JAMALPUR GYMKHANA

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Tourists, especially those of the foreign variety, treat as sacrosanct whatever is written in ‘guide books for tourists’, ‘survival kits’, etc. This being so, all that remains in the way of our very own JAMALPUR becoming a tourist haven is an elegant, slick, well–oiled, well written brochure--skillfully marketed and sufficiently hyped Purists might argue, but why not? Jamalpur has all the makings of a great tourist center. Just consider this-
  • Jamalpur has hills, some of which are still lush, reminiscent of the days of ‘How green was my valley’ etc. Plus wild beasts (no pun intended) roam about in abundance.
  • Jamalpur has hills, most of which are totally inundated owing to reckless quarrying- a symbol of man’s ruthless exploitation of nature.
  • When the above two stand side by side, it makes for a good symbol of the times.
  • To top it, there is the ‘Kali Pahari Ka Mandir’ on top of the hills, where, it is said, if you tie a thread and ask the BOSS (the biggest one) for a favor, he obliges.
  • Nearby, there ‘s the ‘Suicide Point’, dangerously with nothing but a lake a few hundred feet below. Legend has it that if you fall from ‘Suicide Point’, you don’t go down-you go straight up(heavenwards, that is)

For those with a keen sense of history and a love for Shakespeare, a signboard proclaiming that the great lovers Jomeo and Ruliet died from that very spot can be put up.

The place can be billed as one for the tourist with ‘Adventure-in-his genes’, a sobriquet no one would not want to be attached to him/herself

  • To continue, there’s a big lake and if we add the palm trees adjacent to it, we get a real picturesque location. Include the golf course and add to the place’s appeal.

After all, aren’t a huge number of places such marketed-words and pictures make them appear more beautiful than they really are.

However, there’s much more to Jamalpur than just natural beauty-amongst them, numerous relics of the Raj.

  • There are tombs, buildings, churches, chapels- all built during ‘those’ days. Sprucing them up would require a nice coat of paint, a shiny, metallic plaque and presto:- a tourist influx.
  • For lesser mortals who can’t go to the moon, a short ride in the trekker from Jamalpur to Munger (or Monghyr if you are from the other side of the Suez canal) could relive Neil Armstrong’s experience as his lunar buggy stumbled over craters.
  • For an experience in ancient ‘n primitive (make the nostalgic) living, there is nothing to beat Jamalpur-try making a phone call, or posting a letter .
  • Then there is a huge workshop, marketable as an ‘industrial museum’. To add spectacular effects, tourists can be made to enter one of the many condemned boilers lying around; striking, if only for their titanic dimensions.
  • Most importantly, there’s that supreme red building, the greatest legacy of the Raj- our very own Jamalpur Gymkhana.

By itself, it would be one of the points on the tourist map, but with death hanging over the SCRA scheme like a Damocles’ sword, would we like our dear Gym to die away as well-NOT IN A ZILLION YEARS

Gym could be converted into a 7-star hotel marketed as a British style resort, with traditions of the White Sahibs kept alive.

And hey, man, what are we getting-THE DESTINATION OF THE 22nd CENTURY- all that remains is a small brochure.

Armed with the experience of having done half a dozen brochures, for IRIMEE, I am ready to prepare it, if someone’s there to sponsor it.

Takers anyone?

This site has been created by Deepak Sapra, 1992 Batch on 18/10/1998. This was last modified on 28/08/1999.