A brief history of our time - The English Book Depot at 100

Best is quite unreal, as better is the only way ahead! This debate about rewards, awards, and PR is never ending and will raise many hackles. The only single truth is there is no more immense exhilaration than the #JoyOfLearning - reading, writing and speaking.

Back from the Hyderabad Literary Festival, I am convinced that stories alone make us, and we are a story! We had storytellers, booksellers, librarians, artists, activists, sponsors and young people. A beautiful milieu to spread the joy of reading. Books in print, digital form, oral rendition and choreography. We are celebrating 100 💯 years of the Bookstore and have set up a social space above the Bookstore. The Learning Forward India Foundation works to support schools and schooling with reading, writing, speaking and learning. 

#MyGoodSchool My Good School - above The English Book Depot at Dehradun, visit this social space when you visit the city next city.

A brief history of our time

100 Years of The English Book Depot, opened at Ferozepur in 1923, moved to Dehradun post partition of India to finally call it curtains down at Ferozepur in 1989 when we exited. The place was then filled in by one of our long-serving stalwarts at the bookshop Sh Kewal Ji, who decided to run it for his family and livelihood as Kewal Book Depot at the exact location.

Message from respected Lila Dhar Dewan to Sandeep Dutt.

Your eldest uncle and my eldest cousin, the late Sh. Rattan Lal and I had decided to open our book shops in Dehradun and Pathankot, respectively. So we both selected books for our shops in 1948 from The English Book Depot Ferozepur Cantt on the same day. Both the parcels were booked by train the next day. My younger brother Radha Krishna had joined Army and, as such, was to stay far away from us. I would name my shop The English Book Depot as that would have benefited me financially. However, I sacrificed my financial benefits by calling my shop Krishna Book Depot so that his name remained with us throughout our lives.

Late L. Narain Dass, the founder of The English Book Depot, was a native of Jampur District Dera Gazi Khan, situated in the southwest end of Punjab (now in Pakistan) on the other bank of river  Sindh. A vegetarian wearing a simple dress of kameez pyjamas and enjoying a simple life. He was fond of taking fruits. Always baskets full of various kinds of fruits were there in his house. He was not only the founder of The English Book Depot Ferozepur Cantt and ran the shop to earn but made it a training centre in BOOK TRADE. He used to call youth from his native town and get a room on hire for their stay. He stood guaranty with the hotel for payment of their bills for the food taken by the trainees.

There was a small sale of school textbooks only at that time. Very few Indians read other kinds of books, such as novels etc. The customers of general types of books in English language only were British soldiers stationed at various cantonments all over India. Hence scope and demand for bookshops to sell such kinds of books were in Cantonments only.

Late Lala Narain Dass Ji used to select a cantonment for his trainee. He should have done so to earn money permanently from them by importing books from the U.K. to supply those to bookshops. But he was providing them with the supplier's addresses. He stood as a guarantee with the suppliers for the payment of their dues. Thus natives of Jampur spread all over India and established their bookshops. Later, such shops were opened in cities such as Lucknow, Kanpur etc.

All of them are financially sound and enjoying respectful life in their cities. The members of the third generation of the founders of those shops are running all those bookshops. I am skipping names of towns and cantonments for want of space. I was his last student learning book trade under him at his shop. Not only that. He kept me in his house, showering his (and my Massi jee) blessings, love and affection at par with their children. I opened my shop at Pathankot in December 1948 when The English Book Depot at Dehradun was also opened.

I knew Massan ji resigned from his Govt job in Lahore and founded The English Book Depot Ferozepur Cantt in 1923. However, I need to find out the name of the book depot. He learnt the art of book trade and got addresses of suppliers of these in U. K. as I needed help finding the name of any bookshop in North India during those days. He during his later age engaged himself in the service of humanity through Arya Samaj. He was honoured as the permanent President of Arya Samaj Ferozepur Cantt and Manager of Arya School Ferozepur Cantt. Smt Snehlata has been the humane face of the bookshop for over 50 years.

