Chapter-16
Post retirement
After superannuation from the Eastern Railway headquarters on 31st October 1997 I had to overstay at Kolkata for about a year to enable my younger daughter to complete her study. The return to Patna was by Howrah Amritsar Mail to which one parcel van carrying my kit was attached. Back here I had acquired a Flat in 1990 with intention to settle after retirement. Because of our regular visits to the Flat it was ready for our occupation any day. A bank account was already opened in the nearby branch of the PNB for drawing my monthly pension. Transfer of gas connection to a nearby agency posed no problem. For a few years I availed of medical facility at the railway hospital at Danapur. But with passage of time such visits were few & far between and I had to look to local doctors for medical treatment of self and wife. Subsequently a railway Super-speciality hospital was set up at Patna Jn. However, we have yet to avail medical facilities here.
Retirement is a time for starting life anew, a time to sit back and relax and do one’s favourite things that one always wanted to do but somehow could never take enough time from your ever-busy schedule, for enjoying the simple pleasures of life-like taking a leisurely stroll in the morning, not having to worry about getting caught up in traffic snarls, board-room meetings and running against time to meet deadlines. At the same time there is dismay due to substantial reduction in emoluments and loss of empowering conditions e.g. a lavish accommodation, a conveyance, a peon. These are hard realities of life and one must accept it gracefully.
Looking for help from the erstwhile colleagues & new faces - A retired railway person, irrespective of his rank in the last posting, can not and should not seek the same privileges and attention which he enjoyed while in service. The bonhomie created with the colleagues & the juniors while in service largely matters at this stage. Yet it is a pleasure to reach out to the officials of the Civil Engineering fraternity posted at DNR, MHX & HJP. The transfer and postings of the senior railway officials of the E.C.Rly are always reported in the local dailies. This is how I make acquaintance with new incumbents specially to the post of PCE/CAO (Con)/ CE (Con) & DRM , for seeking their help in the matter of train reservation, rest house reservation and attention to my home station. It is a matter of satisfaction for me that I continue to receive their courtesy & hospitality. When the local daily brought the news of posting of Madhuresh Kumar as GM/E.C.Rly, I felt very happy as Madhuresh Ji happened to be a product of my Alma Mater (MIT) and my ex colleague on the E. Rly. I feel privileged to receive invitation every year from the GM secretariat to attend the Railway week function. The old health card has now been replaced by Smart health card (UMID) registered with the Central Superspeciality hospital at PNBE but accredited by all the Railway hospitals in India for medical treatment of self and wife at par with serving railway employees.
After retirement the brain needs regular stimulus to keep it sharp and healthy. The recommended methods for wellness of mental health include reading, solving quiz, learning new skill , writing, teaching etc. Having settled down at Patna after retirement I recalled my days at the Bihar College of Engineering, Patna where I had started my career in 1960 as lecturer in civil engineering. It was a great consolation to me to learn that my ex student Sri H.K.Sinha was then the Principal of the college. On knowing my keenness to join the same college as visiting faculty Sri Sinha showed his willingness to it because of a number of vacancies. Sensing delay a group of students visited my residence and requested me to join forthwith. This is how I found myself one day in the premises of the BCE after 35 years. On the first day I was overwhelmed to see that the Principal himself was waiting in the portico to greet me. Subsequently the BCE became the National Institute of Technology, but I continued teaching surveying, Railway engineering, Highway engineering, Bridge engineering and Airport planning & design.
I am grateful to the successive HODs of Civil engineering who accorded this honour to me.
Missing ex colleagues- In December 1998 I was informed of the tragic news of death of Sri Shyam Nandan Jha, my senior at MIT/Muzaffarpur, my predecessor as AEN/Gomoh and my colleague as DEN/Mughalsarai. Sri Sharat Kumar Sinha, my XEN during my posting at Plant Depot Mughalsarai left for his heavenly abode in January 2000. A month earlier on his request myself & wife had met him at Kolkata where he was fighting a losing battle of his life. I consoled him & recreated him recalling our happy days at Mughalsarai 20 years ago. But when at the end of the day I was taking leave of him he was in tears. Both of us knew that we would never meet again. By virtue of his joining railway at a young age with top rank , Sharat Ji was destined to reach the highest rung of the ladder but the destiny had ruled it otherwise. I was highly disturbed at this tragic news.
The first reunion of our 1963 IRSE batch-It took place at Delhi in February 2004. Somewhere in the beginning of this century our batchmate late Dr M. Mani started collecting our addresses. After ensuring in 2002 that the last person in our batch has retired he wrote to us greeting us and requesting us to furnish information on the last posting, DOB of self and the spouse, marriage day, hobby, physical problem, if any and the contact number .We gladly shared these information. He painstakingly compiled them , made photocopies and sent them to each one of us by post. This was followed by quarterly bulletin. The culmination was a get-together in the Railway Officers club at Delhi. It was the first reunion of our batch with astounding success as out of 32 persons in our
batch 21 had participated, many with their spouses. We were overwhelmed in reconnecting with old friends, as some of us were meeting after our probation period in 1963. It was a Joyous moment for the whole day relishing lunch, reviving old memories, playing housie and exchanging pleasantries.
Tour of Port Blair- It was made possible in April 2006 because of the posting of my son-in-law there. It was 2 hours 15 minutes flight from Kolkata. Andaman & Nicobar is known for its exotic islands and bounty of nature. They are great places to enjoy a laidback tropical locations. Andaman is a famous tourist destination. The historic Cellular Jail at Portblair was the first place of visit in our itinerary. The colonial heritage was constructed about 100 years ago as 7 numbers of 3 storied blocks radiating from a central tower.
Only 3 arms survive today the rest being destroyed in Japanese bombing, earthquake and the callous neglect after independence before it was declared a ‘National Memorial’ in February 1979. Political activists were incarcerated in over 600 cells of this dreaded building and forced to live a life filed with loneliness, hunger, humiliation and torture. I just entered one of the cells to feel the physical & emotional distress its inmate would have undergone during his confinement in it comforted only by the chirpings of Bulbul.
There are coconut grinding shed, the fetters, the flogging square and the gallows hut which sent chill down the spine. Inside the staircase of the central watch tower plaques listing the names of the inmates state/region wise have been displayed which evoke respect. The ‘Light & Sound’ show introduces the visitors to the grim history of this penal settlement. The light effect is spectacular. Other places visited on the A and N archipelago included the exquisite and tranquil ‘Viper island’ the ‘Ross island’ and the ‘Havelock’ sea beach.
Presently there is no railway line in it. However a 240 kms broad gauge line connecting two major islands with bridges and stations along the coast will be part of an ambitious rail link connecting Portblair ( in South Andaman) with Diglipur (in North Andaman). It will be first in the country that will bring the archipelago on the rail map.