My husband, Bijoy Sharma, standing extreme right, with his family. Bamungaon, Assam. Circa 1942
It is unusual to see Bijoy clothed in a North Indian Dhoti (loose drape pants) because most young boys his age wore half pants. Apparently he had begun to dress like an adult to display his commitment to the independence struggle; perhaps he felt that serious work required an adult attire. And he was not alone in his commitment - several leaders of the Independence movement had recruited large numbers of young boys to act as secret messengers to deliver letters in nearby towns and villages. Whenever the policemen came around on suspicion and to arrest Bijoy (they would come around often) his proud mother Pareshwari Devi would instruct Bijoy - “If you sign any police papers for an early release, do not come back to this house”.
My grandfather Surendra Behra (right most) with his hockey team mates. Utkal University, Cuttack, Orissa (now Odisha). November, 1949.
My grandfather Surendra Behra (right most) with his hockey team mates. Utkal University, Cuttack, Orissa (now Odisha). November, 1949. Image and Narrative contributed by Aparna Das Sadukhan, Singapore This is a picture of my late maternal Grandfather, Surendra Behera (Right most in a striped blazer) from his Utkal university days when he played Hockey for the Orissa state team in 1949. At the time, he was 24 years old and studying Law, after graduating in Arts from Ravenshaw College (he did not complete his law degree). The people in the photograph were from different colleges under Utkal University. My grandfather whom we in the family fondly called Aja (grandfather in Oriya) was born in Cuttack, Orissa (now Odisha) in 1925, in a large joint family of 30 members and his own father ran a sweets shop business. When Aja grew up, he was known as "Sura Bhai", and was a dearly loved man by his family and friends. After his marriage, my Ayee (grandmother) and Aja together had four sons, and a daughter. By the mid 1950’s, Aja became the Captain of Orissa State Hockey Team and was awarded the “Blue" award by Utkal University authorities in Odisha. The honour of “Blue” was given by universties to students proficient in sports, with unblemished character, were deemed well-behaved and were lovable to peers & superiors. My grandfather received the Ravenshaw College Blue, Utkal University Blue and the Madhusudan Law College Blue for representing these institutions and Hockey Team impeccably. Professionally he began working with the Secretariat of the Government of Odisha, in the Revenue Department, though even after retirement, in his 60s, he continued to be associated with State Hockey…
