TURA

People always ask me the question why I always talk of gong back to Tura. I have also tried to answer this question but have not really been able to answer this to the satisfaction of others. In fact, frankly, what has Tura given me? Let me see, if I can try and answer this once again.

My first consciousness about Tura was when we were in Cherrapunji – actually I was a student of St Edmund’s College, Shillong then, when my dad received a call from MBOSE. My sister packed all his warm clothes! – three suit pieces, as I remember now, in a black coloured trunk. The month must have been April or May of 1974. While returning dad lost all his luggage – in fact, his luggage was exchanged with someone else who got down at Resu or Mendi. Next year, when he received a telegram from MBOSE, dad was not sure who this gentleman could be. We put our heads together to resolve that he must have met someone, called Mr M. Bose, at Tura, who had the kindness to send him a telegram. This time we were wiser not to have given him any warm clothes and in any case not much could have been made within a year from a teacher’s salary (Dad was a teacher of Ramakrishna Mission High School, Cherrapunji, where my sister and me completed our HSLC Examination from).

Almost a decade passed – I completed my Master’s – worked in places like Zunheboto (Nagaland), Shillong and Tukrajhar (Assam) – faced an interview conducted by the Meghalaya Public Service Commission and was pleasantly surprised to find my name in the list of recommended candidates, that too, topping the list. Came 11^th of October 1983, when escorted by my parents I reached Tura in the evening and met the Principal at his residence. He was quite amused to see parents escorting an adult would-be-‘professor’. So my journey began from the next day. ‘Got some reprieve as it during the Puja holidays. After the holidays as I returned, my first class as I remember was in 1^st yr B.A. I was asked to teach the novel ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’. After rushing through the Roll Call, I simply hurried through the discussion on ‘Tragedy & Tragic Hero’. Only then I could make myself to face the class (though I had some experience in teaching – I also had a B.Ed degree – I had faced only a small population in the UG classes). The next class was even worse as I had to face some three hundred students in the II P.U. class. I couldn’t get myself to face the crowd, till I took hold of the text-book and stood in front of the table. I was also asked to join the Evening Shift as well. This was even more interesting. I had to submit a Joining Report in the Standard Proforma. As it was the evening shift, I wrote in my Joining Report that I joined in the afternoon. When the Pay Slip (Pay Slips used to be issued for the Evening shift those days) came I was wild to find that I was paid w.e.f. from 24^th October whereas I had joined on the 23^rd!

After my first day’s class I was planning to return to ‘Raj Kamal Hotel’, where I was lodging. I was walking with a senior colleague. I told him that I was looking for some houses on rent. Out of the blue he suggested I could stay with him as long as his family didn’t return from Shillong. It was really a surprise as this was our first meeting and to invite some stranger to stay in one’s house was something unheard of. Well I saved my hotel rent. I straight away went to ‘Munka Hotel’ and made an advance payment towards monthly food charges and was feeling quite happy with myself. As I reached my colleague’s place only a rebuke awaited me for having made the advance payment but still I was happy. But that was not all; I had to share his breakfast, evening tea and lunch in addition to two other meals at Munka hotel. He simply bowled me over. I simply became a part of his lovely family later on.

My initial reaction was that I would stay for maximum of one year at Tura – of course find quite a few of my friends from Shillong at the SBI was very encouraging though.

It was exam time. I was off duty. It was English, so I thought I should be around. As I leisurely entered the campus, the Principal caught hold my arm and whisked me away and thrust me into the office and made me sit in front of a typewriter. Before I could react I was asked to type a Question Paper – to cut the stencil actually. As I cut one stencil and went for the next one, the first one was cyclostyled and distributed among the examinees. By the time I was in the middle of the second stencil the shortage of Question Papers was met as it was discovered that another of Question Papers had by mistake been left behind at the treasury.

