General Discussion & Chat: Barren field then, now a.........., 1 by Dinu

Dinu wrote:
The building there in the background must be about 60+ years old and it once housed a college, till about the early 1990s. The college closed down. I remember having brought an application from this college at the time I finished school and kept this college in my list just in case I did not get a seat in the chosen college. It s very close to our house. Once the college his building and campus, it converted the very barren land into this lovely garden.

It was there our cricket team has played a number of matches with the tennis ball. I have some very fond memories from the 1970s and 80s. We used to even have our practise sessions in this ground. Let me tell you, it was a barren land, with plenty of thorns and pebbles and in the enthusiasm, we used to play barefoot!! There was a neglected basket ball court and that was one area where there were less trouble and also in the playing area only. There were some 'dreaded' spots where we hated to go if the ball went there. And the tennis ball used to pick up the thorns as well. It was a common sight to see the boys sitting and using a safety pin to remove the thorns. Later on, we started using chappals during play. It soothes my eyes now to see it converted into greenery. Much earlier, the oldies say that there was a tennis court in this premises and it seems my grandfather used to play there.

I have taken this picture as I passed on my bicycle on the road facing it.