My College Education

There were some renowned professors in Bangabasi College in our time. Among them Prof. M.C.Chaki of Mathematics,  Prof, Jagadish Bhattacharya of Bengali, Prof Niren Roy of English etc were worthy of mentioning . Prof. M.C.Chaki was my mentor who influenced me to become Professor of Mathemaics in my career and did a lot for me. His method of teaching, his delivery of speech and  his style of  arrival in the class, everything I tried to adopt in my life during my career. He lived in Savoy Hotel situated on Shasi Bhashan Dey Street near Bowbazar Street. I met him many times while passing through the same street. I was in the habit of bowing down my head and take dust from his feet.

My college education started from Bangabasi College because that was within our walking distance and the authority allowed me to get admitted with half free studentship. It was a big College considering its no. of students. In I.Sc. there were many sections with about 200 to 250 students per section. The authority decided to admit the best students, coming for admission, in two sections. Section "B" was meant for the students with botany as additional subject and section "C" for students with Biology as additional subjects. We three, Myself, Kanti and Abhoy, was admitted in section C.
We, three myself, Kanti and Abhoy , got admitted in Bangabasi College in I.Sc. with Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology (a fourth subject). A long, hall type, class room , no.22, with doors one at the front and two or three at the rear side of the room. All the classes were not held in this room . Only Science classes , in which Black Board work was necessary There were changes of rooms in each class. The language classes were held in the room almost square in size.  A  "run and occupy" system was in vogue to occupy the first bench of the class room .
My father was in favour of two things. 1. Early to bed and early to rise. He ,too, woke up early in the morning and called us to get up and to go to the park near our house (Santosh Mitra Square). Myself and my elder brother, Rangda, as I called him, went to Santosh Mitra Square and took a run there. One day I got a ball lying on the ground within some shrubs. I took it and came to our house. My father, on seeing the ball, inquired about the ball and knowing that I got it from the park, he asked me to go there and keep the ball in the place, where I got it To him "honesty knows no bound". My father had to go to Bombay off and on for some of his office work. One day he returned home with so many things. 4/5 Carpets , 2/3 bags packed up with materials, one tin-made conical box filled with medicine etc. After taking some rest my father opened the story of all these things that while getting down from the reserved compartment , he was the last person to get down and the coolie asked him, "babu, would you not take all such things". He saw that many luggage were left by a passenger  of the same train. he took all the luggage, put an advertisement in three renowned news papers and got one Some Dr. Chatterjee of Ballygunge  who left all these materials. One fine morning he came with a lorry and took away all his belongings. We became astonished that he did not show any gesture of gratitude to my father.