“Super 30 is the best institute in India and an example of change, a dream which US President Barack Obama harbours in the field of education, irrespective of caste and creed,” Hussain, Obama’s special envoy to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, said here.

“In India wherever I have gone I find it the best thing I have come across.”

After meeting students at the institute, the envoy, accompanied by officials of the US Consulate in Kolkata, said he is overwhelmed by the academic atmosphere prevailing in the campus.

“This is a very good beginning, people irrespective of caste and creed are living like members of a community. And back the in US, I will discuss the experience of ‘Super 30′ and ‘Samman’ and explore if anything could be done there,” he added.

Hussain on Saturday visited the ‘Samman Foundation’, where they provide health care services to rickshaw pullers, their family members and unorganised migrant labourers.

He assured the students at the institute, founded by mathematician Anand Kumar, that he would carry their message for inviting Obama to visit them during his forthcoming India visit.

The Obama administration is committed in bringing social harmony just as it is maintained under the roof of ‘Super 30′, he said.

“Here it is wonderful to see people of all castes and religions,” the Indian-American envoy, whose father hailed from the state, said.

‘Super 30′ has achieved a hat-trick with all its 30 students making it to the prestigious IITs for the third consecutive year this time.

Maths wizard Anand Kumar, who himself could not pursue higher studies in Cambridge University due to poverty, gives full scholarships, including travel and stay, to a select batch of 30 poor students since 2002.

Altogether 212 of the 240 ‘Super 30′ students have cleared one of the country’s toughest exams during the last eight years.

Drawing worldwide attention, the institute was recently featured by the Time magazine as “the best school in Asia”. The Discovery Channel had also made an hour-long documentary on the institute.

Read more: Bihar’s ‘Super 30′ the best institute in India: US envoy – India – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Bihars-Super-30-the-best-institute-in-India-US-envoy/articleshow/6275296.cms#ixzz0w0t6GNpo

Jamalpur was also the premier training center of the EIR and the Indian Railways. There were basically four ways of joining the Railways. First, there were Trade Apprentices, who, after three years of training in a specific skill – machinist, welder, moulder, fitter, boilermaker and so, on became skilled factory workers. Second, as an entry level on the running side was a cleaner, who after training, became a fireman and then a Shunter, Passenger train Driver and finally a Mail Driver. Some of this category became Officers – Assistant Mechanical Engineers (AME’s) or even a Divisional Mechanical Engineer (DME). Third were the Apprentice Mechanics. These were High School or Senior Cambridge passed lads, who were selected through a Government services commission. They spent four years in training, both theoretical and practical, at the end of which they became chargemen, then foremen and then general foremen. Towards the end of their careers many became Officers – Assistant Works Managers or even Works Managers. Most Anglo-Indians in Jamalpur joined as Apprentice Mechanics.

There was however, a fourth category of apprentices. These were called Special Class Apprentices an All India Railway Service cadre, recruited by a Public Services Commission. The British established this category of Apprentice in 1927, probably for ‘brown sabibs’ – young Indian gentleman who were very English in upbringing, language and thinking, usually from well known families. They trained for four years at Jamalpur, completed an Engineering degree from London (yes they were sent to London) and on completion were posted as Assistant Mechanical Engineers or Assistant Works Managers. This was a training position, as in two years, they were promoted to Works Manager or Divisional Mechanical Engineer. These gentlemen retired as Chief Mechanical Engineers or General Managers, the highest position on the Railways.

From over 10,000 applicants, through a series of competitive examinations, only about ten special class apprentices were selected annually. Once selected the apprentices lived a life of class privilege. A beautiful hostel called Jamalpur Gymkhana housed the apprentices. Each apprentice had an individual room with a bearer allotted to three rooms. The bearer cleaned the room, made the bed, polished the shoes and served the apprentices at meals. There was an exclusive kitchen where meals were prepared according to the apprentices’ instructions. The hostel had its own swimming pool, three tennis courts, a squash court and even its own playing field. It was laid out it on over two acres of land, and ‘malis’ (gardeners) kept the lawns immaculately green and the beds full of every type of exotic flowers. There were several entertainment rooms for billiards, table tennis and cards. Each apprentice received a stipend, enough to pay for his meals and club dues; all other expenditures were picked up by the Railways. Talk about royalty!.

