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1938

today, man's achievement

is an ugly mockery
announcing itself everywhere
the face of a monster.
must I have to witness this
ugly nightmare
by lighting a stormy lamp
in the twilight hour of my life?
Rabindranath Tagore
1938
Translation - Uma Dasgupta

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Delhi (a poem)

77 Rasiklal Gupta

Jottings - Translation from 'Lipika'

82 Chittaranjan Pakrashi

A British Officer
who made a Difference

Translations of Tagore Songs

74 Ajanta Dutt
75 Maitrayee Sen

Delhi Vignettes
73, 88

Madhumita Dasgupta

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Yesterday, I went through the two issues of Hindol which are now
with us (January 2011 and the special edition of April 2011 on the
150th Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore).
I liked Ajanta Dutt's translation of the song 'Ami path bhola ek
pathik eshechhi, I also read her article on Rabindrasangeet. I read with
interest about the context for the composition of the song 'Tumi kemon
kore gan kore...' I had an (evidently erroneous) impression that Rabi
Thakur composed this song after listening to Nazrul Islam sing.
I read Sunandan Lala's article on Santiniketan, and noted a photograph of the prayer hall with an abundance of glass on its walls,
where I attended a morning prayer with the sun streaming in through
the glass on the side. The reading of a simple prayer by a clear and

, 1418

11
captivating voice in this environment was memorable and I remember
it still because of the purity of the experience.
Also read Uma Das Gupta's conversation with Indira Gandhi on
her days as a student in Santiniketan and Mandira Mitra's article on
the sculptor K.S. Radhakrishnan and his association with Santiniketan.
The historian Professor V.N. Dutta, formerly of Kurukshetra University, once told me about a Sikh singer who left Punjab and travelled
to Santiniketan and settled there to learn and practice Rabindrasangeet.
At least that is what I remember hearing some years back in the course
of a leisurely conversation with Prof Dutta.
Sumantra Nag
25.10.2011
Delhi
I believe you are doing a massive job (HINDOL) in a world with
limited vision, fast food, poor digestion and everything in capsule
form, including education at every level!
Any activity which endeavours to look even a little beyond today's
normally accepted Indian value-base built on the concept of 'more'
property and 'more' money is definitely divine - no question on that.
We may differ on literary/intellectual/social issues but, that is the
essence of living - individuality that is not calculated to hurt, intimidate or, satisfy one's ego.
Aurobindo Mukerji
11.11.2011
Delhi
As a professional communication practitioner engaged in the
business of advertising & journalism, allow me to express my joy at
reading Subhadra Sengupta's piece in the October 2011 issue of your
magazine. As a hard core NRK - non-resident Kolkatabasi (who after
living 3 decades in Delhi still pines for Kolkata!), I found the piece
enlightening, enriching & entertaining.
Tragically, in today's world, scholastic insightful & analytical writing
is largely perceived as "unfashionable & boring" as most things serious
are. My father-in-law {the late Chidananda Dasgupta} always lamented
this fact but never ever moved away from his vision & calling as
perhaps India's last great original voice in the area of serious film
criticism.

, 1418

12
These are endangered species in a space where smart slick, stylish,
trendy writing rules & mediocrity triumphs in no uncertain terms!
More power to Ms. Sengupta's pen (mouse?) & may she move from
strength to strength.
Monojit Lahiri
5.11.2011
New Delhi
The articles in Hindol 3 / 2 number are quite interesting. I liked
Smt. Deepabali Sen's 'Bangla Sahitye Dilli' very much. However,
although it was quite exhaustive in mentioning various books/stories,
"Rajpath Janapath" by Chanakya Sen (if I am not mistaken) was
missing.
Sucheta Ghosh
16.10.2011
Kolkata

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, 1418

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ARTIST : V.S. RAHI

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Chronicle- k - ,
- He might employ his time to better advantage than in writing English
poetry. As an occasional exercise and proof of his proficiency in
the language, such specimens may be allowed. But he could render
far greater service to his country and have a better chance of achieving
a lasting reputation for himself, if he will employ the taste and
talents, which he has cultivated by the study of English, in improving
the standard and adding to the stock of the poems of his own
language, if poetry, at all events, he must write.
y (if poetry, at
all events, he must write)

