The chosen NCC cadet of Punjab Contingent

The chosen NCC cadet of Punjab Contingent
Shavinder Kaur, New Delhi. 1967

Shavinder Kaur, New Delhi. 1967 Image and Narrative contributed by Shavinder Kaur, Mumbai. I was a 20 year old NCC Cadet (National Cadet Corps) of the Punjab Contingent and this picture in the ceremonial NCC Blazer was given to all the cadets who had been photographed for their participation in the Republic Day Parade and camp. I remember that cold January 26 - Republic Day of 1967 clearly. It was very cold, and we were all up at 4.30 am to get into our crisp khakis and shiny marching boots. Everyone glowed with pride and excitement, and were set for a 10 kms march from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate via Rajpath. It was after all the Republic Day Parade and we were the chosen ones, representing our respective contingents. I was at that time a Senior Under Officer and led the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Chandigarh Contingent.
 It was a very coveted position to be at. Among the thousands of countrymen and women who had flocked to see the celebrations, my mother too had traveled all the way from Jullundur, Punjab to watch me march. The NCC in those days was a very coveted organisation. Thousands of young people aspired to join the NCC, while in school and college. The Sino-Indian war of 1962  & Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 had brought about a renewed sense of national pride among the young. NCC also offered opportunities to engage in adventure activities, cultural and sporting events as well as traveling and seeing new places. The preparations for the Republic Day Parade began more than a month in advance - Three weeks at our regional headquarters in Chandigarh and three weeks at New Delhi.  The camp…

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The day my father committed to marrying my mother

The day my father committed to marrying my mother
My father, Ranjan Sarkar, Västerås, Sweden, 1970

My father, Ranjan Sarkar, Västerås, Sweden, 1970 Image and Narrative contributed by Jaydeep Sarkar, Mumbai This picture was taken a year before my parent's marriage. My father, Ranjan Sarkar, had moved to Sweden from Calcutta, in 1968, with his first job as an Engineer with ASEA.   The first child from his generation to work outside of India, my grandmother was particularly concerned about his single life and urged her elder children to find a match for my father. At that time, he was thirty, and only a thirty year old bachelor in the family could be a cause for such 'epic concern'.   Pictures of prospective brides would be sent to my father by mail, for his consideration. Unsure about committing to marriage, he would resist taking a decision on any of the pictures.   Finally my eldest aunt (my father's eldest brother's wife) sent him a letter loaded with melodramatic words of emotional blackmail, urging him to get married, for his "own sake and that of the family". With the letter, came another set of five pictures. My father's friend photographed him here on a Sunday with his Minolta camera, as he went through the letter and the five photographs that came with it. One of the pictures was that of my mother's, Jayshri Sengupta. Probably the one he is looking at in this image, or not. But it was on this day, that my father decided he was ready to commit to marriage.   A year later, my parents got married. They met each other for the first time, on the day of their wedding, at the 'mandap'.   The day was also momentous for another…

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