Filed under: Allen Forest, Ganga, Harcourt Butler Technical Institute, Kanpur
Baba’s Fishing Trips
In the mid 1930s Kanpur was a flourishing township. Situated on the bank of Ganga, the place offered a rich potential for industry with its resources in cotton and sugar-cane, leather, and wool. The development of the town included besides factories, where a large number of workers found employment, also many schools and colleges, specialized research-institutes on oil and sugar technology, hospitals, pleasant residential sectors, and many parks and gardens. There were some motor-cars, many tonga (tanga) drawn by a horse and with a coachman, as there were ekka, also drawn by a horse with a high seat and surely less comfortable than the tanga.
Our Baba went to work on his bike like his other colleagues.
On one end of the town the government had installed a military base-cantonment and an ordnance factory manufacturing material for survey and artillery.
On the other end a beautifully green area called Allen Forest was well-known to our father, who had done his training in oil technology in the nearby Harcourt Butler Technical Institute. To him and also to some of his friends, the special attraction was the forest-lake - Baba loved to go fishing there. 
It was a whole ceremony with elaborate preparations. It had to be on a holiday of course. On the evening before the expedition my younger brothers would start looking for ‘char’, i.e. earthworms, of which we had plenty in the garden, especially after the rains. They were collected with much enthusiasm and stored in a small tin labeled ‘capstan cigarettes’. On the next morning shouts of “bhai sahe…b” from the street signaled the arrival of our Ghosh saheb, Sourin Ghosh. Sometimes a son or two would be allowed to accompany the champion fishers, who, at sundown, had often to pass by Parade ka bazaar before coming home with a presentable fish and a dark sun tan, simply happy.
Ghosh saheb was the father of four remarkable sons and two daughters, very handsome children, all of them. He seemed to pay little attention to girls. Boys on the contrary, whether his own or ours, had to be strong, brave, and daring to be worthy. He liked taking risks. I think Baba was one of his rare friends, if not the only one. One winter morning on coming to see Baba he declared that we were going to Delhi to visit the industrial exhibition. Baba knew him well, there was no room for hesitation nor for discussion, after all the plan was very exciting for him too. We just had to get prepared and in no time Sourin G. arranged for two (or three?) cars. The next day we set off in three groups, I got in with his elder brother’s family, Baba and Ghosh saheb with the boys in the other vehicles formed the convoy. I’ll never forget that trip through villages where we stopped to drink tea at a wayside chai vendor’s, picnicked under the trees of some forest. The new Kakima, Ghosh saheb’s sister-in law, distributed a lot of delicious luchi etc. from her big basket – all that was so new! As we arrived in Dehli, it was freezing cold, maybe 0° C. One of the Ghosh brothers, Arun, a prominent economist in one of the ministries, lodged us in the Pataudi House. It was all too fabulous, compared to which the industrial exhibition of 1956 was, well, a huge numaish like any other.
Sourin G’s extreme views had made a stranger of him in his own family. He had been brilliant in studies. I remember the day when his father Rajen Ghosh, a patient and a friend of our Dadu (Radharaman Ganguly) had come to our house to give the news that Sourin was selected in the competitive exams and had chosen to be posted as Excise Inspector – a proud father of an accomplished son. Our Dadu, who had much affection for the young man, was less enthusiastic on hearing that. After his friend’s departure he said to Didima, that he didn’t at all appreciate the idea of Sourin working in touch with alcohol – milieus, he knew the degree of corruption infesting them. But, destiny was at work: addiction to alcohol brought him to the ruin of his family-life. With his untimely death our family lost a cherished friend.
N.B.: Those of you who read Bengali and would be interested in more information on the actions of revolutionary groups in Bengal, may refer to ‘Tegarter Andaman Diary’ by Ashoke Kr. Mukhopadhyay (Ananda Publishers, Calcutta, 1998), giving a very well-documented account of the movement.
To be continued.
Vizualization and Illustration: Surya Ranjan Shandil
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Hi Didi, Have you forgotten me? I was also on that trip, not through direct admission though, but by back door. It so happened, when Baba was making preparation for the next day’s excursion, I was hanging around him with a long face for being excluded from it. Next day on reaching Delhi when Baba heard that Shejodadu was going to Kanpur to bring Kanumama, he made a request to him to bring umu along. Thus I reached Delhi at Mejomama’s flat in Janpath. It was year 1956. Industrial Fair was boring. People were talking about the Chinese pavillion, where wax models of the vegetables and fruits looking real were displayed. Indian pavillion had Gandhijee all over, charkha, khadi, Bhakra nangal dam. It was Nehruji’s plan of – industrialization first, even when there was a shortage of food grains. Television had made its appearance for the first time in India. And people were ogling at the moving pictures. Elders made us walk and walk all the way from Janpth to Pragati Maidan. So next day I flatly refused to go. Mejomama’s hospitality was unforgettable. I especially remember the sleeping arrangements. Mattresses were thrown on the floor covering wall to wall and we chose our place beside our best friend. We slept in attention position with no space to turn around. Every morning we were greeted with hot cups of tea served by Mejomama. Later whenever I met Mejomama I recalled that event and we laughed a lot.
Comment by Mesdi. January 7, 2008 @ 7:29 pmMesdi hi, so nice of you to complete the picture with those details about the Industries Fair. I’d have loved to have you with me. But you seem to have well enjoyed your stay at Janpath. I too remember while visiting the fair how exhausted my legs used to feel. And imagine the distance from Janpath to Pragati Maidan! – How did we manage to walk all those miles? We were young and strong, that’s the only answer I can think of.
Comment by saraju banerjee January 8, 2008 @ 1:39 amHi Didi, this post has brought back so many old memories. How boisterous Baba’s Sunday adda had become with coming of Ghosh Saheb in Kanpur. Our house had become a store house of fishing rods of every size – short, medium, long. The fishing troupe was an all male party. In his scheme of things there was no place for girls (our Baba was different) but I took part in worms hunting job, digging earth and crushing roasted methi seeds for making the char more tempting and palatable for the fishes who would be drawn by the strong smell of methi. Ma and Thakuma would grumble, calling it sheer madness – spending the whole day by the pond, missing the midday meal. Baba would enter the house in the evening looking embarrassed and defensive with a poor snake like catch – the sight of which was like pouring ghee over the fire. And as you said, sometimes Ghosh Saheb would drive the jeep straight to the Parade market buying a large Rui, which Baba would claim as his own catch to pacify Ma. And I would go simply ecstatic hearing the stories of hundreds and thousands of fire flies, which came out of the bushes in the evening twinkling in the darkness and envy my brothers for witnessing the phenomenon.
Gradually the fishing days ended as Ghosh Saheb got addicted to alcohol. I remember Tularam used to come, reporting Baba about his health, urging him to go and talk to him. Before going, Baba would make me prepare special snacks for him. But Ghosh Saheb had stopped eating, living virtually on alcohol. His youngest daughter Annapurna, who had been adopted by Mr. Damle (his friend) after Kakima’s death, looked after him till the end.
Comment by Mesdi. January 8, 2008 @ 8:04 pmYou know, Surya Ranjan’s illustration brings back Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn in my mind! Only Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn would prepare the ‘char’ themselves. Maybe they did it in their childhood?
Comment by Kalpalata January 9, 2008 @ 10:26 ammany thanks, Mesdi, for the addition.
Comment by saraju banerjee January 10, 2008 @ 12:42 am