In the course of the history of Jamalpur Gymkhana, 43 years from 1927 through to the year 1969 (my records end there), from over 400 apprentices, there were 15 Anglo-Indian Special Class Apprentices. This is a very significant achievement and one that has somehow not been acknowledged in the pages of Anglo-Indian history. I would like to publish their names, in the hopes that some of their descendants in the UK or Canada or Australia may recognize them and know what their fathers achieved. Most of them migrated and I knew only two – R.D.Kitson who retired as Chairman Railway Board in the 80’s (the equivalent of the Commanding General of the Indian Army) and Norbert DeSouza who retired as Chief Mechancal Engineer on the Central Railway in the 90’s. Both continue to live in India. I migrated to the USA in 1976 when I was Joint Director of the Railway Board in Calcutta. Here is the role call of these distinguished gentlemen.

1927 – H.V.M.Stewart, C.J.Butler; 1928 – D.B.King; 1930 -H.O.Toomey, J.O.Burns; 1931- W.C.Britter, E.L.T.Jones; 1932 – J.B.Rosair; 1943 – M.A.Plunkett; 1944 – H.G.T. Woodward; 1945 – E.J.Kingham; 1949 – T.M. Fritchley; 1951 – R.D.Kitson; 1956 – B.R.Williams; 1958 – N.DeSouza

http://home.alphalink.com.au/~agilbert/onjama~1.html

Email to: Blair Williams

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. 

I am talking about 70 plus years ago when I would be seven years old going on to nine in 1942 when I first went away to OG from March to December each year tlll June 1947.Those holidays thru December focused on Christmas festivities and the New Year’s Ball.New party dresses being sewn on the verandah by the durghi /darzi sitting crosslegged on the floor using our Singer sewing machine or later one elevated to a wooden table with wrought iron support with a rocking treadle to drive the needle .

I was thirteen for my first New Year’s Eve Ball in December 1946 ushering in an eventful 1947 .Such a grown up feeling to be going to that dance with my parents .Previously I had watched my diminutive mother dress in pretty long florals , made the same way by the tailor , for weekly dances .Our ayah would lay out two outfits across the double bed , complete with accessories and shoes to match .My dad was given the same treatment for his choice of sartorial splendour for any social event .the dhobi was in the godown at the foot of the compound anytime a garment needed the touch of a hot flatiron sitting near the coal embers just outside his abode with the sleepy donkey tied to the papaya tree . Cowpatties drying on the side wall of the godown.My dad’s 1933 Harley Davidson “Indian” stored in the next room to the dhobi’s room but not used anymore in the forties

Socially , every evening almost was bingo or bridge/whist or movie night , tennis/badminton or golf and swimming tournaments , Saturday night dances with live orchestra and vocalist playing/singing popular hits of the big band war era .Glenn Miller’s IN THE MOOD …and STARDUST AND MOONLIGHT SERENADE still are iconic music evoking those years for me This was a great place for the young men from the institute to meet the pretty young daughters of families….teenagers and parents …attending the dances

Then there were times for entertaining visitors at home in the garden on evenings that stretched into the dark with a sky peppered with stars overhead .Lots of spicy finger foods on demand from the bochi in the kitchen and served by the white-clad,and very respectful , turbanned bearer. An assortment of spicy channas to go along with Indian beer and shandies and gingerales and scarlet Vimto drinks plus delectable sweets like ras gollas .gulab jamoons and gelabis and yummy barfi .Sometimes kulfi too…we were one of the first familes to have a Frigidaire standing in our dining room…kitchen was not big enough for it !!

Youngsters playied hide and seek around the spacious , well tended compound , amazingly to me now , barefooted in the grass.Nary a thought of red ants or snakes .Deadly nightshade blooms spread beautiful perfume in the night air as the fireflies flitted around us adding to the galaxy of stars that spread overhead in the damp evening breezes after a rainy downpour and the frogs croaked and the crickets filled the air with their chirping

I’ve never written this before ! It is buried in my psyche as a very special memory .India was chugging relentlessly forward to independence with images of Gandhi and Nehru and Jinnah and Mountbatten and his wife Edwina [ to be revealed later in a romantic alliance with the brilliant English -educated Nehru ] , iin the Statesman everyday.Photos of abandonned bullock carts strewn with malodorous , fly infested decomposing bodies spread across them in the heat of the sun for three days when nobody emerged from their homes after a riot in cities like Calcutta or Delhi or Bombay . Those riots happened in JMPs marketplace but slaughter never approached the railway works and its employees to my knowledge .Fear permeated the atmosphere for many adults , I know; my mother described nights of dread after hearing the noise of a riot subside in the middle of the night ; would “they” be coming across the tracks to attack the people in their beds.Children were removed from the strife by sending them to the boarding schools in the hills but we saw the headlined photos in The Statesman while up there .Does that newspaper still exist ?