Bengal

Hurkuru These verses of M.M.S. Dutt are very fair amateur poetry; but if
the power of making has deluded the author into a reliance on the
exercise of his poetical abilities for fortune and reputation.. the
delusion is greatly to be regretted.
Hurkuru- (Curse that rascal)

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(by Casidoss) (I am losing my Bengali faster than I can

, 1418

mention)

, n, , (Am I not
preparing for the great object of embellishing the tongue of my fathers?)
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, 1418

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, 1418

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, 1418

61

62

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, 1418

~ -

Temples in Delhi where liquor is 'prasad'

Bhairon Mandir is the most famous. Behind the Kilkari Bhairon Mandir is the Dudhiya
Bhairon, where the deity is bathed with milk every day.

Getting there: Opposite Gate no. 1 of Pragati Maidan

Two other temples in Delhi that

go by the name of Bhairon
Mandir and accept offerings of
liquor are at Nehru Place and at
Rani Jhansi Road.

Image of the deity at

Rani Jhansi Road.
Getting there : A hundred yards
from the T-junction of B.R.
Ambedkar Marg.
: Jhandewalan
PHOTO : MADHUMITA DASGUPTA

, 1418

: Pragati Maidan

63

64

~ -

PHOTO : MADHUMITA DASGUPTA

Chatanki, the name given to a rock that Pandu's son Bhim is said to have
played / exercised with, for whom it weighed as little as a chatak!
Getting there: Can be seen conveniently while visiting Lal Kot (see page 69). After
turning in from Adham Khan's tomb, turn right again from the first crossing till you
come to the dargah of Ashiqullah. Ask for Bhim Ki Chatanki. It is about 2 kilometres
from Adham Khan's tomb and about a hundred yards from the dargah.
Don't miss the view from the top of the dargah of the Qutab Minar jutting out from the
trees.

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, 1418

~ -

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, 1418

65

66

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, 1418

~ -

Anangpur Dam, built by

Tomar king Anangpal,
possibly in the 8th century AD
Southern view
A sluice gate

Getting there: The dam is in the Faridabad

district of Haryana. From the main gate of
Tughlakabad Fort, passing the Shooting Range
on the left, drive 6 kilometres south (up to
Anangpur Mor) towards Suraj Kund. Take a
right here, drive another kilometre up to St.
Brijmohan School, take the lane on the right
opposite the school, and keep to your right till
the lane, that soon turns into a track, ends in
the woods after about a kilometre. You are now
at the northern end of Anangpur village, where
you are certain to get guidance to walk down
to the dam.

PHOTO : ANEESHA DASGUPTA

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, 1418

67

68

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, 1418

~ -

The Hindu kingdom in Delhi

Bastion at Lal Kot - The fortress
Lal Kot is said to have been built
by the Tomars in the 8th century
AD
Getting there: Approach
Mehrauli village from Aurobindo
Marg keeping Qutab Minar on
your left. Turn right immediately
after Adham Khan's tomb
(opposite Mehrauli Bus Terminal
on your left). The ruins of the
walls of the Lal Kot fort are on
your right after the tomb. A hundred yards down, the wall turns off to the right towards
the Chatanki (see page 64). Photograph is taken near the Chatanki.
Adham Khan was the son of one of Emperor Akbar's wet nurses, Maham Anga. The
Emperor had Adham Khan executed by having him flung down repeatedly from the
ramparts of Agra Fort as he had killed Atgah Khan, the husband of another of Akbar's
wet nurses Jiji. Maham Anga died shortly after in 1562 and is also interred here. She
had a mosque built in Delhi called Khairul-Manazil.

Rai Pithora - Surviving wall of

fortress said to have been built
in the 12th century AD by
Prithviraj III, a king of the
Chauhan dynasty that
succeeded the Tomar dynasty.
PHOTO : MADHUMITA DASGUPTA

Getting there: The best preserved portions run parallel to Press Enclave Road, on
which the entrance is situated.
: Malviya Nagar

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, 1418

69

70

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, 1418

~ -

Ashokan Pillars
Both the Ashokan Pillars in Delhi were brought here by Sultan Firoz Shah (Tughlak),
one from Topra (near Ambala) and the other from Meerut.

