Settling down at Lucknow: Before independence, for almost hundred years, Thomason College of Civil Engineering Roorkee was a leading and prestigious institution of the country. It was more of an officer’s training school for the production of field oriented officers needed for the construction and maintenance of Ganga Canal. However, as times rolled on, the institution was able to develop traditions for hardwork, rigour, leadership, fellowship and fraternal relationships. The alumni were always face to face with an amalgam of cut-throat rivalry and a free flow of fellowship and fraternal feelings for each other. When the news of my resignation from irrigation department of U. P. and my joining a private engineering school at Lucknow, running overseers certificate courses went round, it looked like hara-kiri to all those, who were proud to have crossed the portals of Thomason College. Everybody seemed to be concerned about me and started frantic efforts to lift me up, from the morass. In the meantime, Civil Engineering School Lucknow, offered me the wardenship of a hostel running in an old and dilapidated building, about a kilometer away from the institution. It was a three storey building, with a modest accommodation for the warden on the top floor. It was a far cry from the chain of inspection houses and all that we were used to, during our tenure in the irrigation department of U.P., but it seems, that, we felt happy to have some living accommodation in the town.
Hostel: The hostel building was owned by the descendants of nawabs of the good old days and had a tremendous historic value. However, the owners did not have the means and the inclination to maintain it and to keep it in good shape. They were satisfied with the nominal rent that they were able to get from the institution, without bothering about anything else. The ground floor had ten to twelve rooms facing a wide open courtyard. The construction was repeated on the first floor. Twenty to twentyfive students were living on each floor. Most of the students came from the outlying districts and in some cases from outside provinces. By and large, they belonged to middle class families with modest economic backgrounds. After settling down as a warden in the hostel, I made it a routine to meet ten to fifteen students everyday in their rooms after dinner and to have a look at their class notes and books. That was an eye-opener and a great learning experience for me. They did not have suitable books and depended mostly on the notes dictated by the teachers in the class. Most of the books available in the market were from British authors, printed and published in Britain. Learning and readable material suitable for their academic level and attainments was simply not available in the market. However, the students were extremely motivated and in spite of all the problems and hardships, they seemed to be keen to learn and make a mark.
Our living accommodation in the hostel: There were two rooms separated by sufficient open space on the second floor. We had limited accommodation, but, it seems that we were very happy and satisfied with what we had. I was teaching structures and irrigation in the institution at that time. Since the students were drawn from different academic backgrounds and attainments, the understanding, grasp and pace of the students varied widely during the conduct of the design classes. To top it, I was in the habit of giving different numerical data to every student for design calculations. That involved checking the calculations and drawings of each and every student individually and invariably a good number of students found it difficult to keep pace with the class. That was the time, when I made an offer to all those students, who were lagging, to come to our warden’s quarter on Sundays for completion of their unfinished jobs. That made us busy from morning till late hours in the evening on week-ends. All the same, that placed us in intimate touch with the students and we thoroughly enjoyed the whole exercise. Light snacks and refreshments were provided to the students to enliven the environment and to keep the students working, till they finished their jobs.
Our family in July 1951: Ours was a small compact family, when we moved to Lucknow. Myself, my wife and two small kids. Our father was living with us, since I started working and moved with us to Lucknow. My younger brother Jai Narain was already at Lucknow pursuing a medical course in the final year of MBBS at King George’s Medical College, Lucknow. Our younger brother Krishan had completed his two year residential course leading to B.Sc at Pilani in Rajasthan and after joining us at Lucknow, he had enrolled for M.Sc course in Mathematics at the University of Lucknow. Our youngest brother Hari had also returned to Lucknow after going through a two years residential course of Intermediate in Science at Pilani. Our father was happy and relaxed as the whole family happened to be together with him at Lucknow
Games and sports: The hostel had some open space on the ground floor. We utilized the space for playing volleyball, badminton and tennikoit in the open court. The students living in the hostel were very enthusiastic about it. During practice sessions, the students were encouraged to concentrate on anticipation, taking positions, footwork and returns. This helped in generating long rallies, good physical exercise and perspiration. Footwork happens to be the secret of all games and sports activities. As days rolled on, the students living in the hostel started enjoying the evening games and morning workouts.
Motinagar: Motinagar was a comparatively new development close to our institution. After our stay for about six months in the hostel, we were able to get shared accommodation in a newly built house in Motinagar. The area was open and was free from through traffic, dust and pollution. Mohan, our eldest child was four years old by then. He was able to get admission in primary section of Agarwal High School, which stood close to our house, across the road. Then there was an open ground on the southern side of the house. The children of the neighbourhood played there, all sorts of improvised games. Our father also got into touch with some like minded people of his age and utilized his mornings and evenings in leisurely walks in the open lanes and by-lanes of the township. All that blew a puff of fresh air in the daily chores of our family and we felt seemingly settled and relaxed.
Some diversions: The days were comparatively free at Motinagar. We would frequently move out and meet friends and relations in the evenings. During the British period, United Provinces of Agra and Awadh, which happened to be the biggest British Province in India, had only five secretaries to the government. They belonged to the erstwhile Indian Civil Service. The heads of all technical departments of the state, used to be designated as ex-officio secretaries to government. As such, the chief engineer of irrigation department was designated as chief engineer and secretary to government and the offices of irrigation department were popularly known as canal secretariat. Since, I had worked for almost six years in the irrigation department, I happened to bump into some of the old buddies off and on. Rameshwar Saran, who was a lecturer in civil engineering at Roorkee, when I was a student there, was working as Personal Assistant to the Chief Engineer of Irrigation Department. He was also functioning as the Honorary Secretary of the Lucknow Centre of the Institution of Engineers. During one of the meetings, he got me enrolled as Associate Member of Institution of Engineers. That was of considerable help to me, in helping the students of Civil Engineering School for getting them enrolled as student members of the Institution of Engineers. That opened the doors for them to appear in studentship examination and subsequently, for sections A and B of associate membership examinations of the institution.
Badminton: During our school days, we were playing hockey and football. Subsequently, at Thomason College Roorkee we were deeply involved in playing football, hockey, cricket, tennis and squash racquets. Those were the days, when badminton used to be treated as a light game mostly suitable for ladies or for knocking the shuttles lightly in the club. However, the urge to flex our muscles in the evening, helped us in converting a small patch of land lying on the southern side of our house in Moti Nagar into a badminton court. That was for the first time, that, we realized that a game like badminton, which is played with light racquets and light shuttles can also become a fast and perspiring game, depending on how you play and with whom you play. Gradually, the neighbours joined us, initially as spectators and subsequently as regular shuttlers, providing the small patch of land the aura of a community court.