Roorkee University in year 1959 onwards

Continuing the first year of university life I remember the winters used to be too much chill during those days .On holidays I used to come to Delhi and would bring so many books that I would study at home but all this was a futile exercise and to be honest I never opened the books and went back to Roorkee carrying all the holdall of books.The back journeys were by train and that too in the night .The train used to reach Roorkee in the morning at 4 am and the trains stop time was only 5 minutes and we used to throw our baggage from the train on the platform and then used to hire some rickshaw and reached room about at 5am .My ears and face used to be red red due to intense cold.We used to rush from one class to the other by bicycle and used to keep books or file on the stand of the bicycle.In Roorkee a strict restriction of dress was maintained .No student was allowed t walk on the road or in the campus wearing loose chapels or Pyjama Kurta.You were allowed to wear chapels only in the hostel corridors.Shoes without socks and coat without tie were not allowed.For sports you had to wear white dress,white shirt white pant and white socks and canvass shoes and blue blazer in the winters.While leaving the room every student was supposed to keep the bed quite neat and cover the bed with sheet keeping pillows under the sheet.In winters the bed would be covered with quilts.The shoes and chapel's would be on shoe stands.Every student would keep the room clean.There would be study table and table lamp and a chair to sit erect during studies.All the dusting work would be done by students by themselves.Due to shortage of accommodation there were rooms shared by two students.There were good games system you had to choose two games and it was mandatory.There were marks for games also .I remember there were about 30 marks reserved for games.At that time Professor Mahesh Chandra was our games in charge.I took gymnastics as one of the games and later on became secretary of gymnastics and got the colour and used to attach this colour on the pocket of my blue blazer.When I used to go outside I used to feel pride to wear Roorkee University blazer .Coming to dinner and mess rules I think Roorkee mess was a marvelous .As you enter you would find a Butler wearing a long white dress with shining belt and a turban of like Maharaja and long moustaches and pride and shining face.All the bearers were under him and he supervised the event very majestically.Seniors and juniors used to eat at same table.While taking dinner you had to keep the spoon and forks crossed and when you finished then the spoons and forks would be placed parallel.Once a week you would get a sweet dish either ice cream or Khir or gulab jamun etc.If by mistake you happened to place the spoons and forks parallel then the butler would immediately take away the plates from the front of you whether you had finished or not.When you had finished and you intended to leave you had to say Excuse Me Please to the student sitting next to you and take out your chair and then pushed back towards the table.Supposing you were sitting at end of dining table and the dish was away from your reach then that case you had to ask your fellow student like this " Pass on please' and in return you would say "Thank You"and in return the fellow student on the table would say "mention not" or " Its alright"Some times it was advised that there should be dinner suit which was to be creams in colour.In other words we were trained to be Sahib or the officer.We were not allowed to mix with diploma holders as were degree students and on getting the job diploma students get the subordinate posts and degree holders would get officer grade.This was only a notion at that time.As I opted gymnastics and swimming as my games .One day I went for swimming in the swimming pool of Roorkee and out of experiment took a deep dive from the height and as I jumped in the pool but got exhausted and I lost control and cried .Seeing me one of my class mate Sh S.C Kulshrest jumped and pulled me up.I am grateful to him and still cont forget him .Had he not saved me at that time I would had not been on the earth .May God less him and his family members as I had now last track of him.By coincidence It so happened later in my life when I was serving in Irrigation Department U P that I fell unconscious fell at gate of Lucknow office the same person took me to his house and got myself treated and accompanied me to Allahabad where I was posted.I bow my head for him under gratefulness and respects.During first year in 1959 Roorkee university opened a girls hostel and its number was hostel No, 44.There were only 4 to 5 girls got admission.Mostly in telecoms civil and Mech. streams. The mess had separate table for girls.Roorkee University used to show one picture per month in open air theatre.I remember once a picture Paying Guest by Dev Anand was shown.Once Punjabi poetess Surinder Kaur Had also came and sang poem " DUD PEE LEA BALMA MAIN KUDAUN DI KHARI"As Roorkee is a cantonment and in all the Cantonments there is Defence Cinema.Once I saw a movie at this picture hall named Horrors Of Dracula.This was a very much dreadful picture and I still remember the long teeth and how the Dracula sucked blood under the darkness from the neck of a victim.I could not got sleep after seeing it .As I was returning in the loneliness and passed by the bushes I was imaging that Dracula would come out from bushes .From that day onward I never saw any movie at that theatre. Continued...........