Topra Pillar

Getting there: This is inside the ruins of Firozabad next to

Feroze Shah Kotla stadium on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg.
Right next to the pillar is the Jami Masjid built by the Sultan,
where prayers are offered even today. Do not miss the
circular baoli here (see HINDOL October 2011).
: Pragati Maidan or New Delhi station or Kashmere Gate

Meerut pillar
Getting there: Follow the metro line from the
Kashmere Gate station beyond Tis Hazari (one
station) and take a right on Rani Jhansi Marg.
The road will wind up to the Pillar after
crossing Fatehgarh Memorial on the right.
: Pul Bangash

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71

72

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, 1418

Delhi Vignettes

Ashokan Rock Edict

in East of Kailash

The two Ashokan Pillars in Delhi (see page 71 ) were 'imported' whereas the Rock
Edict is 'in situ' meaning 'at its original site' (literally 'in position'). The presence of the
edict indicates the relative importance of this area during Emperor Ashoka's reign
(3rd century BC).

Getting there: Go past the

ISCKON temple, approaching
it from the National Heart
Institute in East of Kailash, and
the site is on the hillock at the
next right hand corner enclosed
by a high boundary wall. It is
an ASI protected monument.
: Kailash Colony

PHOTO : MADHUMITA DASGUPTA

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73

ARTIST : SHANU LAHIRI

74

&...
'twas that night when my doors were battered in the storm
yet I did not know you had crossed the threshold of my home;
all around darkness descended into night
the flickering lamp suddenly shed its little light
my outstretched arms reached for the skies in search of an unknown
form,
yet I did not know that you had crossed the threshold of my home.
in the lengthening shadows did I lie, in dream-like reverie,
how could I know the tempest heralded your chariot of victory;
when the day broke I opened my eyes to see,
you were there, standing there, just in front of me;
this room so full of emptiness, fulfilled upon me loom'd,
yet I did not know that you had crossed the threshold of my home.
(Translation : Ajanta Dutta)

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 ...
i know not when it was
that I first set out with Thy song on my lips
i remember not
since when my heart has been thus longing for Thee
not today, to be sure! not just today.

ARTIST : SHANU LAHIRI

75

as the waterfall leaps into the unknown

without knowing whom it seeks
thus have I sped along the course of my life,
not today, to be sure! not just today.
what varied names have I called Thee by;
what varied images have I drawn of Thee
with what joy and abandon have I rushed on
towards a destination I knew not.
not today, to be sure! not just today.
as the flower unknowingly keeps vigil through the night
awaiting the light of the day,
thus hast the hope of Thee
pervaded my whole being all through my life,
not today, to be sure! not just today.
(Translation : Maitrayee Sen)

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76

Delhi
Sumantra Nag
a view through the corner pane displays
dull mortar or cream in durable paint
relieved by wooden window frames
across the dry expanse of land
the houses grow like spreading crops
through miles of dust and stone and scrub.
a whole generation's genesis seen
through the wrong end of a telescope.
boulevards and gnarled tree trunks
regimental tunes that marched
as the Beating of the Retreat swaggered
and cymbals clashed to greet a queen.
colonnaded arcades in Connaught Place
usher ambling crowds to spacious shops
the two-roomed dwellings in the upper stories
where the tenants rubbed their eyes in sleep
and tuition by a Christian teacher left
the smell of ink with the backward student.
cracked ramparts of medieval forts
run loosely round once peopled spaces.
Purana Killa's mounds were rich in yield
hearthstones in daily use uncovered
or coins from distant centuries
jade jars from China for a prince
and shards of broken pottery
confirming the last millennium's myths.

