Recreations continues...

In 1917 with a party of friends from Gurdaspur we visited Gurukul Kangri, temple of ancient learning started by Lala Munshi Ram (late Swami Shradhanand). Village Kangri was situate on the Bank of the Ganges near Kankhal. Crossing Nil Dhara we entered the Gurukul where we were received with affection by Pandit Bashamber Nath who was then Governor of the institution. We enjoyed our stay there and were very much impressed by the Brahmcharis and the grand annual function. Kangri village was washed away by floods and the Gurukul was shifted to Hardwar later on. Now it is more or less a modern university but it is no longer the Gurukul of Swami Shradhanand’s dreams.

Two summers I spent in Upper Dharamsala. One September we lived in Welcome Hall which belonged to Mr. Bowling, a retired Anglo-Indian. Father took it from him. Father, mother, my wife, my son Daya. Krishan, only one year old then, Lala Partap Chand, son of the late Lala Hardial Singh, Rai Bahadur Durga Dass, Advocate, Lahore, and President of the D. A. V. College Managing Committee, his son Bhagwan Das Mehra, Bakshi Tek Chand and his wife, his sister and her son, Prakash Chand, and Diwan Sant Ram’s sons. Jagmohan and Anant were also there. I still have a group photo of the whole party with Daya Krishan in father’s lap. We very much enjoyed our stay here. Another September was spent in High Croft which belonged to Rai Bahadur Ramsaran Das. He lent it to us for a month. This time we had Bakshi Tek Chand’s family, Mahatma Hans Raj, Rambhuj Dutt, and his gifted wife, Sarla Devi Chowdharani, and Rai Bahadur Durga Das with us. One incident of this stay is still fresh in my mind. One night after dinner Shri Hardial Singh who was staying with us, started playing at the harmonium and requested Chowdhrani Sarla Devi, who was a great musician, to sing. She declined and went to her room. Hardial Singh started singing himself and soon we had Sarla Devi back in the drawing room, singing to us.

to be continued...