Baba's Trip Down Nostalgia Lane

baba, now 66, visited kalimpong after 58 years. he was there last in 1958 (when i was just a 1-year-old baby!). baba had been sent to preparatory classes in
st. joseph's convent (all girls in classes 1 upwards)  when his parents left for the u.k. for higher studies. he stayed there two years, with prema aryal (of the bunch of aryal sisters) as his guardian. according to baba, it took him three days to reach kalimpong.. by vehicle, train, and steamer (across the ganga river) in those days!

ramesh mama adds, "... it was at a time in 1957 when i had started to attend st. joseph's college in north point, darjeeling.  i convinced sandidi (mami)  and balaram bhinaju (buwa) that for kiran's growth and education, he should be admitted to st. joseph's, kalimpong. they hesitatingly agreed. i then took kiran from kathmandu through that long and arduous trip to st. joseph's, kalimpong..." 

baba had been wanting to go visit kalimpong, and his old school for a couple of years now.  it all became feasible this year as part of a whirlwind tour of kalimpong, gangtok, darjeeling and siliguri. priya and avaya also came along. the plan fell into place with the help of travel and culture guru surendra pradhanji of gangtok who personally drove us around everywhere, and to binoy dil lama, my friend and colleague,  who made the trip to st. joseph's a reality for baba, and whose family, especially his sister bijaya and her husband, who  treated us like their own! (some photos by  surendraji too)

 

getting ready to board  in kathmandu for the flight to bhadrapur on 14th February

 the mountains were on full display above the haze line that day 

the first 'jolt' of nostalgia for baba came with the sighting of mt. kanchanjangha (the third highest peak in the world) that baba used to see everyday from the window of his dorm in st. joseph's 

 close-up of the mountain

mechi crossing 

good carriers lined up to enter the border in kakadbhitta

  we drove through tea gardens in the plains

 .. and then through the natural reserve with its arrow straight road that baba remembered from his trip nearly six decades ago...

 

 .. and as if made to order, a wild elephant coolly crossed the road!

 train tracks to remind baba of the journey he took by train from raxaul, crossing the ganga in some place on a steamer, then the train bogey in kolkota reserved for schoolkids going to st. joseph's, where he had to say goodbye to whoever came to reach him... :( and then a bus ride to kalimpong.. a three day journey from home...

 the teesta river which is being tapped for electricity in half a dozen spots, and has been turned to reservoirs in many places, is not the river baba remembered

 .. finally the gateway to kalimpong

 binoy was there to guide us to the school.. (he had driven from kathmandu in his vehicle)

.. at the gate..

 ... baba takes stock of what's new, and what was there 58 years ago...

 ... the church.. still the same...

 .. could not go inside, though..

 walking through the compound, the teachers were busy with the children arriving back from their winter break, but we were allowed to move around

 

 baba next to the window of the dining hall

 

 .. the dining hall...

 then we moved towards where baba thought his dorm was

 'yes.. this is it' in srk style!

 everybody seems pleased, including binoy and surendraji

 baba remembered the arched walkway that they used to take when it was raining

 

 baba goes exploring towards his dorm

 where he used to wash up

 .. and then up the wooden stairs.  he said the nun used to make them pray at the bottom of the stairs before they went up to sleep

 .. and the dorm... no teddy bears at that time said baba.. the dorm was only for boys...

 "...and this was my bed!'

'... and this is the window from where i could see kanchanjangha!...'

.. now of course trees would block the view, even if the mountain could be seen through the haze!
...
meeting a nun on duty.. unfortunately she was new and would not know if there was an archive of old pictures

 emotions run through baba's mind and face...

 

 

 .. he peers through into the principal's office...

 .. up close...

 finally time to leave...

 .. but not before the climb to st. augustine's where the kids used to go to see games

 en route, a cemetery with a cross where the children also used to pray

 in front of the school, which has expanded a lot since baba was there last...

 .. the huge boomerang shaped field, where baba used to come to watch  senior kids playing football and other games...

 ... and the grotto in the cliffs right next to the playfield...

 kalimpong town  in the ridge beyond the school...

.. meeting binoy's  sister and bhena..  bhena has promised to see if he can dig up archival photos from the late 50s...

 a homecoming welcome dinner for the kalimpong boy by bijayaji (binoy's sister) and er.saab

 .. and the next morning, 'apno haat se banaya' breakfast treat by bijayaji..

 

 after a day of sightseeing in and around kalimpong.. baba never though it would be so crowded and jammed with vehicles,  we headed for gangtok and then darjeeling...

 .. and the final bit of nostalgia for baba was  to pass by the das studios where he had been taken by the nuns to take a photograph to be sent to the u.k. as requested by his parents

.. and these are the photos , in different poses and clothes,  that were sent to mami and buwa in the u.k. of the little schoolkid from kalimpong...  driving in those days from kalimpong to darjeeling might have taken quite a few hours!