(A view of Jami Masjid inside Firozabad)

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Jottings - Replay

Rasiklal Gupta
Karol Bagh, Delhi

Jottings
(Translation from 'Lipika' of
Rabindranath Tagore)

Replay
News from the battlefront was less than inspiring. Dejected, the
king went out for a turn in the park.
A young boy and girl were at play under a tree near the periphery
wall.
'What are you playing,' he asked them.
They said, 'We are playing at being Ram and Sita during their stay
in the woods.'
The king settled down next to them.
The boy said, 'This is our Dandak forest, we are building our
cottage here.'
He was indeed very busy with lots of branches, twigs, brushwood
that he had collected.
The girl too was busy cooking some leaves in a clay pot on a
fireless hearth. Ram was to be fed; Sita had no time to waste.
The king said, 'You seem to have thought of everything else, but
where's the ogre.'
The boy had to concede that there were some imperfections in
their Dandak forest after all.
'Alright, I'll be the ogre,' the king offered.
The boy inspected him closely and said, 'But you would have to
lose.'
The king said, 'Sure, I'm a great loser. Just check me out.'
The ogre-slaying went off so well that the boy just wouldn't let

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77

78

Jottings - Replay

go of the king, who had to suffer a dozen deaths and was at the end
of it exhausted from dying over and over again.
The birds crooned that day just as they had done at Panchabati
in Treta. The morning light played the same tender notes among the
dappled curtain of the green leaves as it had done in Treta.
The king's heart was lightened of its burdens.
He summoned the minister and asked, 'Whose children are these?'
'The girl is my daughter; her name is Ruchira. The boy is Kaushik,
his father is an impoverished Brahmin who earns a living by
performing religious rites.' the minister said.
The king said, 'I'd like them to get married when they are of
suitable age.'
The minister did not dare to speak up; he just lowered his eyes
and stood there, silent.
-2The king sent Kaushik for tutelage with the best tutor of the land.
All the upper caste children
there used to study under his
guidance. As did Ruchira.
The tutor was not pleased
when Kaushik started to attend
his classes. The others were
discomfited too. But then it was
the king's wish.
Ruchira was mortified the
most. The boys gossiped. She
would blush in embarrassment,
her eyes flooding over in anger.
If Kaushik passed her a
book, she would push it away.
If he spoke to her about a lesson,
she would not reply.
The tutor was very fond of
Ruchi. He had made up his
mind that she should trounce
Kaushik in every subject; this
ARTIST : PULAK BISWAS
was Ruchi's vow too.

, 1418

Jottings - Replay

It looked that this could

happen very easily, for
though Kaushik did study, it
was not single-mindedly. He
was keen to go off
swimming, to go strolling in
the woods. He would sing
and
play
musical
instruments.
The tutor rebuked him,
'Are you not interested in
your lessons?'
'I am interested, but in
many other things too.' he
replied.
The tutor said, 'Discard
those interests.'
'Then I will lose interest
ARTIST : PULAK BISWAS
in my lessons.' he said.
-3Some time passed.
The king enquired of the tutor, 'Who is your best student.'
The tutor answered, 'Ruchira.'
The king persisted, 'And what of Kaushik?'
The tutor said, 'I doubt he has learnt anything at all.'
The king said, 'I would like to see Ruchira married to Kaushik.'
The tutor smirked, 'It would be like getting the dawn married to
the dusk.'
The king summoned the minister, 'Your daughter's marriage to
Kaushik should not be delayed any further.'
The minister said, 'Your Highness, she does not consent to this
match.'
The king said, 'Can a woman's desire be reckoned by what she
says?'
The minister said, 'Her tears stand witness.'
The king asked, 'Does she think Kaushik to be unfit for her?'
The minister said, 'Yes, that is so.'

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79

80

Jottings - Replay

The king said, 'Then let a competition be held on their learning.

