Yesterday I visited Patiala to pay obeisance at a temple in the city. I have connection to this town dating back to early fifties. In fact the family moved to this princely city in 1950 when I was about 7 years old. I went to school and college there before joining Medical College at Srinagar in J&K. After staying in the city for 2-3 years the family relocated to a village which was somewhat midway between Patiala and Rajpura town. The village was called Kauli. Incidentally kauli or katori , called a pannikin in English language, is something we use on the dinning table. I have no idea how this place came to be known as such. But this is the place where I grew up and most of my memories of early childhood and adolescence pertain to this place only.
My father came to this village to manage a big agricultural farm. The road from Patiala to Rajpura passed through the farm. And there was a small railway station, too, known by the same name as the village. We lived on the premises of the farm. It was quite a spacious house built of mortar and bricks with basic amenities like clean water and electricity. It was a carefree living with open space to move around and plenty of fresh vegetables and pure milk for nourishment. Adulteration of food articles was unheard of in those good old days. The time not spent in studies was used to play "Gulli-danda" with boys of my age, riding a bicycle which, incidentally, was my favourite pastime. As I grew up I learned to drive a tractor, and sometimes plough the fields with it. My first driving license was for a tractor ! I learnt a little bit about farming practices too. The time spent at the farm is part of golden years of my life. Then in 1962 I bid adieu to this place and moved to Srinagar to study medicine . But I would visit my parents there during the winter breaks. Then my parents moved to our home town Nalagarh in Himachal in 1971 and I lost touch with Kauli.
As the road that I took to visit Patiala passed through Kauli, I decided to look up the place. As is the case with every village, town and city in our country, a lot of construction has taken place, some times at the cost of existing structures. The imposing buildings at the farm, like offices, carpentry and storerooms, garages for farm machinery, bins for the farm produce had been razed with no sign left of having any of them being there. In the absence of these landmarks it was with some difficulty that I located the place. The farm had long since been sold there were precious little memories that I could revisit. But luckily for me the house in which I lived and grew up in was still there though with some additions and alterations. I took out my mobile and clicked a picture of the house.
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| Kauli Rail Station (inside) |
Next I visited the Kauli rail station where I would frequently go with my elder brother to watch the trains come and go and sometimes travel in them too. In those days there was only on big imposing building which housed the Station Master's office and the ticket-office and a small waiting room. But I was shocked to see that structure had been demolished to make way for a spanking new rail station. I was told by the Station Master that the old building was constructed in 1895. It could have been preserved as a heritage building ! But alas !! So there was precious little left of the memories of the place that I could revisit ! With a heavy heart I resumed my journey. Those buildings, those structures may be gone for ever but the memories of my childhood spent at Kauli will always remain with me. I can take comfort in that.
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| The house where I grew up |
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| Kauli Rail Station (outside) |
