DAYS OF THE RAJ
By: Owen Patrick Rose
Bandikui in years gone by was a small little Railway
Junction lying on the M.G section of the B.B & C railway line, later
changed to Western Railway after independence & lately taken over by North
Western Railway.
Prior to 1950, Bandikui was a beautiful railway colony,
mostly of domiciled Europeans/ Anglo Indians who formed the bulk of the running
staff, mainly Drivers, Firemen, Guards, higher senior positions, like ASM/ SM
(Asst Station Masters/ Station Masters)
Bandikui boosted of a beautiful railway colony with well
kept bungalows, gardens & well trimmed hedges, all to make it the best city
in North India . The city had its own Railway
Institute, with an attached bar, where the men folks would gather every evening
for a drink, discuss their work related issues regarding their engines, bad
coal, sleeping station masters of wayside station & missing of tablets. The
institute had an excellent & well maintained dance floor, about the best
back in time. It also sheltered a bowling
green , with a lovely garden attached, two tennis
courts attached side by side, and a badminton court behind. A full size
football & hockey field was part of this wonderful institute, which hosted
major district tournaments, and one could see railways teams coming from all
over to participate.
Life, actually started in the month of November, when all
the boys & girls would return from the hills, a term used back in the days,
to recognize children coming back from boarding schools, e.g. Mussourie, Nani
Tal, Simla, Mt Abu etc. Arrival of the youngsters brought in the start of the
Christmas season.
The mornings would start at 9am, once the institute opened
till around 1pm. You would see most of the boys & girls playing hide &
seek, or some spending time in the reading room, as for the billiards room, it
would always be full. The evenings would start from 4pm, with the opening of
the tennis courts, a game of hockey (mixed teams boys & girls) or
rounder’s. Saturdays was reserved for Whist Drive or Housie, followed by a hop
till you drop, provided by amplified music, rounding up at 11 pm. Thursdays of
course was reserved as the movie night, and Sunday was usually reserved for a
Tea Dance, which started around two in the afternoon & ran till around four.
The Christmas itinerary was planned well ahead and all
programs would start from the 24th evening with the lighting of the
Christmas tree for the children, followed by a Tea party. There was always
plenty to eat, as Late Mrs. Lennon who was the head caterer, always made sure
there was full and plenty & nobody went hungry.
As soon as the boys & girls finished their meals, it was
definitely time for a dance, which lasted till it was time to go for mass. Both
churches (Protestant & R.C) would be full, as nobody missed service back in
the day. These churches housed a resident Chaplin, and a priest, both of which
used to draw railway salaries, free passes & rare privileges.
Service in the Protestant church would get over much earlier
than the service in the Roman Catholic Church, so the boys and girls would wait
near the gates of the R.C church to wish their friends a Merry Christmas, not
to forget the high energy level of hugging & kissing. After which all of
them would parade the colony, singing, dancing & lighting crackers, which
would wind up around 4 in the morning.
Bandikui, in those days boasted of many beautiful girls,
some of you might remember, Nanette Pooler, Iona Dengo, Noreen Martin, Audrey
Phillips, Doreen Phillips, Peggy Foote, Pamela Miles, Anita Drane, Mary
Millington & many more….who would give any Miss World a run, in today’s
world.
The Christmas dance would be held on the 26th of
December, and a band from Ajmer
would always be called in to play. It would either be Charlie Killu Or Bill
Morera’s band that would play, and one would see them perform throughout the
festive week. The week was full of events like, Dances, Indoor Games, Sports,
Housie, Card Games & even Crown & Anchor/ Roulette. My late brother, Christopher Rose owned
his own board & would be the banker for this event. I remember him as one
humble soul, that coming down to the maids & dhobi’s (Laundry man) he would
allow all of them to a free game, because for him Christmas was an event to be
enjoyed by one & all.
The New Year’s Eve Ball, would be held on the 31st
of December, and the heat would be start building up, as people from near by
stations like Rewari, Agra ,
Jaipur, Udipur would come in. I can still remember the fancy dress competitions,
the boys & girls would dress up in costumes from out of this world. The
dhobi (washerman) was the man of the season, as he was on call everyday every
moment, and this day he described in his own words, Pagal Nach ( Mad Dance)
Come March, and everything would go back to normal, time for
the boys & girls to head back to school. With a big crowd still left in
town, Easter was celebrated in traditional style. The Easter Ball, for starters, followed by the May Queen Ball & the Monsoon
Ball.
