Nurungukal....contd....

   My joy found new bounds when I finally joined the post in Southern Railways on 8th jan. 1963. The hostel accommodation for the trainees was arranged in an old bungalow  which was once upon a time used by a British officer. It was a big one with spacious rooms, a dancing floor, surrounded by wide and airy veranda. The windows and doors very large having arrangements for letting in air even when they were in closed position.This was new to me. The floor of most of the rooms were wooden and it was cool inside. Some rooms had attractive chandeliers and fans which were swung manually by servants by a rope. But the ropes were missing and the chandeliers were blind. The bungalow was known by a name ‘Chummery’ and it stood in grandeur in the middle of a large compound. On the one side there were quarters for the servants, a stable and a kitchen which was connected with the bungalow by a covered and secured corridor. But altogether it had a dilapidated look as Railway's maintenance was poor and careless. More over alterations on the main structure diminished its proud past.  A few huge mango and neem trees provided shade and inside it was very salubrious, which may be due to the abundant ventilation through the doors and windows and secondly because of the height of the roof.

   I was provided a cement bench on the veranda. Many other trainees were also accommodated similarly. It was facing a baron land and a cool breeze blew day and night. There was plentiful supply of Kavery water and we used to enjoy a common bath under overhead showers. Later I came to know that only we had the supply of fresh and soft water and others had to satisfy with hard water. There was a canteen which provided homely food as it was managed by a Keralite. Pure and fresh boiled cow’s milk was available almost any time. We used to enjoy one or two glasses along with a ‘rasthali’ plantain, very sweet and stuffy. My main pastime was to wander into the nearby village. Vast stretches of paddy and sugar cane fields spread over acres and acres of land always fascinated me. In the middle of such land scapes a hamlet existed. The land lord who possessed the adjacent lands lived in a rather big mansion on the one end and the rest mainly the labour class occupied both side of the street leading to the mansion. This was the common pattern in the surrounding villages also. They were very gentle ,polite, loving and respected values. Also they were committed to their profession. The bond between them was intimate which I think was the driving force to build a strong agrarian economy, although if we look from outside we can identify grave imbalances. I hope that by now they might have managed to build an egalitarian society.