Gen. Mayadas has sold out...

This piece is a bit late, but better than never...

Rtd. Gen. Mayadas P.V.S.M, has left McCluskiegunj for good.

The name Mayadas... recall the BOFORS GUN DEAL?

Gen. Mayadas, who owned a beautiful plot of land and a bunglow at Gunj, has sold off and gone away. He, as I have known him for years, did a lot for the poor people of Gunj. He spoke like a lion. He lived alone on the 20 acre plot. He used to visit the villages and ask people if he could do anything for them?

He is remembered by all and missed by many too.

I hope he remembers us too.

a friend got engaged today!

Today a family friend, Nelson Gordon the only son of Uncle Noel Gordon, a permanent resident with roots deep in to the soil of Mccluskiegunj, got engaged today. The ceremony was held at the residence of the bride to be.

The wedding is expected to be sometime in November this year.

That's the latest news of the Gunj I hear.

There was no current for four days and ................ :)

Railway station being bettered

I recall the earlier years when I was a young boy. There were no electric trains then. We would love the sight of the steam engine rolling in and enjoyed a crowded platform where passangers would buy locally grown fruit and stuff from the canteen.The halt was for nearly half an hour as the engine would refill its water tank to continue its journey.

There were no proper platforms then. There was just land separating the four sets of tracks.

The platforms still ground level, are now concreted.

The bridge across Damodar river

For years, there's been the need of a bridge across the Damodar river that separates Ranchi and Latehar districts.

After monsoons are over, a temporary bridge has been built every year since the last 6-7 years. This temp. bridge is to allow the hundreds of trucks transport coal from Tetaria Khar, a coal mine near Balumath, to Khalari siding. But monsoons wash away the mentioned bridge each year.

Well, finally the government has done a wonderful job by sanctioning a permanent bridge. The building work began a year or so ago and the contract I believe, is of 23 months, meaning that The bridge that will be responsible or the reason for development in the Gunj, will be ready by the end of this year. I had been to the site and had seen for myself, so I do believee that by the end of this year it should be completed.

Once this bridge is completely in use, there will be vehicles running through McCluskiegunj which will reduce the lenght of raoads between Daltonganj, Balumath, and Tori (Chandwa) etc. and Ranchi and Jamshedpur etc..

This, will be something that will relieve the residents of the Gunj. There will be a vehicle available to and fro Ranchi at least after every half an hour or so. Ranchi is the nearest for good markets, collages and Hospitals.

Normally there's only one small bus that leaves for Ranchi in the morning and returns to the Gunj in the evening. It is called "Pawan Rath" and belongs to Kanhaiya Prasad. Kanhaiya has another small bus which he rents out for wedding and picnic seasons.

current playing-up again

The electricity got cut-off on the 26th day of May and finally came on, on the 31st. This is a common thing to happen in the Gunj.

There is no government electrician posted at and for McCluskiegunj since the last 20 years. The last electrician was beaten up by the locals due to current issues and thus he fled.

Now when there's a problem with current, people either hire a private electrician from Khalari Bazar Tand or do the job themselves.

Villages and huts far out of the electrification range have taken connections using a single naked GI wire using tall trees as posts causing the voltage to drop due to improper insulation and due to no neutral supply from the supply poles.

There are many people who use heaters to cook food. When coal sigaries (fires) are lit and the smoke is in the air, it is a clear indication that there's no current.

There has been an improvement over the years though, but it still needs a lot of attention and work to be done in this regard. Until then, we suffer and live by the mercy of the Jharkhand State Electricity Boarad.

The Anglo-Indian association

Since I am not present at the Gunj due to having an outstation job, I only hear a lot of the gunj. I do drop in now and then but this is the latest I hear...

Mrs. A Norman, president of the association now, has planned to submit her resignation because she and her family will be leavig the Gunj permanently. Mr. M Norman, her husband who is a railway employee has been transferred elsewhere.

Mrs. Norman is also a teacher at the Don Bosco Academy, Mccluskiegunj.

If this happens (which is likely to do so) then there seems nobody to tgake charge of the president's chair after her resignation.

The members comments are that the association at the Gunj should be disolved as there is nobody capable of taking over charges. Though there are a few persons who would like to take the seat, like Mrs. judy Mendonca (who earlier was the president) and Robert Flemming who shows a lot of interest for the association. But everybody knows that Mrs. Judy Mendonca is not suitable for the post and Robert Flemming works outstation.

The fate of the Gunj now lies in the hands of God. God bless the association and its members.

Its Hot and Dry

The heat is tremendous as the month of May has begun. Schools are closed for summer, wells are drying and hand pumps are surrendering.

The electricity keeps playing up. It came on yesterday after two full days.

Regarding Hand pumps;

A few years back many people had been given hand pumps by the government through the MLA Mr. J. P. Galstaun.

I too got a free bore well a few years ago, but now it has collapsed. It was 200 feet when bored and now its just 75 feet.

