Our member Mr. A. R. Dutta Majumder, had spent his childhood in Agartala, Tripura, a place known for frequent rains and the Haora River overflowing during the monsoon season. He shares his childhood memories of the rainy days.
After the Bengal partition we had shifted to Agartala which was just 2 kms to the east of the border of Bangladesh. Our house was built there. Agartala was the only town those days surrounded by numerous villages. So, we had the experience and essence of both town and village. Those days since people were less, houses and vehicles were also marginal. There was ample free space all around to play and a lot of greenery. The environment was peaceful, and unspoilt.
My initial schooling took place there, though I completed my 10th from a school in Haflong, a town and the only hill station in Assam. My elder brother was working in the military there, so I stayed with him and completed schooling there. Then I came back to Agartala. At that time there was only one college in the city of Agartala, Maharaja Bir Bikram College, where I studied. The college looked royal and had a palace like structure as it was built by the Maharaja. Now a lot many colleges have come up. But in those days, there was only one college.
In Agartala or Haflong, rainy season was enjoyable. Getting wet and playing around in the water-logged streets and grounds was fun. During our childhood our luxury was the environment. The villages were serene and untouched. Lush greenery prevailed everywhere. We loved to play football. No matter what season it was we always played football.
We didn’t have raincoats or plastics during our childhood. We simply had fun during the rainy season and loved getting wet. It did not matter to us if we were dripping wet while going to school. We enjoyed it. Sometimes we used to hold the big leaves of mankochu to shield us from the rain. The leaves were so big that it could accommodate three of us under it. Due to waterlogging the cows could not go for grazing, so we used to go to the field and cut grasses for the cows, collect them and take them to the cowsheds to feed them.
During our childhood our mothers were not strict and vigilant, like the mothers nowadays. They only ensured if we had eaten and then we used to go out and play. But at night while sleeping my mother would come to check if there was any injury. She would bring some oil and massage my legs and feet. That was the kind of love, mothers in those days possessed. But now it’s all history.
Later in life I worked in many places like Asansol, Chakradharpur, Tata, Nagpur and Bilaspur. But those innocent days spent in Agartala were wonderful days full of simplicity. Things have differed so much now, that those days seems like a dream.
