Malda Training Diary - Administrative Training Institute

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of Bangladesh. Quite a scarcity of good saris & none over 80 counts of thread, as looms have
not yet started work.
Memorable ferry from Aricha to Nagarbari, as for miles we saw the muddy Padma & blue
Jamuna running side by side yet miraculously never mingling. There were 8 ferries of which
6 were bombed out. Only 2 are running between Aricha, Goalandar & Nagarbari plus two
more U.N. barges (massive affairs carrying a dozen trucks at a time). The jeep cost us Rs.18/-
and each person’s ticket is 75 paise. Eggs were sold at the ghat at 8 for a rupee, and chicken
for Rs. 3/- only!
We reached Rajshahi around 6 p.m. and the DC told us our trucks had been unloaded & had
gone back. He has been touring the thanas, seeing relief work. He criticised corruption in the
relief committees by politicians. He is meeting DM, W.Dinajpur for food from there
tomorrow. Once the Singabad-Rohanpur rail link is done, the food problem will be largely
solved as no transport crisis will hamper it. By boat also some 14,000 quintals have arrived.
The ferry is now working on a 24 hour basis for relief trucks. DC told us about their CSP &
EPCS training centres in Lahore & Dacca: huge palatial affairs. His attitude is most feudal &
authoritarian I fear!
Reached Malda 9.30 p.m. (a total journey of 904 km.) carrying “Kanchagolla” of Natore Kali
temple! The audit party is leaving tomorrow & so gave me dinner.
19.3.1972
Today I found the DM had gone to Cal to get his transfer order. At 6 p.m. Sudhir
Chakraborty (journalist) came to hear an account of my trip for an article. He had wanted me
to write but I had refused. I had also called G.C.Chakravorty (Sub.Dy.Coll.) as a witness to
what I said. Sudhir babu told us about his past involvement from the age of 11 in the
independence movement, leading to arrest & pin-pricking of his nails, which are still all
ruined & he can’t write properly yet. Had his education in Malda, Patna, BHU, Lahore due to
constant arrests & harassment by the Intelligence Bureau. Did his MA in Ancient Indian
History & then in Iconography from Lahore. Curator of the museum here from 1956. Joined
Communists in 1947 & left in 1971 due to its entente with Congress. In 1942-45 was a Lt. in
army in N.Burma!
In the evening I taught DM’s son Keats’ “To one who has been long in city pent” & Scott’s
“Lochinvar” & had dinner there too. A welcome change from canteen food! The DM’s wife
is extremely friendly—almost motherly. In the course of our talk she let me know that both
DM & SDO thought highly of me—a compliment I swallowed avidly!
20.3.1972
Work done
English Office Training.
Information
I sat with the Head Astt., Saroj Babu, who is to retire soon. He explained to me first of all that
this office was the most important in the Collectorate as it controlled all other depts. He
showed me the file index which revealed all the different manifold affairs under it (including
the Establishment). He explained that under each major heading there were files for each subhead
& so a file would be marked in roman + Arabic numerals. Thus XVI signified the
subject head of “Library, Forms, Stationary”, while 5 stood for “Library—Books purchased
for”. I went through the files on Archaeology and found that silver coins of Shah Alam’s time
had been found, and that thrilling excavations at Nalrajar Garh in Cooch Behar had revealed
Gupta age fortifications. I also went through the file on Malda Museum. It gets a grant of
Rs.600/- annually & has rare Bengali MSS which the N.Bengal Univ. wants to catalogue &
decipher. No follow up action has been taken on these.