Biography of Shree Duni Chand Bhandari, A Centenarian of Jaisinghpur Himachal
Born on May 16, 1920, Shree Duni Chand Bhandari, a resident of Kuchal Bhandarian village under Jaisinghpur Tehsil in Himachal Pradesh has completed a century of his life. By God's grace he is still healthy and do all his day to day chorus on his own without any help. he is popularly known as Babuji. He keeps himself abreast with the latest current affairs by reading newspapers even at this age. According to him age is just a number and you need to take care of your health for a healthy and long life.
Duni's father shree Laxman Bhandari was a poor farmer. From the very beginning Duni used to take a lot of interest in his studies. The nearest primary school where he was enrolled was 5 kms from his residence. He used to walk this much distance every day. The primary schools in those days were up to standard 4 only. The medium of study was Urdu in those days.
After completing the primary studies, Duni's father wanted Duni to assist him in the fields so that they can produce more grains to make the ends meet. However Duni was not interested in working in the fields. He was adamant that he will study further and want to go to middle school.
Middle school was quite far from the village but Duni convinced his father and he took admission there. The school was an English Medium and it was known as Anglo-vernacular School. It was around 7 kilometres from his village but that couldn't deter the aspirations of Duni. He used to go walk to his school daily and after a short period he was one of the favourite students of all the teachers. Duni Chand was very intelligent and the teachers were so impressed that they arranged the hostel facility to Duni Chand free of cost at the campus.
Teachers wanted him to concentrate in his studies as most of his time was wasted in commuting to and from the school.
Duni Bhandari passed out from the middle school in flying colours and topped the class. Again Duni's father who worked so hard in the fields wanted his son to assist him as it was becoming difficult for him to earn and feed the family. Duni wanted to go to High School but his father had no money to even pay for the fees. High School was 50 Kms from his village and apart from fees he also needed a hostel facility to stay there.
Duni Chand was very disappointed but his teachers again came to his rescue. The Middle school teachers knew that this boy has a potential, so they recommended his name for a scholarship. As the luck would have it, Duni got the scholarship and he took admission in the high school in Palampur. During holidays he used to walk 50 Kms to reach his home as there was no road connectivity in those days.
After taking his 10th Board exam Duni came back to his home. The result in those days was sent by post and it used to take around 20-30 days for the post to reach Duni's village.
One day he was sitting in his home and he saw his friend rushing towards him in great joy. He was coming from the school and told Duni that he has passed the exam. Duni you have topped the exam. Duni Chand Bhandari has topped the entire District.
Duni was very happy and now his aim was to go to college and study further. However Duni was very much aware of the financial condition of his father. College was 90 Kms from his home and the expenses were also higher this time. There was no one to guide him about the scholarship as well. During his high school Duni's younger brother also passed away and there was no one to help his father now. His youger sister also died at the age of 16 in 1939.
It was his love for books and his curiosity to learn more that inspired Duni Bhandari to struggle so hard for his studies. We can't imagine the pain of a young boy in class 1 walking 5 Kilometers to reach school and having just 2 meals a day. Dal Rice and Dal Roti was the staple diet in those days. There was no electricity in those days and Duni used to study with the kerosene earthen lamp. Despite all the hardships Duni complteted his High School and topped the District.
There were no roads in those days. The only road connectivity was between Pathankot and Palampur Baijnath. During that period the Britishers also started the construction of Pathankot Jogindernagar Railway line which is operational even today.
And when Duni had decided that he will do some job to help his father the World war II started. There was huge financial crunch and the family was finding it very difficult to survive. No recruitment were happening at that time except for Army. Thinking about his poor family, he went to the Army Recruitment center and there he was selected as he had a good physique and health. That was in 1940 and immediately after the training he was deployed in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. He was there till 1945 and used to come to his home for just 2 months in a year. In 1944 Duni Chand got married to Brahmi Devi. After the World War II he came back to India and resigned from the British Army. He applied for a government job and got it immediately.
When asked about the Freedom Struggle during his days Shree Duni Chand Bhandari told that they were living in a small village which was under Lamba Gaon Riyasat. This Princely State of Lamba Gaon was ruled by Raja Jai Chand. He never saw Britishers during his childhood or studying days. The people were poor and there was no source of communication like Radio or newspaper in that region.
When asked about the currency Shree Duni Chand told that in those days pai was the smallest denomination. 3 pais used to make 1 paisa. 2 Dhelas used to make 1 paisa. 4 Paisa used to make 1 Aana, and 16 Annas used to make 1 rupee in those days.
