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Pedalling back to the golden days

Last Updated 30 November 2016, 19:49 IST

This photograph was taken at Ramnarayan Chellaram College when I was in final year section B. BCom was a two-year course under Mysore University after one finished intermediate (called PUC today).

Bengaluru, at that time, had only four renowned residential layouts as opposed to today, namely Malleswaram, Basavanagudi, Chamrajpet and Cantoment (called Bangalore Dandu due to the population of the Army cadre). All of us students used to cycle to college. I loved riding my new Raleigh cycle which had a hand/ speed brake and a brass holder for the kerosene lamp in front; the dynamo for cycle light had not yet been invented. We were also required to purchase a cycle licence costing Rs 3.50. This is a large sum compared to our college fees which was just Rs 9 for 6 months.

There were very few cars on the roads and petrol cost only Rs 2 and 11 paise for five litres. I remember only three students drove a car to college. One of them was D H Guru who was in my class. Everyone knew Guru as his father was then a minister in the Karnataka cabinet of Kengal Hanumantaiah. P K Mutiso, standing next to him, was an African exchange student. In those days, the government promoted free education for African nationals in India.

I have vivid memories of my teacher G N Krishnamurthy who used to teach modern economics and development and was considered one of the best teachers amongst the students. We also had G Halappa teaching us statistics. B M Rachappa was a very strict drill/ PT master. We had to wear ‘khaki’ shorts for the mandatory PT session twice a week. I remember not having worn my PT shorts once and as a punishment, I was asked to run three rounds of the college ground! One of the other popular teachers was V Srinivasan who used to teach us English and I remember fondly his narration of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

There were only two girls in the entire college. One of whom I recall is Mythili Garudachar. Another student whom I remember is J Narasinga Rao whose father owned a men’s clothing store in Malleswaram called ‘Jingade & Sons’.

The prevailing fashion trend at that time was MC (‘Mettur’ long cloth) ‘pyjama’ paired with Casino chappals and many sporting Titoni wristwatches. The boys used to frequent Narasinga Rao’s father’s shop to get their clothes stitched. I had got a bright red coat stitched which was my favourite then. My two friends, H S Narayan and Lakshman Rao, and I were the only ones who used to wear a ‘Jinnah topi’ (fur cap) in the entire class.

Restaurants at that time were very few and most of us ate the free ‘upma’ and lemon rice provided in the canteen. As students, we used to cycle to the then famous theatre, States Theatre, or Gubbi Veeranna Theatre in Majestic to watch movies, with each ticket costing Rs 1.50 (after student discount). On my way, I used to cycle past Race Course Road and post any postcard in the post office right next to college.

One of the memorable college trips was when 32 of us went for the Delhi Youth festival by the then GT express train for four days. The train ticket cost us Rs 43 with the student pass discount. Such simple days they were!

I went on to pursue a Bachelor of Law course. I recollect that H Vankannachar also joined me for that. These are wonderful memories that I will always cherish, even after 50 years, and it would be great to talk or meet with any of them after so long.


(The author can be contacted on 23612854)

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(Published 30 November 2016, 13:23 IST)

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