Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Army Officer Residences 1955 to 1985

Jalandhar as 2Lt
72 Napier Road where we had our mess was located was in a sprawling large compound with wheat and other seasonal crops cultivated by the owner of the property. The main building, an old nearly dilapidated bungalow had a few rooms that were occupied by the senior officers where as we the youngsters were banished the fully dilapidated old horse stable converted to leaky roof rooms. With no fans in the room and to survive the searing heat of Punjab. AJS and I sharing the room pooled our resources and rented a ceiling fan for a couple of summer months.

Pathankot as Lt
The Signal Section under technical control of 26 Div Signal Regiment located at Jammu had been dumped along with 40 Medium Regiment by some ignorant staff officer of Arty Directorate at Army Headquarters in a camping ground near Sujanpur at Pathankot at the height of the Monsoons. Next few months were sustained only by dreams of Rosy and me together; dreamt while asleep on the MES string- cot under the wet flaps of the tent at others listening to the constant pelting of the Monson rain on the tent. Pathankot was a semi- field station with no family accommodation. With permission one could bring the family and stay in something known by the generic name of ‘Basha' a structure with mud walls and a thatched roof constructed under own arrangement or if lucky move in by purchasing from some lucky officer leaving on posting. I was also in queue looking for some such accommodation falling vacant coinciding with Rosy finishing her final Examinations.

The hectic activity for a place to locate a house bore fruits. As luck would have it and by sheer chance I was fortunate to locate a two-room house, for the princely sum of Rupees 30 per month as rent, situated at the corner of Sujanpur Sericulture Farm, near the village of the same name and not far from the unit lines. It was secluded, insecure, lonely and totally unsafe from every angle, lonely and insecure in day and more so at night, yet it suited us to a ‘T’ nothing less than a heaven in our eyes. It was our first house and for her to run the way she wanted and me to pamper her. It was he missing purpose that back in life once again.

MHOW
Thanks for minor mercies that by the time half of the course was over I were permitted to call Jeet and Kalpana to Mhow under my own arrangements. I had managed a one room in the bungalow on Generals road with the good offices of Capt Jaswant Singh who also attending the course and staying in the same house. The Room a god- send though large enough for the three of us did become over- crowded and cramped at times with the dhobi sweeper maid the bearer and Mohan all milling about together, invariably I found my- self edged out . Fortunately after a few days an officially approved accommodation did fall vacant and we shifted to the one and a half room accommodation at DSO Press on Simrol road.

Jeet with Our one and a half room house

Our place soon became the meeting point for most of the bachelors on the course and some of the staff posted there to congregate in the process we did make some enduring friendships.

Jogender, Satish, Khurana and his Scooter, DSO Press Simrol Road. Dilapidated Bungalow background

Rarmgarh as Capt
A Cantonment town near Ranchi in Bihar where we of the Brigade, nobody's baby at that time, had been dumped for refitting, had miles and miles of family accommodation lying vacant; a forbidden apple to our hungry eyes. Though a family station we were not allowed to bring the families.

Ambala
The advance party had already taken over the accommodation for the Section and the bungalow for us an OP Amar construction the point however was that it was our first proper house with two bed rooms and a study fully furnished with MES furniture of course we had a good house in Ramgarh also a hutment but it was still our own.

Mhow
we landed at School of Signals on 2nd October 1963. Unlike the last time in School of Signals this time we had a house, a hutment, waiting for us to move in, it was a privilege of being on the staff.

Poona as Maj
Once again I had to leave Jeet and the two kids, Chotoo now about four years plus and Chotta still a toddler behind. It was becoming a routine by now; IAT had no married accommodation to offer to us. However, couple of months of separation later Rosy came to the rescue; her friend Kanta's husband Capt Sirohi was also doing a course at CEME and had a house allotted to him in Kirkee in the ammunition factory area who very kindly agreed to host us till we got a place of our own. On posting to ARDE, for the first time not only I had the opportunity of staying in proper accommodation and a choice of picking up from the half a dozen newly built unoccupied houses; a difficult proposition a problem of plenty; ultimately it was 26 The Pashan a lovely house which welcomed us and where we spent some of the best time of our life.

26, the Pashan, The Herald in background

Ranchi as Lt Col
More importantly than the hutment that I had been allotted my shifting the family to Ranchi with out his approval was strongly frowned upon by the GOC and in tandem by the AQ which was a real damper to my spirits. When the GOC gave me a baleful glare on this issue while interviewing me at Malhout I offered to send the family back to Dehradun which to some extent satisfied his ego.

Secunderabad
IDM had very thoughtfully arranged for some hired accommodations in Sanikpuri.

Delhi
Best that could be done was a single room in officers mess, what I was supposed to do about admitting my children in school and college, It was for me to locate a suitable house for hiring by the Administration. I did get, ultimately to move in to a suitable flat at SP Marg but by the it was time to move once again.

Mhow as Col
We had been allotted a hutment with the No T 214 marked in bold letter and figures on the Generals Road that was in an advanced dilapidated state, derelict, about to fall and with all rooms leaking during the monsoons. General’s Road was indeed a very prestigious sounding name. Lt Gen Sunderjee the Commandant College of Combat did live on the same road though alone in the appointment house a massive double story old bungalow.On the earlier posting to Mhow we had also lived in a hutment the only difference between then and now was the up-gradation from dry to waterborne sanitation a giant step in technology from 1963 to 1980.

Delhi as Brig
With difficulty and after a few months I managed a 2 room Flat on Curzon Road, later shifted to DK Part II on medical grounds of my daughter. All said and done it was good fun and as a soldier and a good soldiers wife we were happy with what we got when we got and had a chance to stay together.

Brig Lakshman Singh, VSM

Luxurious Houses? Read "Myths Busted" Link

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