During the election period, Mr. Ram Tahal Chaudhary (BJP) provided bore wells with the latest technique which uses small stone chips and casing that runs down to the end of the bore. This method does not allow a bore to collapse. Its is costlier no doubt, but good for years.

Don Bosco Academy McCluskiegunj

Don Bosco Academy, McCluskiegunj.

Visit this site to learn more about the school.

Dr. Rama Kant Singh

This gentleman has purchased about 5 houses and a few plots of land in McCluskiegunj. He has also introduced many of his friends to the place, and a few have also purchased property.

Dr. Rama Kant Singh said to me that he wants to set-up small industries that would help the locals to have employment. He wishes to set-up a nurse training institute and maybe a school or a college also which has come to my ears thru the locals.

Gordon Hostel

Another good hostel for boys only.

It is between the railway station and the school. This hostel is run by the entire Gordon family and is one of the oldest hostels. It has the best flowers and fruit garden in the place. Mr. Noel Gordon is a well known personality and has great ideas.

The newest idea I hear of, is that the hostel will offer single room facility for those who can pay and would like to live in luxury. The room will have a tv and these children will get a separate diet nd they will pay higher rates than the others.

Springdale's Hostel

Springdale's Hostel is the nearest to the railway station and has the most no. of students. It is run by Mrs. S. Razdan and is also another good hostel for boys only.

This is also a hostel I recomend to people. It is registered by the school and the children are up to the mark when it comes to school standards.

St. Jude's Hostel

St. Jude's Hostel is run by Mr. & Mrs. Barette.

Don Bosco Academy has classes from class 2 onwards. St. Jude's also serves as a peraratory school. Young children study here from nursery to class 1 and appear for class 2 entrance exams and the results are hundred percent.

The current strength is forty children and that is the maximum no. of seats available.

St. Jude's is registered with the school and has a good reputation. If you have candidates for Don Bosco Academy and need a hostel, I do suggest this hostel.

The couple running the hostel are doing a good job.

1 & only place of its kind; McCluskiegunj, Welcomes you.

McCluskiegunj is also spelt as McCluskieganj and is known as Lapra by the local residents, and its often visitors. It is considered to be and is called Mini London. This little village is very different compared to other villages in India.

There’s a lot to know about McCluskiegunj and the history behind this small village of various caste and creeds but in brief, the founder Ernest Timothy McCluskie, a Calcutta based businessmen approached the Maharaja of Ratu for a piece of land that could be used to form a small township for Anglo-Indians. This was in 1932.

The request was granted and an area of ten thousand acres was given on a perpetual lease। A society was later formed and thereafter plots were prepared and families chose their areas and built their own houses. They had their respective properties registered which enabled many of them to sell-out while migrating to countries like Australia, Canada, and London etc. Many left their houses to their servants. Many just left it to nobody.

McCluskiegunj remained a jungle for years. Among the many people that remained or settled down because of their ancestral property, some remained for a few more years and on realizing the place was out of the world, shifted to cities like Kolkata and Mumbai. Then Calcutta and Bombay as known as in those days.

People lived on pensions and earnings received by selling their guavas and mangoes. Agriculture was way beyond the Anglo-Indians and they had no interest, maybe.

Now, things have changed. People are quite happy and many of them are doing quite well. The credit for the good status of McCluskiegunj obviously goes to Mr. A G DeRozario, the founder of Don Bosco Academy, McCluskiegunj. He also served as the Anglo-Indian MLA Jharkhand, and did jobs for the Anglo-Indian community as well as for the development of McCluskiegunj.

Mr. DeRozario started the school in 1997 with many motives. One of which is the well being of the Anglo-Indian families. He invited all those who showed their interest in his project. He offered people to open-up hostels in their homes. This idea clicked. There are now nearly 20 hostels catering for children studying at Don Bosco Academy, McCluskiegunj.

Currently there are approximately 700-900 students that are unequally shared among the actual number of hostels. The actual number includes hostels run by Anglos AND non-Anglos. If you had an interest for economics in school, you can gauge how the place benefits by having Don Bosco Academy.

There are two ways to get to mini London.

McCluskiegunj has a Railway station which is now being bettered. Here the official spelling goes as …ganj! Express trains like the Shaktipunj Express (Howrh- Singrauli ), Palamav Express (Patna-Barkakana), Garib Rath (Ranchi-Dehli) and two locals that are available from Chaupan to Gomoh and another, Barkakana-Dehri on sone-Mughal Sarai. She is better known as the BDM. Some trains are not daily!

By road, you will have to branch-off from a place called Bijupara. Bijupara is in-between Ranchi and Gumla. Its just around 60-65 Kilos from Ranchi to McCluskiegunj by road,Ranchi is the capital of Jharkhand state.
You can book a taxi for around Rs. 700-800 or you can avail the public transport that is the only vehicle to and from McCluskiegunj or Lapra.