Author and academic Neelum Saran Gour shares with ANANYA BORGOHAIN the multiple facets of Allahabad University as chronicled in Three Rivers and a Tree
How similar is the contemporary Allahabad University landscape to the one you have chronicled in the bookIJ
It is similar in the sense that there is an essential continuity. There is an acknowledgement of the labour of the past. This book starts from the circumstances that led to the establishment of the university in 1887. In fact, it begins with the description of the Muir Central College which was founded in 1873 and was later affiliated to the Allahabad University. These are almost 150 years of momentous history that saw the pinnacle of higher education in India with their splendid academic feats and impressive scholarship among the teachers and students that the university produced. But after more than a century today, things are very different. One cannot expect to locate the past in the contemporary landscape.
Is it like what we see in films, say Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Haasil or Habib Faisal’s Ishaqzaade which revolved around youths in UPIJ
No, it isn’t as dramatic and distortive as shown in films. Allahabad University is still judged by its glorious past but it has also become anarchic to a large extent. For instance, during the university’s elections, it could turn into a volatile situation. I believe they follow a high court culture now, different from the more composed ambience of the past.
Are the current students of Allahabad University aware of the legacy they are a part ofIJ
Some of them are. They read about the university, they hear references to the past and anecdotes that indulge them in the reminiscing. Nonetheless, there are many who are oblivious to the legacy at the same time. Teachers do try to familiarise them with its history time and again.
You have written about Allahabad a lot in your other works as well. Undoubtedly, the city has shaped your vision and you hold it in high esteem. But does that also not pose a challenge when you are required to provide an objective depiction of the cityIJ
Actually, I would like to clarify that I do not romanticise Allahabad at all. I am from Allahabad and it is home to me but I am critical about many of its facets. It is my comfort zone, but I rue the change that this historic, aesthetic, and graceful city has undergone over the years. I don’t think I unconditionally love my city. I am its vocal critic and know how it is flawed in so many levels.
You mention some fascinating, quirky myths about the university, about the old clock tower from the colonial times which was the highest in India till the 1950s or about the speculated existence of a secret hangar for a two-seater plane for the vice-chancellor. How true do you think these legends areIJ
They are an integral part of the university’s folklore. These are lores created by the old teachers. But no, I don’t think they are true. If there was a plane in the campus for the vice-chancellor, he would need it frequently to fly away from politics and the wrath of the aggressive students, particularly in the midst of the electoral clashes!
It seems like professional jealousy and ideological conflicts are perpetual in the academia. They are a common occurrence in Indian universities not only today but since the older times. Why was Professor Harivansh Rai Bachchan attaining the scholarship to pursue his doctoral thesis in Cambridge University a bone of contention in Allahabad University’s English departmentIJ
Harivansh Rai Bachchan was a bright scholar and a literary erudite who composed his poems in Hindi but taught at the English department of the university. After about a decade of teaching, he qualified to pursue his PhD research on WB Yeats at Cambridge University from 1952-1954. His study grant was refused by every authority including Maulana Azad and was finally granted by Pandit Nehru. But many in the English department of the Allahabad University felt that he was still too immature to teach Yeats. The disagreement reached a point where Bachchan resigned in 1955 and joined the Allahabad office of All India Radio and later worked with the Ministry of External Affairs. He spent his last years in Mumbai, cherishing the stupendous stardom of his son, Amitabh.
On the other hand, many feel that he was also very sensitive and may have overreacted. Factionalism and arguments in the university departments are common. legendary academics such as SC Deb, PE Dustoor, Meghnad Saha etc have been at receiving ends too. While Bachchan wrote limericks to take digs at Prof Deb, actor Saeed Jaffrey, who also studied in the university drew cartoons to mock authoritative figures there.
Why is conflict so frequent among academicsIJ
I think it’s because such animosity derives from familiarity. As they say, familiarity breeds contempt. Unlike in a transferrable job, academics have the same circle and work culture. So they get attuned to a certain lifestyle. After a point, things probably tend to be redundant. The rigidity of it all creates hostility.
I am surprised and glad both that you said that, being a member of the academic space yourself. Maybe that’s why you don’t tend to overly romanticise Allahabad because you are a critical insider.
Well, I will be honest, I love the timings of my job and it pays well, and leaves me with ample time and space to write my books! On a serious note though, teachers have a repository of knowledge, they are well educated, thinking individuals, but they also develop a sense of self-righteousness which undoes a lot.
You write about how Mr Bachchan collected two rupees each from his students at the beginning of every lecture and bought books for them and that is how he created a library. Are those books still available in the libraryIJ
Yes, those books went to the Post-graduate English library and fortunately, many are still available.
Are there manuscripts of their works available tooIJ
Not in the university library, but the Allahabad public library does have a lot of manuscripts. There are manuscripts of, say, Amarnatha Jha in the university’s library but the public libraries have more of them, written by the likes of Bachchan, Manas Mukul Das, Hemendra Shankar Saxena, and so on.
Why was Prof SC Deb so complicatedIJ
I don’t think he was complicated. He was appointed lecturer in the English department in 1922 and was to serve till 1959 as the head. The word that is still used to describe him is ‘Encyclopaedic’ referring to his depth of knowledge. His appearances were interesting too. But yes, he was not revered by, say, PE Dustoor, who coined an aberration for Deb’s nickname — ‘Encyclopedestrian’. The witty Bachchan too harboured distaste for Deb and called him a “veritable Niagara Falls of vocal delivery”.
Which is your favourite Allahabad University storyIJ
My favourite story is actually not a part of the book. I heard it while researching for the book but forgot to add it while writing! It’s about one Bhagwat Dayal. He was an anglophile, very British in his mannerisms. He would light a pipe, smoke and extinguish it, and then refill it. He would mop his face frequently with his snow-white handkerchief. Students would even joke that he coughed in English!
He was also the hostel warden during the 1940s and freedom fighters hid there. He protected them by securing them under his wings and when the cops came to investigate, he would put up his British guise to convince them that he was on the side of the British. I found that very fascinating.
Three Rivers and a Tree is written by Neelum Saran Gour and published by Rupa, Rs295 ananyapioneer@gmail.com