Civil Services Archives - INDIAN MEMORY PROJECT

The Fashionable large nose ring

My father, T. P Pathak with my grandmother, Hira Pathak. Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh. 1956

My father, T. P Pathak with my grandmother, Hira Pathak. Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh. 1956 Image and Narrative contributed by Paritosh Pathak, India. In this image my father was 6 years old and my grandmother was 34. My grandmother was a educated woman who had attended high school and could read and write. A rarity in rural Uttar Pradesh's heartland. She was assertive, fashionable and a strong woman. Notice the large nose ring (Nath) in fashion at the time. She home schooled my father for a while. My father excelled at academics and joined the UP, State Civil Services. He retired recently after his last posting as Commissioner of Jhansi division in UP. He always credited his success to the education he received at home from my grandmother. My grandfather & his brother were orphans and raised themselves. He was married late in life to my grandmother and his brother never got married. My grandparents had two children, the older one pictured above is my father. My grandmother is now 95 and suffers from many age related ailments. She cannot recall the picture occasion, most likely it was a village fair where the picture was developed on old plate based cameras in Mirzapur, UP.

A serious family photograph

My father's family. The Datta family. Location either Delhi or Simla. Circa 1940

My father's family. The Datta family. Location either Delhi or Simla. Circa 1940 Image and Narrative contributed by Saugato Datta, London This photograph of my father’s family was taken in the courtyard of my grandfather’s government house on Irwin Road (now Baba Kharak Singh Marg,Delhi). Seated in the middle are my grandparents, Sailendraprasad Datta (1898-1956) and Bibhabati Datta (1906-1977). My grandfather was a civil servant and moved to New Delhi from Calcutta in the early 1920s. My grandmother was a housewife. She grew up in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. To the left of my grandfather is their eldest child, my aunt Uma Datta Roy Choudhury (1926-2009). She was a statistician, joining the Indian Statistical Service when it was founded after Independence, which was also the year she got her MA from St. Stephen’s College. She later consulted for UNDP and lived for many years in the then Czechoslovakia (Now Czech Republic and Slovakia) and later in Zimbabwe. To the right of the my grandmother, is my oldest uncle, Kalyan Kumar Datta (1928-1998). He was a pilot for Indian Airlines and lived in Calcutta. The little boy on the left is my father, Kamal Kumar Datta (born 1938). He studied Physics at Presidency College, Calcutta and Brandeis University in the US, and was a professor of Physics at Delhi University till he retired earlier this decade. The other kid on the right is his brother, Saroj Kumar Datta, (born 1936) who was also a Stephanian. He worked for many years in Air India, and has been with Jet Airways since it was founded. he currently works as Jet’s Executive Director. He’s still working, though he recently turned 75. The two youngest kids are apparently beaming because they were given books to entice them to sit still for the…

As a magistrate he could impose a large fine of Rs.10

My Great Great Grandfather, Mukuntha Madhav Reddy Yekollu, Zamindar of Yelagiri. (far left, with hands folded) with associates from the region. Jolarpet, Tamil Nadu. Circa 1880

My Great Great Grandfather, Mukuntha Madhav Reddy Yekollu, Zamindar of Yelagiri. (far left, with hands folded) with associates. Jolarpet, Tamil Nadu. Circa 1880 Image and Narrative contributed by Sanjay, UK This photograph of my Great great grandfather Mukuntha Madhav Reddy Yekollu (sitting far left, on chair) was taken in my ancestral home in Yelagiri near Jolarpet. He later went on to become a honorary civil magistrate/judge with a capacity to impose fines upto Rs.10 ( a princely sum then). He committed suicide in 1907 for reasons no one knew, but we conjecture- it was depression. All I know of the two European gentleman in the picture is that one was a Railway supervisor of Jolarpet which was an important railway junction. The other was a Police Inspector of Italian origin. My Great Great Grandfather was educated up to form three. He had two wives, four sons, six to seven daughters and an elder brother who died on the eve of his marriage. The last time I visited my ancestral home in India I also found a letter that was never posted (Dated : 1927) With an interest to find out more about my ancestry I searched and found distant uncles and aunts. Some were not welcoming at all, and some wouldn't allow old photographs to be scanned. This photo was given to me by my great grand father's sister's son. He thought it would be better off with me than him.

The father, son and their gun

My father, Syed Mohammed Abbas Rizvi and grandfather, Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi. Rourkela, Orissa. 1960

My father, Syed Mohammed Abbas Rizvi and grandfather, Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi. Rourkela, Orissa. Circa 1960 Image and Narrative contributed by Rizvi Amir Abbas Syed. This picture was taken in the 1960s at "Friends Studio" in sector 5 market, Rourkela. My father (left) worked for Hindustan Steel Limited which later became SAIL, Steel Authority of India Limited. My grand Father (right) was an Officer in Excise department when Bihar, Bengal & Orissa were in one state called Old Bengal. My grand father always carried a gun (C.G BONEHILL 12 BORE BRITISH SXS HAMMER GUN). And like some others, he too had a license to carry it anywhere in India, even though licenses were and are given for a particular city/district. He had a stupendous collection of guns, all inherited from his father. All our guns, however were later taken away by the Jharkhand Police, as licensed guns are by law to be observed under police custody. Having said that, one can always find people roaming around freely with illegal weapons in Palamau District.

India’s first Kodak couple

My great-great grandparents, Sarala and Dr. PK Roy. Calcutta, West Bengal. Circa 1880

My great-great grandparents, Sarala and Dr. PK Roy. Calcutta, West Bengal. Circa 1880 Image and Narrative contributed by Chetan Roy, UK This photo was used by Kodak India for an Ad campaign in the early 1980s. Sarala Roy was an educationist and is remembered as the founder of the Gokhale Memorial School at Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal. She belonged to the famous Das family of Telirbagh, Dhaka, now in Bangladesh. She was also a member of Calcutta University’s senate and also one of the leaders of the All-India Women’s Conference. The conference was founded in 1927 under the leadership of Margaret Cousins but was soon completely run by Indian women. It was the most important women’s organisation of its time. She devoted her life to the cause of women’s education and also established a Girl’s school & a Women's organization in Dhaka, while living there with her husband. Rabindranath Tagore composed the dance-drama Mayar Khela at her request. Prasanna Kumar Roy (1849-1932) was a well-known educationist and the first Indian to be principal of Presidency College, Calcutta. He was attracted towards the Brahmo Samaj early in life he was turned out of his home. However, he won the Gilchrist Scholarship to go to England. He graduated from the University of London in 1873. He was awarded the D.Sc. degree in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh and the University of London in 1876. He and Ananda Mohan Bose got together to establish a Brahmo Samaji Indian Association and a library in the UK. He was posted to England for two years as Education Assistant to the Secretary for India.

All translations are machine generated, hence they are not 100% accurate.