Coming back home, my dad, Late Christopher Rose, came to
Bandikui from Mhow, on a promotion & transfer as a Sr. Mail Guard,
somewhere in the year 1935/ 36. Dad hailed from a respectable Anglo Indian
family, whose grandfather came to India with the British Army as a Band Master
& was based in Madras (Chennai) Dad played an active service roll with the
British Indian Army during World War I in Mesopotamia Iraq, and was based at
Basra for quiet a while, with a team of Indian Engineers.
Once the railways started opening up, he & the family
moved up North. My Dad’s father late Charles D Rose was a Driver in Sirsa
(Haryana) now under the Northern Railways.
By the time the family arrived to Bandikui, I was around 4
or 5 years old. My elder brother Christopher & sister Dorothy were borders
in St Anslem’s & the Convent in Ajmer .
I was then admitted into the Railway school, which was down the street.
Going back In time I remember some of the teachers of
yesteryears, Ms Mortimer & Ms Atkinson who were the Head Mistresses, QP
Rees, this ginger haired freckled lady, who was always seen with a cigarette in
her hand. Can’t forget Kathleen D’sena, who used to live in the barracks,
adjoining our bungalow. The evenings would be moments of a life time, to see
Bill Morera bring his guitar & serenade Kathleen. Later this great couple
married.
After completing the 4th grade in 1943, I joined
St Anslem’s as a border, a year after my elder brother Christopher completed
his Senior Cambridge. There after, I remember dad taking Christopher to the
D.T.S ( Dist. Traffic Superintendent) office after the Sr Cambridge results
were out, and landed him this job as a TC (Ticket Collector) on a net salary of
Rs 55/ per month, per the special Anglo Indian privilege grade, bypassing
interviews, exterminations & the board of commission.
My sister Dorothy, completed her Jr Cambridge & there
after joined the W.A.C (I) as it was totally Anglo Indian dominated, an effort
to help the War Efforts of WW II.
The years 1945 & 1947 had its own sorrows attached. I
lost my younger brother Gerald in 1945 who was a border & was hit with an
acute typhoid attack and later died in the nursing home. My dad passed away in
1947, before Independence ,
when I was still in the boarding. I did not get to see the last of him as Mum
did not want me to get disturb as I was in my senior years in school.
After Dad’s death, we had to vacate the bungalow, and moved
to the barracks, which was close to the Roman Catholic Church, which was allocated to
Christopher, now working as a Good Train Guard.
While in St Anslem’s boarding I remember a few faces, Patrick
Pinto, Gerry Martin, Tony Joseph & Eugene Blanchet, these boys attended
school for a bit & than dropped out to join the Railway Workshops. Can’t
forget, Peter Lesser our class master in STD V. The one and only Mr. S.P
Pereira, who was nick names Toothbrush, Mr. Pinto, who had the habit of pulling
up his pants every now & then while teaching. For those of you who remember
Dick D’silva , the Math’s Master, a very stern person with a strong
personality, and an ace in putting together the Annual concerts.
St Anslem’s owned a lot to Dick D’silva & the Late Rev
Fr. Avito Couthino, the mastermind behind the Sports & Boxing tournaments.
For it was because of these two gentlemen that St Anslem’s was listed the best
Anglo Indian schools in North India, and produced the best Sportsmen &
Boxers nation wide.
Dating back in time, between 1943 – 1950, St Anslem’s ruled
the roost, in Hockey, Football & Boxing, where most of the major
tournaments were bagged by us. The famous Rajputana Inter School Boxing
Tournament was totally dominated by our boys & fear ran through the blood
of the opponents facing an Anslemite.
Fond memories still remain fresh of Master’s & Super
Hero’s, not to forget Late Rev Fr. Bonaventure, a tall strapping French six
footer, who was our Science Master & our choir instructor. I can still
remember the time we were all in the lab conducting an experiment with Rev
& we heard this BANG!! All eyes turned around to see Francis D’mello’s chin
on fire.
