Moving as a Kid
About Uday Shankar Ghose
My grandfather is a very hardworking man. He is honest, loving, and caring. You will find him at home in India watching one of his several TV shows.
Why did you have to move?
“My father was in government service, particularly looking after some administrative jobs and for which he has to move from one place to another after every three years.”
How many times did you move and what was the longest period of time that you stayed in a certain place?
In his childhood, my grandfather moved about eight times. As mentioned before, he moved around every 3 years. Sometimes my great grandfather (grandfather’s dad) transfer would be delayed. The longest period of time in which he stayed in a certain place was five years. His family moved only throughout the state of Bihar.
What was your favorite place in which you lived?
“My favorite place was Ranchi, you know because most of the time we were in Ranchi. First, my father was transferred in 1945 or 46 in Ranchi, and in 1954-5, he was again, transferred to Ranchi. So twice he was transferred to Ranchi and, uh, longer period, he stayed in Ranchi and for that matter, our schooling was also mostly in Ranchi, in college, also in Ranchi.”
How did moving as a youngster affect you? “I loved to, uh, move from one place to another. In fact, I was looking forward to my father's transfer.” Unlike the majority of other people, my grandfather enjoyed traveling and going to new places.
“The school life was not very, interesting because if you have to move from one place to another, that means the school is changed, teachers are changed, friends have changed, syllabus have changed books have changed.” Clearly, one of the big downsides of moving was how it affected hhis school life. He had to try and find new friends, catch up on schoolwork and it was just a big hassle to him.
“Moving was really very interesting and adventurous.”
-Uday Shankar Ghose
You also moved a lot throughout your career. Was there any relationship to your childhood experiences?
“My father, when he was in the service, he was to transferred one from one place to another, after every three years. And after three, suppose that three is already over, but he was not done with his work, then I used to be unhappy, “Why he's not being transferred” I would ask myself. Anyway, when I was in another employment and getting transferred from one place to another in India, I never feel unhappy. I used to move with baggage, from one place to another, without any problem.” Because of my grandfathers experiences with moving as a child, he had no problem moving as an adult either. He enjoyed going to different places.
“I loved to move from one place to another. In fact, I was to look forward to my father's transfer every years”
