AVTAR MOTA
Look like a poor man. Keep silent. Say only yes or no. Put your application. Look towards the floor ”, said my friend Khurshid while prompting me to go to the principal for remission of the college fee.
“You want remission. I will do three fourth of it. Okay, pay something for your studies. Go to Sona Kaul and deposit your fee. I have done the needful.”
“ Yes sir. Thank you very much .”
With this brief conversation Professor Nazir Ahmed Khan, the then principal of Sri Partap College, Srinagar put his signatures and approved my application for remission of the college fee. And Sona Kaul remained a trusted clerk in the college. Trusted by various principals , teachers and students. He would guide the students on how to get the scholarship and seek concessions in the college fee. He spoke in a loud tone but was always helpful to one and all.
I had played the trick. I believe I saved about 120 rupees. A very big sum those days. We went to the college canteen and had tea and cakes. Khurshid Ahmed, my college friend took twenty rupees and went to see a Jeetendra movie at the Regal cinema. I purchased Hindi novel ‘Ek Chadar Maili Si’ by Rajinder Singh Bedi , ‘Autobiography of an Unknown Indian ‘ by Nirad Chowdhary and ‘Daste Tahe Sang’ (a collection of poems) by Faiz Ahmed Faiz same day from the sudden surplus.
This fee concession system was started by professor Saif ud Din who happened to be the predecessor of professor Nazir Ahmed Khan. Professor Saif ud Din was a lover of sports and a connoisseur of music and fine arts. Though a Kashmiri, he was familiar with the Punjabi language. He was loved and respected by the students and the teaching staff. Professor Saif ud Din was a dedicated principal who ensured the development of sports in the college apart from excellence in studies. He had activated the college cricket team and as a result of this the college produced some Ranji Trophy players .During professor Saif ud Din’s tenure, S P college students grabbed positions in TDC Ist year and BA/ BSc final . He was firm and fair in his dealings. He also revived the ‘Bazm e Adab’ and the ‘Drama Club’ of the college . Professor Saif ud Din headed the college as its principal for 8 years ( 1962-1970).
Professor Nazir Ahmed Khan was tall, well built and looked like a body-builder. Contrary to his appearance, he had a heart of gold. He remained principal of the college for complete four years from 1970 to 1974. He trusted his students and took keen interest in their welfare. During any strike or disturbance in the college, professor Khan was at the centre of the hot area to see that no student suffers. I vividly remember how he drove his jeep to carry an injured boy to the hospital when the police entered the college and beat some boys mercilessly. He spoke fluent Punjabi. He spoke Kashmiri as well. He taught English. Some boys said he was a Pathan. Some said he was from Punjab. But certainly, he was far above petty considerations of caste, creed, colour or religion.
The ‘Bazme Adab’ or the cultural society of the college remained active during professor Khan’s tenure. The college participated in the theatre festival with a play ‘Changez Khan ’. Ashok Jailkhani ,who possibly directed the play retired as DDG Doordarshan ,Mandi House, New Delhi .The actors of this play were well known names in media or Srinagar’s Doordarshan Kendra . Under professor Khan’s motivation , teams from the college went for trekking into deep Himalayas , regattas in Wular lake and on all India tours . Krishen Chander , Ali Sardar Jafri , Jagan Nath Azad , Balraj Sahni , Shaharyar and many more personalities visited the college during this period . Any person going to him with any issue would find a solution .
Started in 1905 with a profound initiative from Annie Besant , the college was headed by many luminaries as its principals .To quote M U Moore ( 1905-1908), I K Sharga ( 1909-1921 ), Lawrence Macdermot ( 1921-1931 ), R L Kanjilal (1931 ), Moulvi Mohd Ibrahim ( 1931-1939),A K Kichloo ( 1931-1941 ), Dr M D Taseer ( 1941-1942 ), S D Malhotra (1942-1944 ), B K Madan (1944-1946), Prof G A Ashai ( 1947-1948 ), Prof S L Raina ( 1947 and again 1957to 1958 ) and Prof J L Koul ( 1952-1957 ) .