Wishing Shree Duni Chand Bhandari a Very Happy Birthday and wish that he celebrate many more
Born on May 16, 1920, Shree Duni Chand Bhandari, a resident of Kuchal Bhandarian village under Jaisinghpur Tehsil in Himachal Pradesh has completed a century of his life. By God's grace he is still healthy and do all his day to day chorus on his own without any help. he is popularly known as Babuji. He keeps himself abreast with the latest current affairs by reading newspapers even at this age. According to him age is just a number and you need to take care of your health for a healthy and long life.
Duni's father shree Laxman Bhandari was a poor farmer. From the very beginning Duni used to take a lot of interest in his studies. The nearest primary school where he was enrolled was 5 kms from his residence. He used to walk this much distance every day. The primary schools in those days were up to standard 4 only. The medium of study was Urdu in those days.
After completing the primary studies, Duni's father wanted Duni to assist him in the fields so that they can produce more grains to make the ends meet. However Duni was not interested in working in the fields. He was adamant that he will study further and want to go to middle school.
Middle school was quite far from the village but Duni convinced his father and he took admission there. The school was an English Medium and it was known as Anglo-vernacular School. It was around 7 kilometres from his village but that couldn't deter the aspirations of Duni. He used to go walk to his school daily and after a short period he was one of the favourite students of all the teachers. Duni Chand was very intelligent and the teachers were so impressed that they arranged the hostel facility to Duni Chand free of cost at the campus.
Teachers wanted him to concentrate in his studies as most of his time was wasted in commuting to and from the school.
Duni Bhandari passed out from the middle school in flying colours and topped the class. Again Duni's father who worked so hard in the fields wanted his son to assist him as it was becoming difficult for him to earn and feed the family. Duni wanted to go to High School but his father had no money to even pay for the fees. High School was 50 Kms from his village and apart from fees he also needed a hostel facility to stay there.
Duni Chand was very disappointed but his teachers again came to his rescue. The Middle school teachers knew that this boy has a potential, so they recommended his name for a scholarship. As the luck would have it, Duni got the scholarship and he took admission in the high school in Palampur. During holidays he used to walk 50 Kms to reach his home as there was no road connectivity in those days.
After taking his 10th Board exam Duni came back to his home. The result in those days was sent by post and it used to take around 20-30 days for the post to reach Duni's village.
One day he was sitting in his home and he saw his friend rushing towards him in great joy. He was coming from the school and told Duni that he has passed the exam. Duni you have topped the exam. Duni Chand Bhandari has topped the entire District.
Duni was very happy and now his aim was to go to college and study further. However Duni was very much aware of the financial condition of his father. College was 90 Kms from his home and the expenses were also higher this time. There was no one to guide him about the scholarship as well. During his high school Duni's younger brother also passed away and there was no one to help his father now. His youger sister also died at the age of 16 in 1939.
It was his love for books and his curiosity to learn more that inspired Duni Bhandari to struggle so hard for his studies. We can't imagine the pain of a young boy in class 1 walking 5 Kilometers to reach school and having just 2 meals a day. Dal Rice and Dal Roti was the staple diet in those days. There was no electricity in those days and Duni used to study with the kerosene earthen lamp. Despite all the hardships Duni complteted his High School and topped the District.
There were no roads in those days. The only road connectivity was between Pathankot and Palampur Baijnath. During that period the Britishers also started the construction of Pathankot Jogindernagar Railway line which is operational even today.
And when Duni had decided that he will do some job to help his father the World war II started. There was huge financial crunch and the family was finding it very difficult to survive. No recruitment were happening at that time except for Army. Thinking about his poor family, he went to the Army Recruitment center and there he was selected as he had a good physique and health. That was in 1940 and immediately after the training he was deployed in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. He was there till 1945 and used to come to his home for just 2 months in a year. In 1944 Duni Chand got married to Brahmi Devi. After the World War II he came back to India and resigned from the British Army. He applied for a government job and got it immediately.
When asked about the Freedom Struggle during his days Shree Duni Chand Bhandari told that they were living in a small village which was under Lamba Gaon Riyasat. This Princely State of Lamba Gaon was ruled by Raja Jai Chand. He never saw Britishers during his childhood or studying days. The people were poor and there was no source of communication like Radio or newspaper in that region.
When asked about the currency Shree Duni Chand told that in those days pai was the smallest denomination. 3 pais used to make 1 paisa. 2 Dhelas used to make 1 paisa. 4 Paisa used to make 1 Aana, and 16 Annas used to make 1 rupee in those days.
Wishing Shree Duni Chand Bhandari a Very Happy Birthday and wish that he celebrate many more
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