I have been meaning to tell you about McCluskiegunj, a small town about 40 kms from Ranchi. This small, hilly town has figured in several stories in the Bengali language and several writers maintained their retreats here. I did not know the story about the origin of the town however, which I found out only after going there.
It appears that a certain Anglo Indian gentleman, Ernest T McCluskie obtained lease of ten thousand acres from the local Raja of Ratu in the early thirties of the last century and invited fellow Anglo Indians to settle here. At that time, Anglo Indians, though somewhat looked down upon by the conservative Indian society being of mixed parentage, occupied most of the important positions in the Railways, mines, post offices etc and much after independence, India has also had an Air Force chief from the community. Anyway, the Colonisation Society of India founded by Mr McCluskie was not eminently successful and only about 200 families came in. Over the years, almost all of them drifted away for the town did not have any independent economy or industry. Only a handful have remained and the bungalows fell into disrepair. Some were bought by wealthy Indians and some were commandeered by the Maoist guerillas. It is only very recently that a few residential schools have come up and some of the bungalows have been put to use as hostels for the students. And yes, some of the same Maoist guerillas also have their children studying in these schools.
The road to McCluskiegunj was being repaired and it was quite an ordeal getting our car to navigate the broken road. Soon however, we were surrounded by forests and McCluskiegunj appeared suddenly, down a slope. We came down to the railway station and over cups of tea, came to know about the place. This is the fountain erected in memory of Mr McCluskie, lying forlorn in a corner
Sights of the bungalows, of which there are a lot of stories ...
The railway station and the church, which opens only on Sundays
A Swedish organisation keeps a big farm with various welfare activities but no one seemed around when we went there, except some local boys intent on bringing down unripe mangoes
More of the once splendid bungalows
Plenty of stories associated with each of these houses and we particularly loved this one -
This is one of the bungalows that have been converted into students' hostels
About the only decent hotel that we could find, run by an Anglo Indian family
After a simple Indian meal of rice, dal, vegetable curry and omelette, it was time to go back to Ranchi because of the bad roads but not before tarrying awhile on the banks of the local river Dugadugi which had almost dried up since it was the peak of summer
Mrs B and Miss B liked it here, sitting in the shade with legs dangling over the bank and chattering away happily
On the way back, we came upon a place where someone had thought of building a temple, a mosque, a church and a gurdwara side by side but only the temple and the mosque had been built
This is where the church is yet to come up, and as for the gurdwara, obviously the funds ran out
What a strange, unique place!
The road to McCluskiegunj was being repaired and it was quite an ordeal getting our car to navigate the broken road. Soon however, we were surrounded by forests and McCluskiegunj appeared suddenly, down a slope. We came down to the railway station and over cups of tea, came to know about the place. This is the fountain erected in memory of Mr McCluskie, lying forlorn in a corner
Sights of the bungalows, of which there are a lot of stories ...
The railway station and the church, which opens only on Sundays
A Swedish organisation keeps a big farm with various welfare activities but no one seemed around when we went there, except some local boys intent on bringing down unripe mangoes
More of the once splendid bungalows
Plenty of stories associated with each of these houses and we particularly loved this one -
This is one of the bungalows that have been converted into students' hostels
About the only decent hotel that we could find, run by an Anglo Indian family
After a simple Indian meal of rice, dal, vegetable curry and omelette, it was time to go back to Ranchi because of the bad roads but not before tarrying awhile on the banks of the local river Dugadugi which had almost dried up since it was the peak of summer
Mrs B and Miss B liked it here, sitting in the shade with legs dangling over the bank and chattering away happily
On the way back, we came upon a place where someone had thought of building a temple, a mosque, a church and a gurdwara side by side but only the temple and the mosque had been built
This is where the church is yet to come up, and as for the gurdwara, obviously the funds ran out
What a strange, unique place!
As always, an interesting look at a place i would otherwise not have seen. In Canada, there is unhealed pain at the abuses suffered by First Nations children at residential schools. Yours seem much kinder, and appear to be housing for students. Imagine someone buying 10,000 acres, when now it takes a fortune to buy a simple house and lot! Loved the photo of Mrs and Miss B!
ReplyDeleteSo good to hear from you Sherry!
DeleteI hope the First Nations regain their dignity, pride and rightful place in modern Canada before very long.
Just as in Canada, the native peoples in the U.S suffered horribly at the hands of the European settlers and many of them still live in places that look much like McCluskiegunj - in 21st century America, no less. Sad but true.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this fascinating and informative post! I also loved the photo of Mrs. and Miss B!
Thank you very much for visiting, Rita. There has been a movie shot on locale, named A Death in the Gunj, which, though not very successful in the box office, has won some critical acclaim.
ReplyDeleteThank you once again!
Back for another look. All of those empty bungalows intrigue me. I wish someone could fill them and that a thriving community could arise there. There are so many needing homes. There is a whole village of Fixer Uppers. Smiles.
ReplyDeleteHi Sherry, all those empty places are very high in the spooky quotient you know!
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