Students of this college are spread in all the corners of the world enjoying top positions in trade and corporate world. Everybody who is somebody in our state has been a student of this college . Dr Karan Singh , Dr Farooq Abdullah , General O P Malhotra( former chief of Indian army ) Mufti Mohammad Sayed , Balraj Sahni , Dr Shawl ( intervention cardiologist ), Agha Shahid Ali( English poet ) , Prof Abdul Gani Bhat ( Hurriyat leader ), G M Sadiq , Qaiser Qalandhar , Padam-Shri Pran Kishore Kaul , Khursheed Drabu ( Ranji Trophy cricket player who joined legal profession in UK later ), Arvind Gigoo ( noted writer ) , Harish Bahri ( Ranji Trophy cricket player ) , Shuja Sultan ( noted painter ) and Riyaz Punjabi ( former vice chancellor of Kashmir university ) are some persons in the unending list prepared by me. Punjabi scholar Prof Sewa Singh , Prof Rehman Rahi ( poet ), Prof Ghulam Nabi Firaq ( poet ) , Sattar Ahmed Shahid ,Prof Gh Mohi ud Din Hajini ( Kashmiri and Arabic scholar ) , Prof Rattan Lal Shant ( Hindi and Kashmiri writer ) and Prof Hari Krishen Kaul ( Hindi and Kashmiri writer ) were in the college faculty during our student days .The college organised annual State level Mushairas to which some well known Urdu poets of the country were also invited . Dina Nath Nadim , Rasool Pampori , Farooq Nazki , G R Santosh , Vasudev Reh , Radhey Nath Masarat, Makahan Lal Mahav and many more leading Kashmiri poets would come to the college Mushairas .
We had Sh P N Koul and Sh Mohammad Amin as physical director and sports in-charge respectively . We knew them well for they gave the NCC uniforms with good tea and snacks for associating with their work .They would organise annual college tours to other parts of the country .I can never forget my English teachers Prof Firaq and Prof Zaffar Naqeeb . One introduced the world of Mehjoor and Majaz while the other cultivated a temper to read Albert Camus. Prof Bansi Lal Trakru and Prof Kuchhai taught us mathematics. Though Prof Ogra was thorough with his subject, I was more impressed with the analytical teaching method of Prof Kuchhai .Prof Roshan Lal and Prof G M Mir taught us chemistry .Both were competent teachers .Prof Moti Lal Mam, a saintly personality, taught us physics. What a teacher he was? Prof C L. Sapru of Hindi was also very popular teacher within the college . He also associated himself with almost all the cultural activities in the college.
I visited the college on October 20 , 2009, and went to my class rooms . I also visited the laboratories and the library , the vast play ground, old buildings , principal’s office , auditorium , canteen and the bicycle stand .The fruit seller’s shop outside the gate near S P School is nowhere to be seen now. Information Technology Department has come up in the physics laboratory . The college is an IGNOU study centre now. Nothing has changed in the area around the principal’s room . The walls outside the lobby have been decorated with photographs of old college principals . With IGNOU coming in , the college has become a co-educational institution.
I could recognize a laboratory assistant of our time . He is about to retire now. He spoke of the good old days . He spoke of Prof Mam , Prof Surrinder Tiku and Prof Ganju. He has maintained close links with all of them. To me, he informed about the sad demise of Prof Sattar Ahmed Shahid. He could not provide me with any news about the welfare of Prof Nazir Ahmed Khan . Words fail me to express the greatness of Prof Nazir Ahmed Khan. Salaam to him wherever he is. Salaam, Namaskar and best wishes to all my teachers. A poem of poet Sahir Ludhianavi instantly came to my mind when I saw young students moving around happily in the college .Sahir wrote this poem for recitation in the centenary celebrations of his Alma Mater, Government Degree College , Ludhiana . I quote some lines :-
‘Yaheen nikharaa thaa zauk e nagamaagari
Yeheen bane thhay bagawaton ke imam
Kaafiley aatey jaatey rahtein hai
Kaare duniya kabhi hua na tamaam
Kal jahaan me thaa aaj tum ho vahaan
Aey nai nasl tujh ko mera salaam.”……………..(Sahir Ludhianavi )
(Here only the taste for poetry flowered within me,
Here only we led many a revolt,
Groups keep coming and passing out,
The business of the world does never come to end.
Where I stood yesterday, you stand today,
O new generation ,
My best wishes for your welfare …)
Avtar Mota is a bloger and writes for local and national papers and magazines
