Jamalpur is best known as a very large workshop on the East Indian Railway, employing at one time, over 12,000 persons and over 1000 Anglo-Indians. Jamalpur was overnight from Calcutta and was famous for its Anglo-Indian social life. The Railway Institute was huge – it had its own movie theatre, a six-lane swimming pool, four tennis courts, two billiard rooms and a bowling lawn. Its dances were renowned and railway folk came from all over EIR to attend.
By Yvonne Eva Le Fort
[aka:Yvonne Hussein Le Fort at Facebook]
I do not think of JMP as a city..I think of it as a railway colony …bungalow dwellings …and Happy
valley was the place for picnics and group outings .NO tall buildings like Notre Dame Scjhool in current pictures .The offices of the EIR Works directly across from 14 Victoria Rd were not more than two storey IF my memory serves me right .
Going to school 5000′ above sea level at Jharipani then returning to JMP for holiday periods where was there any mountain in JMP? Intriguing …there were rolling hills at Happy Valley…and somewere not that far away we went to hotsprings near a river that had alligators in it …we were not allowed to go swimming in it. Read the rest of this entry »
As I start on a journey of putting my thoughts into words & sharing them with you, it is just befitting that I start from the very beginning. The beginning of me!
I hail from a small town in Bihar (India) called Jamalpur. And, I wouldn’t blame it on you for not having heard of it earlier. I would start with describing it for you as the most beautiful town ever, picturesque, full with its share of hills, lakes & waterfalls. It is best known for hosting India’s first & the largest Railway workshop. It also boasts of churning out in its foothills, the most revered Special Class Railway Apprentices, better understood as the Indian Railways’ top brass, its mighty officers. Thanks to the Railways, Jamalpur has always had a very cosmopolitan feel.
Locals building temporary housing for the railway folk after the 1934 earthquake. Notice the grand, salvaged furniture in the background!
This one was labeled on the back by my grandmother "Temporary buildings for the Europeans to live in" after the earthquake of 1934 demolished many of the railway folks' homes.
When quite a child in India I had gathered, from the odd word I happened to overhear, or the odd attitude one observed when the subject of Railways was mentioned there seemed to be an antipathy towards ‘those Railway people’. I found this somewhat mysterious and puzzling : however, not being in contact with any of the Railway Colony; they lived in the extreme north of Delhi and we were housed in the south or ‘Posh’ area as some saw it. I also remember being told to stay clear of the area where they lived. This rather upset me and I thought the attitude was somewhat curious, not to say unfair. I found out as I grew older and a bit more knowledgeable that the Railway people were considered a bit ‘Racy’ and not quite up to the mark or shall we say a bit common. In much later days I was to discover for myself that these opinions were positively unfair and rather, or downright ignorant. I had in my ‘growing up’ days had very little contact with railway people in India, except for the occasional meeting through rail travel.During my service in the Military I was to be Posted to a quite important Railway Station called Jamalpur, in Bihar. Read the rest of this entry »
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