the University of Waterloo.
Life of our father: Our father enjoyed a very happy, satisfying and active life with the family for thirty three years. Our father was a tower of strength for the family and all our children are what they are, because they had the benefit of growing up under the shadow and loving care of our father. Our father was endowed with good health and had no ailments or any type of health problems, all through his later years. He looked after most of his personal chores himself. He was an early riser and moved from the courtyard, where all of us slept, to his room in the early hours of the morning, with the rolled up bedding in his lap. One fine morning he fell down during his trip from the courtyard to his room and thereafter, the little, illusive hurt, gradually squeezed life out of him, bit by bit and drop by drop, over a period of one and a half years. He finally, breathed his last at Jodhpur on 4 October, 1979.