2821) Did You Know Series (78): 76 Badshah Bagh, Lucknow University, the Bungalow which was allotted to my Grandfather, Dr, Om Prasad Gupta (Nanaji), where the entire "Gupta Clan" stayed at some time or the other - now in ruins:

2821) Did You Know Series (78): 76 Badshah Bagh, Lucknow University, the Bungalow which was allotted to my Grandfather, Dr, Om Prasad Gupta (Nanaji), where the entire "Gupta Clan" stayed at some time or the other - now in ruins:

I have very fond memories as a kid of this sprawling bungalow which was allotted to my grandfather Late Dr. Om Prasad Gupta, when he was the Dean, Faculty of Commerce, in the Lucknow University.

There was a nice long driveway lined with a hedge bearing evergreen flowers of the (Blue Morning Glory) which bright blue in the morning, the blossoms fade to pinkish purple by late afternoon before closing, marigolds and a rose garden bed. 

There was a guava tree, on which we used to attempt climbing up (I gave up, once I fell down from a weak branch). There were three huge Eucalyptus trees and we played under them. Sometimes when we were flying kites, they would get entangled in the Eucalyptus branches. 

We would set up a badminton net here and used to play against each other.

Here are some vignettes from my memory:

- My uncle Late Col. Vinod Kumar Gupta who retired from the Armed Forces, had to go "Gunjing" ("Hazratgunj" was a posh marketing area with several eateries and restaurants) with his "friends" late night. So, my two aunts and my mother would after my grandparents were fast asleep, push the old model Fiat Car No. USQ 9000 for him outside the bungalow, where he would take everyone out to Hazratganj and spend lavishly, and all his sisters would make up for the shortfall. 

The next day, when my grandfather had to drive to office, he would say - "I had a full tank yesterday, but it is nearing empty now". (He always knew what was going on, but never scolded anyone).

- Several marriages took place from this house including that of my aunts and my mother. Captain Ram Singh, on whose tunes the soldiers of the Azad Hind Fauj of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose had marched and who was the conductor of the PAC Band stationed at Lucknow was a very good friend of my grandfather (Nanaji) and had played several popular tunes in all their marriages.

- Nanaji was a great "Tabla" player and after dinner and on the weekends he would usually play the musical instruments, or sometimes for an audience.

- Nanaji was on the advisory committee of the Government of Uttar Pradesh. Once the Chief Minister C.B. Gupta visited him asking him to donate his agricultural land in Daliganj locality (adjacent to the Bungalow where he stayed) to the Veterinary Hospital ("Ghoda Haspatal"). Without thinking twice, Nanaji made over two-thirds of his property for the Veterinary Hospital to come up on.

- My mother was an Assistant Professor of Dance and Music in the Bhatkhande Music College in Lucknow. So all of us had to learn Kathak dancing and singing. An "ustad" used to come to play the tabla for us to learn Kathak. It was a time when both Kathak dancing and singing were considered to be a "girl's" hobbies and I got "teased" for them. I developed a mental block thereafter and forgot all my dancing and singing lessons. Even today, I cannot dance or sing and if anyone asks me, I say that I have two "left feet".

She wrote the first book on Kathak dancing titled "Nritya Kala" ("The Art of Dancing") from this bungalow, which was the only book on Kathak dancing, till "pirated" copies of it came out.

- Naniji who had stood first in High School in the whole of undivided Punjab, beating the boys hollow in getting the highest marks in the Board Exams and was presented with a gramophone by her father, was approached by some British and Indian Civil servants in an official function and asked to join a School (later College) in Chowk Lucknow where she became the Principal for 35 years. 

Link:

Did You Know Series (26): Contributors to Indian Society on whom Commemorative Cons were never issued: Mrs. Draupadi Bai Gupta, the then Principal of Kashmiri Mohalla Girl's Inter College, Lucknow - from 1929 to 1967

We used to learn making painting on old records or carve faces out of chalk etc. from Mrs. Chatterjee, an art teacher in Naniji's school (Kashmiri Mohalla Girl's College, in Chowk, Lucknow), in the spacious verandah of this bungalow on Sundays, when she was free.

- My Uncle joined the Brigade of the Guards (an elite Regiment in the Indian Armed Forces) and fought in the thick of battle in all the wars - the Goa Liberation, Chinese Aggression, Pakistan War (1965), Bangladesh Liberation War (1971), while my grandparents were staying in this Bungalow.

I remember that after the 1965 Pakistan War he had come to this Bungalow along with four officers who had fought in the war and brought with him a few Indian and captured Pakistani magazines and empty tank shells and a defused grenade to show us how the Pakistani weaponry was far bigger/superior than the India infantry weapons, nevertheless, our gallant soldiers had captured a sizeable chunk of Pakistani territory.

Mamaji had brought with him a whole bunch of photographs of our soldiers who had participated gallantly in the War. One photo has been etched in my memory. After the ceasefire was declared, one India sniper asked my uncle to take a picture of him firing towards the enemy. At the time the picture was clicked, an enemy bullet hit him in the head, and one could make out that he had been shot by a sniper. 