If Kaushik wins, the marriage will take place.'
The following day the minister told the king, 'My daughter agrees
to this contest.'
-4The judges had assembled. The king was on the throne; Kaushik
sat at his feet.
Ruchi arrived, escorted by the tutor. Kaushik rose to pay obeisance
to the tutor and to greet Ruchi. Ruchi ignored him.
In the classroom, Kaushik had never ever got into even a mock
debate with Ruchi. The other students had also never discussed
anything with him, considering him beneath their contempt. Thus
today, when the sharp acidic barbs of his arguments flashed about,
the tutor was amazed as well as annoyed. Ruchi broke out in a sweat;
she could not keep her wits about her. Kaushik pressed her to the brink
of defeat and then released her.
The tutor was speechless with fury; Ruchi was in tears.
The king said to the minister, 'Fix the wedding date.'
Kaushik rose and said to the king with folded hands, 'Please forgive
me, I will not be married.'
Astonished, the king asked, 'Will you not accept the prize won?'
Kaushik said, 'Let the triumph be mine and the prize someone
else's.'
The tutor said, 'Your Highness, please grant another year's time.
Allow the final test to be held after that.'
It was so agreed.
-5Kaushik stopped coming to school. Some mornings he was
roaming in the shady woods, on some evenings he was seen on the
hilltops.
The tutor devoted himself to Ruchi's education. But what was
Ruchi devoting herself to?
Piqued, the tutor said, 'If you are not careful, you'll be humiliated
again.'
But she seemed to be yearning to be humiliated once again. Like
Aparna had practiced austerity by not eating, Ruchi seemed to be
doing so by not studying.

, 1418

Jottings - Replay

Flying into a rage, the tutor said, 'I swear on the names of Kapil
and Kana that I'll never again accept a woman student. I have solved
the many mysteries of the Vedas, but have not been able to understand
a woman's mind.'
One fine day the minister appeared before the king and said, 'A
match has come for my daughter's hand from the clan of Bhabadatta.
They are second to none in antecedents, reputation and wealth. I seek
my lord's blessings.'
The king asked, 'What is your daughter's view?'
The minister said, 'Can a woman's desire be gauged by what she
says.'
The king asked, 'Why, what do her tears say today?'
The minister fell silent.
-6The king went out to sit in the lawns. He told the minister, 'Ask
your daughter to come and see me.'
Ruchira came and bowed.
He said, 'Child, do you remember the game of Ram's exile to the
forest?'
Ruchira stood silent with lowered eyes.
The king said, 'I'd love to watch that game once again.'
Ruchira veiled her face and kept quiet.
The king said, 'The forest exists, so does Ram, but I hear, my child,
that Sita's not on hand. If you permit, this can be corrected.'
Ruchira said nothing but knelt to touch the king's feet.
The king said, 'But my child, I cannot play the ogre today.'
Ruchira raised her eyes to look at the king.
The king said, 'This time the ogre will be played by your
tutor.'
(Rasiklal Gupta is a practicing lawyer.)

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81

82
Chittaranjan Pakrashi
Kailash Colony, Delhi

A British Officer
who made a Difference

It was December 20th 1945. The Second World War had ended
just four months ago after the devastating atom bombs were dropped
on Japan. Coming from Calcutta, I landed at the Old Delhi railway
station to join a job under a British Director in a non-descript new
office in the Ministry of Commerce of the Government of India. The
city of Delhi, with its glorious past during the Hindu and Muslim
monarchy, had been reduced to a mediocre city after the freedom
struggle called the 'Mutiny of 1857'. Though the shifting of India's
capital from Calcutta to Delhi took place with the historic
announcement at the Delhi Durbar on 12th December 1911 by
Emperor George V, the capital of modern India, a marvelous creation
of the leading British architect Edwin Lutyens, came into being 20
years later and was inaugurated on February 10, 1931 by Lord Irwin,
the Viceroy of India. When I landed at Delhi not much had changed
since 1931.
Major P.W.R. Homfray, a handsome young man in the British army
had fought at the Burma front during the Second World War. While
there, he got to know the widowed daughter of the Governor of Burma
and married her after the war was over. Moving to Delhi, he now had
his own office under the Ministry of Commerce. This office 'Administrative Intelligence Room' - was meant to give pictorial shape
to statistical data relating to activities of various Ministries and
Departments of the Government of India to ascertain their progress
or otherwise at a glance. For this, besides other paraphernalia, a