FIRST ORIENTATION: Tura has an unique programme, called ‘Teachers’ Social’, where in connection ‘Teachers’ Day’, school, college and university teachers attend in a pre-decided institution and enjoy the day with frolicking, fun making and other mostly light-hearted cultural programmes. In the year 1984, it was the turn of Tura Public School. The programme was supposed to be conducted at the auditorium complex. I was returning from college with a senior colleague of mine who later became my principal. As the topic of attending the Social started I informed him of my unwillingness to attend the programme. I was actually angry with my mother with whom I had quarrelled in the morning. The only comment my colleague made was, ‘You are another gone case’. I reacted by joining the programme and that is not all. The food was late and all the cultural items were over. It was up to some one else to keep the audience involved. A senior colleague of mine gave the lead, picked up by a teacher of Don Bosco School, I joined the gang with a lot of jokes. It was ultimately the latter and me who stole the show. Then onwards of course, there was no going back. I had on another occasion reacted similarly when I was doing B.Ed and before the final examination was thinking of dropping as preparation was not good enough. A teacher of mine at PGT College, Shillong commented, ‘why should Burmon take the examination, he has already got a job?’ When I heard this I reacted because I had left a college teaching job in Nagaland to do B.Ed. So I took up the challenge and took the examination, where I am inclined to think I did pretty well.

The first year, the involvements were not too many. Then I had to make a decision. If I have to stay in Tura I have to be a part of it. It was near the Ringrey Bridge, while walking with a senior colleague of mine I made a proposal for starting a Debating Society, when he said, ‘It is my dream’. Then there was no looking back – Meghalaya Debating Society, Meghalaya Science Society, Natya Samity, Tura District Cricket Association, Tura District Volley Ball Association, Meghalaya Table Tennis Association, The Rotary Club of Tura – difficult to name an Association with which I was not associated directly or indirectly – then of course there were the clubs. I don’t know when Tura became my first love. I started growing with Tura. Each contributed to other’s development. The trouble is, if I name some and don’t name others. There are a host of people from whom I have learnt so much and whom I emulated in my life. There are some who gave me valuable tips in teaching, from some I learnt the art of administration, others taught me the art and technique of playing games, some taught me how to be tolerant in life, some taught me how to socialize – the art of being a subordinate – in fact, each person I met taught me something or the other which has made me what I am today. Another training ground was the MBOSE, where a lot of people helped me learn the work. Openings also came from AIR and Doordarshan – all these made life really interesting. How can I forget the rapport I used to have with the schools and other colleges (in fact I also worked as a Part-timer in Govt. B.Ed College, Rongkhon as also some experience in working at the Durama College) and all the people from various other walks of life? How can I also forget my days with the IGNOU and frequent contacts with the NSS? I also became a student of IGNOU, Don Bosco School & Don Bosco College! once each for computer courses.

NCC took up a big chunk of my emotions and time. My cadets who were prepared to sweat it out for the whole work even without a cup of tea. No wonder they were easily considered the best cadets in the whole state as only the cadets of our college were given the chance of Quarter Guard in an Annual Training Camp. The Deputy Director General (NCC) was being given the Guard of Honour. The DDG was pleasantly overwhelmed to find cadet after cadet from Tura Govt. College. After the cadets the first officer he met was me. When he learnt that I was from Tura Govt. college his face beamed and he asked me in Hindi, ‘Do you conduct training programmes in the college?’ My answer was an obvious, ‘YES SIR.’ It was a great sight watching our cadets training cadets from other colleges for the ‘B’ Certificate Examination when our cadets themselves were taking the same examination. Even in RD camps more than half the population was from Tura Govt. College. When the Group Commander-in-Charge was about this disproportion his answer was, ‘If I had my say I would have given the whole quota to Tura Govt. College’ – no wonder other colleges started envying us.

As I now have physically left Tura and keep looking back I receive a lot of inspiration and am rejuvenated. There were a lot of people whom I looked up to for guidance and advice. And those of them who are still living are still ready to do so. I raised a question at the beginning. I don’t know whether I have been able to answer it. I am really confused. “If you did love Tura so much, then why did you leave it?” Frankly – no answers once again.