Mahantji Memoirs

SHRI MAHANT INDIRESH CHARAN DASS JI.(Photo courtesy sgrrdarbar.org)

One of the fondest memories I have from SGRR school days is meeting with Mahantji. Even though, there were several branches of SGRR school throughout Doon and adjoining areas, the talaab branch was especially fond to him since it is probably one of the first branches of the schooling system set by the Gurudwara Sahib. The location of the school is very strategic as well. There is the Gurudwara Sahib and the Jhandaji on one side followed by a big talaab (pond) and then right across the talaab is the school. Because of the vicinity of the school, he would often come to the school during his spare time in the afternoons. These were really special times for all of us kids at school. Clad in starched cotton coat, turban and white churidaars accompanied by juttis, when he spoke in his powerful voice from behind his white moustache and beard, he looked damn impressive. It was an important task for all of us to touch his feet, and we took great pride in being able to do so. He would sometimes hold one of us in his arms, and that made the day special.

Facade of Shri Guru Ram Rai Darbar. Our school was right across.(Photo courtesy sgrrdarbar.org)

When he wouldn't show up at the school, bunch of us kids would take it upon us to meet him at his quarters at Darabar Sahib. These visits were very special as we really enjoyed exploring the rest of the Gurudwara besides meeting him. There were dingy and dark corridors with very old rooms, and ghosts and witches surely lived in some of them, we believed then. There were stairs going up from several places and if one took them, it would be very hard to find one's way back. Besides loitering around in the corridors, we also enjoyed playing in the garden area. We were especially fond of the the supari trees and the shahtoot trees. These served as nice dessert after our lunch nibbles. One of out favorites pastimes was to sit by the fish pond in front of the marble minarette Gurudwara Ji. Small, colorful fish swam in the crystal clear water under dense trees, and soothed our souls. Even though I was really fond of studying and used to have a good time in the class, this particular activity would become hard to leave behind during the lazy afternoons. Mahantji's chamber was kind of in the center of the living area of the Darbar Sahib. It was a big room full of old and heavy but interesting things. Right across the door was a big chair where he would sit and receive us, and adjoining the living room was his private chambers. Sometimes, when he was resting there, we would get a chance to play in the main room. We would jump on the thick mattresses and study the inornate objects strewn around. But, he would always come out of his bedroom sooner or later and would sometimes offer us something nice to eat.

A supari tree.(Photo courtesy en.wikipedia.org)

During early eighties, he seemed especially concerned about our english speaking abilities. Even though the school was english medium, the spoken english wasn't enforced in any sense. The medium only meant that the books were all in english. With so much emphasis on english language and it deciding the quality of a school and the students alike, he took some special measures to bring up the quality. Young teachers, who recently graduated from "true" english medium schools of the likes of St. Joseph's Academy, were hired. They were really impressive, especially to me, for first, they spoke fluent english, and then they were young and creative unlike many of our other teachers. I will perhaps talk about teachers in a separate entry. Grammar cheatsheets, that had simple sentences covering basic rules, were distributed to all. A retired teacher from the Doon school was also hired as the principal. He introduced one-to-one discussion sessions based on stories from text books with one student asking questions based on stories and another answering. The teachers tried and made sure that all the possible questions and answers were covered and learnt by heart in an attempt not to ruin the sessions that nonetheless beat the purpose of it. In the end they turned out well, though and gave Mahantji some satisfaction, and us a foundation of spoken English.

Mahantji passed on a few years ago but these and other memories remain etched in my heart. May his soul rest in peace.