A search party was organised and they found a few yards away, his shot had got his adversary too. Although ceasefire had been declared they had become victims of the senselessness of armed conflict.

 I was very young, and this photo has been etched in my memory, but no one could help me find this picture.

Link:

1) The Brigade of the Guards: Commemorating the "XXV BIENNIAL CONFERENCE & XI REUNION - 2016": A Special Commemorative Cover brought out by 56 APO (Army Post Office) on 21.12.2016

- The last "tour" of this house was by chance. Through a common friend we had taken in a guest when we were posted in Hyderabad - Bunty. He was a very shy lad, out for his first posting away from his residence in Lucknow. His father called us to find out about him and about us. One thing led to another, and it turned out that he was Professor Anil Misra, present Head of the Department of History in the Lucknow University. 

He was nicknamed "Chhotu" and his father Dr. G.S. Misra (later Vice Chancellor of Lucknow University) was allotted the bungalow next to my grandfather's bungalow. All of us had grown up together and I had helped him to collect a "cut" kite which was coming our way.

Dr. Misra went round the whole bungalow, room by room and we shared stories which were part of our growing up years. It was as if the clock had turned back several decades and stood still at a point we did'nt want to let go of.

Some photographs in my possession:

A photograph of the Commerce Faculty taken in the mid-sixties with my grandfather Dr. O.P. Gupta at extreme left (sitting). 

The Commerce Faculty teaching block was named "Dr. O.P. Gupta Block" after him, but during my last visit to the University in 2016, I could not find a reference to him, and the teaching block looked very shabby.

There is an interesting story about the day I found out that the teaching block in the Commerce faculty had been named after him. I was posted in the State Bank of India Local Head Office, Lucknow and had gone to the Lucknow University to find out particulars of a correspondence course, which I intended to pursue. I noticed Nanaji's name painted prominently on the teaching block. I was very intrigued by this and went to the Commerce Faculty to find out how this had come about. 

No one could tell me, but I kept asking. An elderly gentleman who was passing by tapped me on the shoulder and wanted to know why I was asking. I told him that Dr. Gupta was my grandfather. He asked back - "Are you Sushmaji or Umaji's son?" I told him that I was Umaji's son. He took me by the hand and took me into his office. 

He was Dr. Maheshwari, the present Dean, Faculty of Commerce. In his office I was introduced to a guest faculty who had come from New Delhi. He was the son of the earlier Dean before my grandfather. 

There were three generations of Deans represented by us in Dr. Maheshwari's office. Dr. Sarkar's son (the Dean before my grandfather), Dr. Maheshwari (present Dean) and my grandfather through me. It turned out that my boss in the SBI Head Office was Dr. Maheshwari's brother. What a small world!!

Dr. Maheshwari shared that it was him who had named the Commerce Faculty block after Nanaji and was in the process of naming the Commerce Department library after him.

The whole Commerce Faculty Department and several students come into Dr. Maheshwar's office to see three generations of Deans represented in his office and shaking hands with us. It was a wonderful feeling to see that Nanaji was loved so much even today.

This is a photograph which everyone in our family - "the Gupta Clan" - is familiar wth. Nanaji and Naniji have me in the middle and Raka (my sister) and Chandeena (my cousin sister) in the photo as well. In the background are my parents.

The playful dog stretching out is an alsatian named - "Tommy".

Chandeena and Raka

This photograph was taken in 1962, just before my Uncle Late Col. Vinod Kumar Gupta had been called to the NEFA border to lead his troops in the Chinese Aggression.

Don't miss the young "soldier" in the photograph standing between his parents.

After Dr. Anil Misra vacated this Bungalow:

- The bungalow was converted into two Lucknow University Offices with no one looking after the garden.

- Slowly vegetation took over like the Lucknow University Canteen.

- The bungalow presently looks like the ruins from a bygone era.

The main entrance of the bungalow looks like a relic from the past. 

In the above two photographs one can see the verandah on the side of the bungalow, where Nanaji and all of us used to sit on chairs/charpoys and liten to the cricket commentary while quaffing hot "pakodas" coming straight out of the kitchen behind cooked by Ram Prasad Nanaji's Khansama.

There was a huge courtyard ("Aangan") in the Bungalow. At least twice a year a lady Chikankari worker, who was called "Behtar Jehan" used to bring stacks of "Chikan Kari Kurtas" and saris and take orders for the next consignment. Chikan-kari is an intricate piece of work and Behtar Jehan used to take 5-6 months to work on her orders before presenting us with the best Chika kari items.

I still have Behtar Jehan's scissors marked - "786" (the number representing Allah (God) with me. I cannot remember how they came in my possession, but they are the best cloth cutting scissors that I have ever seen.

My sister Raka standing amidst the newly "excavated" ruins waiting for an "archaeology" team.