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A British Officer who made a Difference

statistical and Drawing Section was

imperative. A Statistical Officer was
available, but for the head of the
Design Section, Homfray advertised in
newspapers. Eventually, Chunilal
Biswas was appointed as Assistant
Director and about a dozen artists,
including myself, were added to assist
him.
When I joined that office I noticed
several things out of the ordinary.
Firstly, Director Homfray used to
attend office on a bicycle, though there
Chunilal Biswas
was an office car. Instead of throwing
a big party to celebrate his wedding, Homfray arranged for tea and
biscuits every morning and evening for a month for all his staff at his
cost. He installed a music system in his room and provided loud
speakers in each room of the office to create a pleasant atmosphere
of 'music at work'. When the office shifted to the bigger 'B' Barracks
near Connaught Place, he encouraged his staff to start a recreation
club for organizing periodical cultural shows and for screening movies.
Lord Wavell took over as the Viceroy of India in 1943. Homfray
persuaded the powers-that-be to have the Viceroy's insignia for the
coat-of-arms designed in India instead of getting it from England, as
was the practice. Homfray assigned the job to Biswas who did a perfect
job to the full satisfaction of the Viceroy. Lord Wavell personally came
to our office to thank Biswas and presented him a specially
monogrammed silver cigarette case. Homfray took the opportunity to
introduce all the artists to the Viceroy - it was unthinkable to shake
hands with the all powerful head of the state and we were in a state
of ecstacy!
Homfray used to come around the office every morning to see if
everyone was in his seat and everything was in order. One day, while
travelling to office by bus one of the fingers of my right hand got
bruised. Homfray, out for his morning rounds as usual, rushed to his
room on seeing my plight, asking me to follow him. When I entered
his room he was already on the phone talking with the Medical

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83

84

A British Officer who made a Difference

Superintendent at the Viceregal Hospital at Church Road. He got the

office driver to take me there. Examining me the English doctor
laughed and said - 'I thought something serious had happened', and
arranged for the required treatment. I still remember Homfray's remarks
- 'Pakrashi, your right hand is your bread earner, you can't damage it
at any cost!'
Even during pre-independence days India used to participate in
Trade Fairs held at different parts of the world. For the Milan Trade
Fair, Homfray undertook to produce the publicity materials like poster,
show-card, brochure etc. to accompany the exhibits. The work as usual
was allotted to me. Coincidentally, my sister's marriage was settled
around then and I was asked by my parents to be present at our
ancestral village in East Bengal for the wedding. I too was very eager
to attend the ceremony and applied for a few days' leave. Instead of
summarily rejecting my application, Homfray called me to his room
and patiently explained how important the publicity material was and
how earnestly he depended on me for the job. He told me 'Look
Pakrashi, you are the key man for this job and the prestige of your
country is involved. At the same time I realize how important it is for
you to attend your sister's wedding. Now, I leave the matter entirely
to you.' My conscience did not allow me to escape my official
responsibility.
The most memorable milestone of India's history arrived at the
midnight of 14/15 August 1947 when Lord Mountbatten, the last
English Viceroy of India handed over charge of the reign of India to
the Indian leaders under Jawaharlal Nehru, who was elected as the
first Prime Minister of independent India. I was holidaying at my native
village - this time Homfray gladly granted my leave - and heard the
emergence of new India through our radio - the only one in that locality
- with mixed feelings - extremely glad for the emergence of a new
India and extremely sad as my own birthplace was now in a different
country. Coming back to Delhi I learnt that Homfray had opted to stay
back in Delhi to serve the new Government of independent India in
order to complete the projects he had undertaken. I noticed the sapling
of a banyan tree, which I was told, Homfray had planted to mark the
independence of India. Even today in the yard at the back of 'B'
Barracks (now demolished) the full grown banyan tree stands aloft to

, 1418

A British Officer who made a Difference

mark India's independence. But hardly

anyone knows its history and its association
with a British Officer who loved India and
its people.
The most remarkable assignment
Homfray brought for Biswas was preparing
the line rendering of the seal of independent
India from its halftone version for official
use. With great care Biswas prepared the line
drawing of the Lion Capital which has
become the permanent seal of the
Government of India and is extensively used
all over India for all Government purposes.
Nobody remembers Chunilal Biswas today
for this splendid work so painstakingly

