JOY OF CHILDHOOD . Dr. Prem Nath Dua visited his school after 71 years on 8 March 2018, in Bhera, district Sargodha.
Dr. Prem Nath Dua ( 15 Nov 1935 – 14 Aug 2014) visited his beloved school on 8 March 2018, after about 71 years. He was about 13/14 years old, in class 8th, when he left the school in 1947. The floodgates of nostalgia bust open as Dr. Dua walked around the school’s corridors, classrooms, and playgrounds. He had vivid memories of the school and recalled the things to the minutest details… names of the headmaster, his teachers, and class fellows. He even remembered the exact spot, where he sat when he left the school.
Dr . Prem Dua had a complete round of the school on foot with headmaster Chaudhry Ali Hassan (late), he indicated the things were located, including the various playgrounds, tall mangoes and jamun trees ( black plum), Malak Suraj Kaul’s khothi , mehndi’s karkhana, etc.
During the visit, Dr. Dua was quiet, lost in the mist of time, trying to remember the bygone days. He was perturbed to see old headmasters’ boards missing. Not a single one was present before the partition. The boards of headmasters were the testament of the school’s rich heritage, were no more, leaving behind a sense of loss and longing. The school’s rich legacy endures its roots stretching back to 1882 ( maybe more), near the old Bhera Police Station (1870), inside inner Gunjwala Darwaza ( inner Lahori Gate -1865). The school shifted to a new building in 1927, near the terminus Bhera Railway Station ( 1881).
Some memorable pictures of Dr . Dua’s visit to his school are shared below ( he had his primary education till class 4th in Municipal Committee Primary School, No 2 (1876), near Chrria Chog Darwaza: Qabali Gate – 1865 ) . See details about MC Primary School, No 2 on the website, bhera.org , under the Category, Educational Institutes of Bhera.
Notes:
1 . Government High School, Bhera.* For details about Government High School, Bhera, see the website, bhera.org, under the Category, Educational Institutions of Bhera – Government High School, Bhera.
2 . Malik Sooraj Kauk’s Kothi.* For more information about Suraj Kaul kothi, see the website bhera.org, under the Category, Mohallas of Bhera – Pelee Kothi. Malak Suraj Kaul ( Anand ) had a huge kothi next to Government High School . At the time of partition, Suraj Kaul’s kothi was allotted to Prof Abdul Majeed Kureshi from Aligarh University, who later went to Sargodha and then to Karachi. Now the khoti has completely vanished. His brother, Malak Tilak Raj’s kothi, known as Pelee khoti in mohalla Sheikhanwala, exists but in deplorable condition. Suraj Kaul’s daughter, Kamla Devi, was married to a wealthy landlord of Salam, near Phularwan, tehsil Bhalwal – Inderjeet Sawhney ( given name Jai Lal Sawhney ). The family did not migrate to India in 1947, and stayed in Salam. Inderjeet ‘s son, Banka Shani, was married to Tilak Raj’s daughter. They are still living in Salam. Heard from elders, Malak Tilak Raj and his brother were great philanthropists. They looked after the deserving people of Bhera. Suraj Kaul was the Honorary Magistrate of Bhera.
Zahid Mumtaz
