Even after FIVE decades, I remember the musty moldy smell of the book store that I grew to love. Whenever I walk into an old book shop or a small local library, the smell reminds me of my FCC (Faujdarhat Cadet College) bookstore. When winter blankets were issued, we used to put them out in the sun before using them. Late winter afternoons, after “games time”, the old tractor used to come out and buzz over the fields cutting grass, whenever I smell fresh cut grass, I remember my FCC. A sweetish smell of smoke used to drift towards us from somewhere far away, probably from the dhobi area at the foot of the hills behind the swimming pool.
The obstacle course area, mostly quite redundant, especially on hot afternoons was one of my favorite hangouts. Once I saw a komodo dragon behind Babar house in the large storm drain. I remember the rugby match between the Chittagong club and FCC. Back in 1966 the Chittagong club rugby team was all big white dudes. They came with their families. A little white girl kept asking questions to her mother, so we named her “question tag”. I remember they got clobbered by our little guys. That’s when I realized that size doesn’t matter - in the mud!
I remember practicing for the annual Steeple Chase. It was hard, especially in the beginning but after about a mile or so, I remember I always felt euphoric - free as a bird running through the hills and on the track, alone, just pure nature all around me, not even a sound. Always gave me time to just think. Once during practice, I ran into a white man with a camera in the hills. He took pictures of me while I ran.
Many years later, in 1982, I got stuck on a mountain in Banff. I was almost at the top but it was all soil at the top and I kept sliding down every time I tried going up. I tried for about an hour with no success, I couldn’t go down because it was very steep and I would probably fall a thousand feet. Someone had noticed me and reported it. A helicopter came to rescue me. About 20 cars stopped on the roadside and people came out of their cars to see the drama – and at that point I remembered my FCC and the “steeple Chase” where there was a part of a hill which had a gentle slope and a steep side. To make better time, I used to “fall” along the steep side, one step at a time. Each step down might have been 6 to 8 feet. It felt like I was flying. So when the helicopter stopped above me at Banff, I remembered “Steeple Chase” and just let myself go like I used to - and “flew” down the mountain almost a thousand feet, harmlessly. It was great! Now, when I see dare devil acts where people come down steep mountains on snowboards and skis, I remember FCC.
I remember the cyclone in October 1966 when the local fishing families took shelter in the gymnasium, one of the water tanks got blown away. I remember going to see the football match between East Pakistan and a team from a Russian oil company called “Olga”. East Pakistan lost 11-0. They just toyed with us near the end. It was quite embarrassing. I remember the once a week movie nights. The “kawa” and the “daber pani” for matric students. I remember in 1967, I landed a part in a Sherlock Holmes play where I only had to say one line - and I messed it up! I have not improved in that area. I remember all the songs that the English teachers used to hammer into us like “Clementine”, “My Bonnie”, “John Browns body”, etc. I remember the “best table” awards where once a week, the dinner table with the cleanest table cloth was awarded a special sweet dish. We never won – until someone at the table came up with an idea. Just before the contest, we would turn the table cloth over. Worked every time! Who says cheating never works? I read all the Harry Potter books that my son got – and I remembered FCC all through Hogwarts!