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85

86

A British Officer who made a Difference

accomplished by him,
charged perhaps with a
sense of nationalistic
feeling that Homfray
had kindled in us.
The
saddest
moment of the nation
came on the 30th
January 1948 when the
father of the Nation
was assassinated. I
remember the day
vividly. It was 5.30 in
the evening, I was
cycling, like most of
the office goers in
Delhi,
home
to
Karolbagh after office
and on Panchkuin
Major P.W.R. Homfray
Road, as I neared the
Bhangi Colony, I noticed clusters of people engaged in animated
conversation. On enquiring I heard someone saying worriedly 'Gandhiji ille!' I sensed something serious must have happened. On
some previous occasions while returning home from my work I used
to go inside Bhangi Colony and found Gandhiji, after conducting the
evening prayer, addressing the gathering. One evening I was lucky to
hear Gandhiji's famous uttering - 'Jawahar! Wo to Jawahar hi hai!' I
saw top leaders like Pandit Nehru, Sarder Patel and many others
attending prayer meetings without any kind of security around them.
That fateful day it was not at Bhangi Colony but at Birla House that
the prayer meeting was being held and he became an assassin's target.
Next morning I managed to go near the crossing of Rajpath and Janpath
and saw the sea of humanity that gathered there to pay their last
respects to his mortal frame.
In 1948 itself the East Punjab Government under its Chief Minister
Gopi Chand Bhargava decided to pay homage to the Father of the
Nation by holding an exhibition at Simla - which they named 'Life

, 1418

A British Officer who made a Difference

After Truth' - on 2nd October, his

birthday. A request from the East
Punjab Government came to
Homfray to assist the State
Government in making an elaborate
plan for the Exhibition. I was
chosen by Homfray for the job and
was sent to Simla to assist the State
Government in the matter. I stayed
over a month in August 1948 at the
Grand Hotel with a few of my
colleagues from Delhi as guests of
the State Government and
accomplished the assignment.
Homfray was very pleased.
Drawing by the author for the
In 1949 Homfray felt it would
invitation card of the exhibition
not be practicable for him to stay in
India forever. So, at a time when most of his dream projects were
getting momentum he thought of handing over the baton. In S.
Subrahmanyam, an I.C.S. officer, he found an able administrator who
would be fit to carry forward his projects. Instead of going back to
England, his place of origin, he decided to settle in Australia. A
befitting farewell party was organized in Homfray's Administrative
Intelligence Room Auditorium when all the employees, with moist
eyes, spoke about the personal touch that Homfray used to extend to
each one of us. This Englishman genuinely felt for each one of us.
When we presented a specially designed scroll bearing autographs of
all the employees of A.I. Room, it was difficult for Homfray to hide
his emotions.
Nearly ten years later each member of the then A.I. Room received
a personal invitation asking him to join a get-together at the Imperial
Hotel hosted by Homfray. He was then holding the post of Chief in
the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He was very keen to meet
each one of his old colleagues including even his personal peon
Mangal Singh! It was really a joyful occasion for all of us to meet our
dear Homfray after so many long years.

, 1418

87

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Delhi Vignettes

The Kos Minars of the

Great Mughals
Mughal Emperor Akbar is said to
have ordered building of Kos
Minars (milestones; kos or kros
being an ancient Indian measure
of distance) from his capital Agra.
Jahangir and Shahjahan are said to
have continued building the
network (to Lahore, to Ajmer and
to Bengal). Experts say that sarais
(rest houses) and baolis (stepwells)
would have come up near some of
these.
Many of the minars can be seen
while driving along the Delhi-Agra
and the Delhi-Jaipur highways.
One of them can be closely
inspected in Delhi itself.
Kos Minar at Delhi
Getting there: It is inside the Zoo. Shortly after entering, take the right at the fork.
There is a baoli close by in the Purana Qila. (see HINDOL October 2011).
: Pragati Maidan

This structure at Lodi Gardens (just next to

the India International Centre entrance) is a
remnant of a Lodi period building and is not
a Kos Minar.

PHOTO : MADHUMITA DASGUPTA

, 1418