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.

Everything about this town is special… where on the one hand it has that oh-so rustic feel, on the other, its people display such broad-mindedness that could put into shells many of our metropolitan-denizens. It is a town as self-sufficient as could be. After having widely traveled the length & breadth of the country, I still maintain that I have not seen a school as mighty as Notre Dame Academy. This school has some of the greatest teachers who everyday play a very crucial role in churning out an enviable alumni list! You could say I am biased, but I say I have been fortunate to have spent my school years in this wonderful institution. And, I say so after having studied in some of the finest & highly prestigious colleges later in life. Alumni of this school have stormed the world & excelled beyond narration!

Everything about this place, small and big is special. The tinned Workshop boundary with long entwined black pipes welcome you as your train enters Jamalpur Junction. The majestic spread of the Workshop can leave great architects spellbound. As you enter this small town, be ready to appreciate the warmth that its people & buildings have to offer. The Kali pahaad defines the skyline of the town. Climb up and you get to see the Water Works and the ancient Kali temple. Come monsoon and the sparkling waterfalls would be ready to wash down the hills.

No description of this town is complete without mentioning the very famous Golf Ground. I could even go on to say (& not get challenged) that no kid in this Railway township would have attained puberty without having tried a hand at golf. Or swimming. Or tennis. Or billiards. The Officers’ Club has all of these and much more within a 10-minute walking distance; things you would end up spending a couple of grands & traveling tens of kilometers in a city like Delhi or Mumbai or Bangalore. Right from the years of British slavery, people of Jamalpur have been interested in sports & we do have those white men to thank for establishing the JSA Ground (stadium). Not to forget the Gymkhana, the Railway Institute & the Central Institute (CI) all of which gave cultural entertainment an all new scope & definition. The pandal at Children’s Park during Durga Puja would become the hub of all action, boasting of the Who’s Who of Jamalpur & nearby towns.

Jamalpur is also known for some exquisite delicacies. Who would have sampled anywhere else on this planet, Mughlai Parantha the way Cooking House and Madras Coffee House prepared it & served so uniquely with a South Indian sambhar! And, that chicken curry at Hotel Yatrik, would leave behind preparations by the greatest of chefs in our star hotels.

Move a few kilometers ahead and you would reach Munger, Jamalpur’s twin town. The Bihar School of Yoga, established as the headquarters of the International Yoga Fellowship has catapulted this town onto the world map. The Ganga flows serenely through this mystical town, washing away all sins & sorrows, which is why it is aptly called the Kashtharni. This town is also said to have great historical and mythological significance as being ruled by Karna during Mahabharata. The Fort ruins are still an indication of the might it would have commanded centuries earlier.

Having spent half my life in Jamalpur, I migrated to Delhi to fulfill my professional dreams. Today, when I visit my hometown, it embraces me with the same warmth as it did when I was younger. It feels great to fly the world with wings of freedom, but I never forget that my roots are still very firmly planted in the soils of Jamalpur!

(All photographs posted here have been provided by my friend Rajnikant.)/

Source: http://richa-sinha.blogspot.com/2010/02/jamalpur-beauty-of-small-town-as-i.html

CI Centeral Institute

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.

 “All the 30 students have cleared IIT-JEE,” said Anand Kumar, the institute’s director-founder, at a press conference on Wednesday.

 Kumar said institute’s students are from poor families and studied for 16 hours a day. “We will try to arrange loans for the education of the poor students who qualified for IITs,” he said.

 The coaching institute will try to arrange full scholarships including for its students, said Kumar, who claims he missed a chance to study at Cambridge University because he didn’t have money.

 Shubham Kumar Gautam, one of the institute’s students, said his father is a poor farmer in Nalanda and earned income less than Rs 2,500 per month. Gautam said he would not have been able to qualify for IIT had Super 30 not helped him.

Source:  Biharscoop.com