Francis D’mello was one of St Anslem’s best sportsmen; he
later graduated and was select to play for Maharashtra’s hockey team, later to
move on to be one of the best players for India at the Olympics.
The best & most courteous man Iv ever met in my life was
none other than my class teacher in the X th, the Late Rev Fr. Leo D’mello, who
was our English Literature Master, and later rose to become the Principal after
the French left, and there after became the first Indian Bishop of Ajmer &
Jaipur.
After completing my high school, I joined the Indian Air
Force as a Technician, and was sent to Tambaram (Madras ) for training. I was there for a year
and realized that this was not something I wanted to do & released on
compassionate grounds. There after I returned back to Bandakui in 1951 and
landed a job in the Loco shed.
Having spent a lot of time in my new job, I was then
selected as an ASM (Asst Station Master) and was sent to Ajmer Training Collage
to complete the mandatory outlined course. On completion of the required
Masters course, I returned back to Bandikui and landed a job as a R.A.S.M
(Relieving Asst Station Master) mainly working on road side stations.
It was the year 1957, when this job was posted for the
position of a Guard, and I thereby applied & was selected out of a group of
fifty young men. On achievement of this position, I was asked to complete a
related course & was sent to the Railway Training Collage in Udipur, to be
mentored by none other than, Bill Greene, the Superintendent back then. On successful
completion of another certificate, and an added certification, I returned back
to Bandikui, the land of milk & honey!
It was then when I met my wife, Audrey Rita Phillips, the
daughter of Cyril Edmund Phillips, India’s
No 1 Mail Driver & the chosen one, selected
to drive Queen Elizibeth II from
Jaipur to Sawai Madhopur for a tiger hunt.
For all those who remember Mr Phillips, he was noted for his
spotless Steam Engine, his spotless white attire, and his trade mark engine
whistle he blew each time he pulled in. Seven short & one long blow on the
pipes, and everybody from the dhobi (laundrymen) to the priest, knew Cyril Phillips
was coming home.
A gentleman by manner, a star by honor…. Mr. Phillips was
always selected to drive VVIP’s and Specials runs.
Other than the honor of driving the Queen, he was also
selected to run a special for Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first President of
Independent India.
L to R – Audrey
Phillips nee Rose, Cyril Phillips, Irene Phillips, Doreen Phillips nee Lindsey
Smith & Norman Phillips
As written in the books, the year 1958 was special, as I
married the lady of my dreams, and in 1960 our first child Colin was born,
there after Jacqueline & last but not least Christopher, the latter who
were named after my dad.
L to Right: Colin, my
late wife Audrey, Cyril, myself & Jacqueline
My railway years came to an end in 1970 when we decided to
move to greener pastures, and that’s when I resigned & moved to Baroda to join my brother
in law, Bertie Lindsey Smith, younger brother of Bill Smith, who was Station
Master in Bandikui back then.
Bertie, who married Doreen Phillips, my wife’s younger sister was employed as an Engineer with Sussen Textiles Bearing; the parent company based in theUK & produced bulk quantity of bearings to
be distributed in and around India .
Bertie, who married Doreen Phillips, my wife’s younger sister was employed as an Engineer with Sussen Textiles Bearing; the parent company based in the
From flags to Tags!! This was a whole new world for me, as I
wasn’t mechanically inclined, but it was a do or die situation, that had to be
accepted in order to be successful. I gave it my best shot, and hard work spoke
for itself, finally after working for three years I took charge as Production
Controller. This job involved a lot of technical work like Time & Motion
study/ Machine loading & Planning, hence I was put through an intensive
study period. Time flew by, calling for retirement in 1990, once all my
children were on their own feet. My wife & I, decided, nothing was left to
hold us back in Baroda & finally made the
call to move to Bombay
to be closer to my children. As the years passed by, my eldest son Colin moved
to the US , my daughter
Jackie & here family, and my son & his wife Joyce migrated to Canada . Its was
in 2004 that we entered Canada
after my son put in our papers to be legal citizens of the country.
To day when I sit back, rewind the memories of those
glorious days!! all I can say is:
"WE ANGLO INDIAN’S LIVED THE DREAM"