Accepted - After 12 Years continues.........

One match is still fresh in my memory. It was played on the Khalsa College grounds at Amritsar. The Khalsa College students concentrated on hitting the shins of the Government College players, instead of hitting the ball.

The crowd of Khalsa students watching became rowdy and violent and the Government College team had to be escorted out to safety. Cricket provided another exciting game between the F. C. College and the Government College with Ahmad Hassan of Jullundur, who rose to be a Deputy Commissioner later on, as captain of the Government College Team. In those days the camaraderie between the boys was not spoilt by communal feelings and festivals like Lohri and Diwali were celebrated by Hindus and Muslims together.

We staged a ‘blazer’ strike in the college! Principal Robson had issued orders that all the students of the College should wear blazers with the college crest and made out of English woollen cloth. But the students, deeply imbued with the spirit of the Swadeshi movement which had followed the partition of Bengal in I905, would not. When the boys won their point, the Principal said they had blackened his face!

Ganga Ram Mehta, the hostel superintendent, bore the nick- name of tota (Parrot). The boys used to shout tota, iota, when he came to their rooms. Later on he joined the judicial service and retired as a senior sub-judge. The college dramatic club used to stage Shakespeare’s dramas with great success.

I played minor roles in the production of Macbeth and Othello. Some professors also played; Lala Mukand Lal, Professor Nur Elahi, Lala Ram Prashad and several others. The life of the dramatic club and one of the best actors of the time was Shree Bua Lal—he blossomed forth as Man Mohan later on and retired as Deputy Director of Public Instructions, Punjab. Gurudutt Sondhi, another student actor, joined the Indian Educational Service and retired as Principal, Government College, Lahore. He is playing a leading part in the youth movement and the Olympics.


To be continued.......