Brij Mehta Diaries

In early 1962 my elder brother Rajender Rai had got employed in the Ministry of Defence as Civilians and my father was nearing his retirement so I was sent to Delhi in 1963 to continue further studies and travelled by Bus/Train from Jammu & was accompanied by his colleague Anti Ram Jakhar who later retired as Hony Captain in a jam packed Military compartment from Pathankot to Delhi(Rail connectivity was till Pathankot only for J&K and extended operations to Jammu only in 1971 ).At Delhi I was received by my brother and a friend of him (Sinha, who was brother of an AEC Havildar in the battalion and were sharing a room in RK Puram. I was admitted in a Govt Co -Education Senior Secondary School No 5 (Evening), Sarojini Nagar New Delhi.I was so innocent that while getting out of Delhi Jn a TTE checked my ticket which was a half ticket and when asked my age I informed him my age which was above the eligibility criteria for half ticket & my brother had to put some money in his pocket to silence him.

It was my adolescence age at Delhi and was curious to know so many things about Delhi. Those days one could travel in DTC Buses on week ends for a mere Rs One or so and could go any where in Delhi.On Week ends ,accompanied by brother visiting our Bhua ji’s/Uncles’’/Mamiji/Mousi’s houses spread over JJ Colony near Patel Nagar,Azadpur,Tilak Nagar and Azad market etc .On holidays used to travel to Masi ji’s house in Azad Market where her in laws used to stay and owned a Tonga and the family (Two of the sons ) used to ply Autos in Delhi. Brother being single had to shift residence from Sector 1 to Netaji Nagar.It was here in Neta ji Nagar where I learnt to Cycle as a beginner. I remember being injured after a fall from the cycle on a tarmac road and went to nearby to CGHS Dispensary Naouroji Nagar for treatment and I used to walk down from a  quarter in Sector 1 in RK Puram to Sarojini Nagar school and passed through Mohammadpur and through Historical Tombs before shifting to Netaji Nagar. Once perfect in cycling used to cycle, can you imagine a boy cycling from Netaji Nagar to Tilak Nagar at Chacha ji’s house. Enroute one could see inmates of Tihar working in fields as there were open jails then. On the other directions used to bi-Cycle to Azad Market which was quite a distance away. Even walked a few times from CP to Azad Market just to see the market. Also took risks to walk down from Azad Market to Sadar Bazar and right up to Old Delhi Railway Station in crowded streets with mostly Tongas ,Hand pulled carts and DTC Buses. Another attraction was the Circular Rail or the Ring Rail it was known then. I used to board the train at Sarojini Nagar Railway Station and it used to around Delhi and reach back Sarojini Nagar in about an hour. It was fun to ride and enjoy this train at very nominal ticket cost.

Talking of Sarojini Nagar Market it was not as it presents a picture of over crowded market today. It was just adjacent to our school and one could walk during recess or after school hours easily. There were no hawkers or road side vendors as it is overcrowded now with these illegal vendors There was also a temporary cinema hall just across the Ring Road (presently Sector 13 RK Puram ),I recall seeing a film “Professor’’ with my brother. With school friend at times bunked classes to watch movies at Race Course cinema and at Palam. While staying at Netaji Nagar on a first floor Govt quarter and sleeping under the sky developed interest to spot aero planes as the flight path was just above our house. The Delhi sky line was clearly visible and one could see clearly with naked eyes Qutub Minar, Hotel Ashoka and Oberoi Hotel and Safdarjung Airport where Delhi Flying Club small planes could be seen taking off and landing at the strip. There were a few visits to Palam Airport also just to have a closer look at the Aircraft as there were no restrictions and one could easily have a clear view from the Parking or the area adjacent to it.It was in this Delhi school saw Educational TV broadcast for Class IX for Physics in 1963 which was incidentally  taught by our own Physics Teacher. My stay in Delhi ended on a unpleasant note as I could note clear class 9^th probably due to wide gap between my learning at Jammu and switch over to CBSE level at Delhi.