Chapter 3
The Times of Early 1950s … some historical background
Corp of Sappers.
My first job in 1951was with the Bombay Sappers, in those days
called the Bombay Engineer Group. The other notable group in the same Corps was the Bengal
Sappers.
In modern day language, Sappers are the Engineers and
logistical front end of the War Machine.
They will clear the path of the
marching armies, clear the battle front of mines, lay their own mines, build
bridges, lay explosives to force open enemies strong holds to allow the
infantry to march in battle. (note 1)
1951 in History
India
The year 1951, when I got my first job, was a turning point not only for me and my
family but also an eventful year for India and world wide.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru headed the first Cabinet after the
first General Elections held in Republic
of India . That year he was on the cover of Time Magazine. The same year he
launched the First Five Year Plan. We have just seen the dismantling of the
Institution that he set great store on: Planning
Commission. (note 2) We Indians have
great expectations from the current Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Mody and his creation:- the successor Institution NITI Aayog.
International
That was the year, 1951, North Korean Offensive crossed the 38th
parallel. President Harry Truman sacked
Gen Douglas MacArthur for criticizing
the President’s conduct of the Korean War. (note 3) )
It was the same year that the US Congress passed the 22nd
Amendment limiting a President to two terms.
Earlier President Franklin D Roosevelt had served three Terms due to Declaration of
WW II during his 2nd Term. His collaboration with Winston Churchill and
Joseph Stalin won the war and rid the world of Fascism…. hopefully for all time
to come.
Remember the movie: The Longest Day?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMbDNmQlLEc
And what was to touch
our lives more intimately, that year CBS introduced color TV… Though most
Indian families had to wait for two decades to get their first B@W TV.
Bollywood
Great Bollywood actor, Nana Patekar was born in 1951. So
also Nitish Kumar who was destined to be the CM of Bihar State.
As I would pedal my new Eastern Star Bicycle the 4 km from our home in Sholapur Bazar,
Poona Camp to office in Kirkee, I would hum the tunes from Barsat, Andaz, Awara, Baazi and other famous and popular movies of that era. Forever in my life, when
faced with hard times, the song from Baazi was to be my guiding light… Tadbeer
se bigdi hui taqdeer bana le…..
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3ikMQQfja4
or Awara Hoon
The earlier year, on
a visit to papa ji in Bombay, I entered the first Air-con movie hall to watch
Hum log: Liberty in Dhobi Talao. Later Papa ji moved back to Pune.
Life is full of
coincidences: when we finally
moved to Bombay, our first home was a short distance from RK Studios and the
Raj Kapoor residence in Chembur.
Bombay? Well that is the next story…
Notes:
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