Shri Narain Dass had another quality and far-sightedness. He ensured Jampuri booksellers were financially sound and enjoyed a monopoly in his business at his station. He did not allow his trainees to open his bookshop in Cantonment, where a Jampuri was already running his bookshop. I felt proud of being one of the Jampuri running their bookshops in Cantonments all over India. I used to tell Army officers who were liable to be transferred to some other Cantonments someday by telling them that I could make them an astrologer. Please visit a bookshop in that Cantonment. Ask the owner to show his palm to you. On having a look at it, tell him the following. The owner of this shop is a Jampuri. He received his training in this trade at The English Book Depot Ferozepur Cantonments. The owner of the shop would give you a surprising look!

Courtesy Lila Dhar Dewan, my father Dev Dutt's first cousin, has showered his immense blessing on us.

The writer Sandeep Dutt is an author, School Improvement Coach and third generation at The English Book Depot.

Best Bookstore Of 2023 by Food4Thought Foundation at the Hyderabad Literary Festival.

Foolish mistake in my life - Nishan Karki

It is not possible that no one makes mistakes in their life. There are no exceptions. Mistakes made by people may be significant, small and foolish. I have also made several mistakes in my life. I remember some of my mistakes but some I do not. I have not actually made significant mistakes or worst mistakes. They were foolish and small.

The foolish mistake in my life was not coming home early from school. I used to be late coming back home because I used to spend time with my friends. One day I came very late to home because I went to my friend's house. My parents scolded me for making such a foolish mistake. I tried to get out of this mistake and never repeat it. I succeeded in my plan and was particular about coming home early.

- Nishan Karki
Pestalozzi Children's Village India

"I was foolish when..." - Reflections from The Sunday School 23rd Jan 2023

"Before sharing my experience, I would like to apologise to all the readers who might or can feel wrong about this statement. 

I am a big fan of k-pop and would explain to my family about each member from different Bands and entertainment. I used to feel very bad when someone I was close with fought with me about all this. My family would tell me that no matter how much I watched their videos, they would not know me. I didn't realise how badly it affected my studies until I did horribly in my exams. After I showed the result to my grandparents, they worried about me being inspired by the k-pop idols after I had sincerely thought about myself on the roof. I wondered why my family would tell me not to see the things I like unless and until that would make me enter the world of fantasy instead of where I belong. I also wondered, Why am I not like the old mini-me, the real me. The extroverted and funny part of me was all I missed. That was the last time I promised my family that I would listen to k-pop songs, but a little less, I mean a lot lesser than before & to score well in my academics the way I did back then.

PS: I would like to apologise if anyone in the readers felt terrible about it. After all, it is my life experience..."

Tenzing Dhekyong N

"There is a saying that no one, no one in this world, is perfect. Counting from rich to poor, young to old, and from man to man, no one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes but,
There are also some foolish mistakes which you make. I have made countless mistakes in my life from my childhood till now. But those were the mistakes which I made unintentionally. I made a foolish mistake; childhood was fun, and I  liked playing. I often used to go to play without informing my parents. My mother would tell me to inform her before going anywhere. Even after I knew I had to seek permission before going anywhere, I never did that. Once, I got a nice beating from mom for being like this. I don't know whether I should say it was my foolish mistake or my young mind." 

Tenzin Jambey

"Mostly, I didn't study every day. I used to look at the last moment when the examination is almost started. When I told myself to study, I always told myself that I had enough time to sleep and play, and I always felt lazy to study. It was my loss, I knew, but I always told myself I would start studying tomorrow, but I never did that. Tomorrow never came, so when the examination came, I could not complete my syllabus and even once got fewer Marks in history. After that, I finally realised that I was marking a fool of myself only. Now I do study whenever I got the free time. I feel energised to study". - Nirusha Limbu  

"I make a fool of myself by trusting someone who is not trustable, believes them and tells me all secrets and also shares my personal things without knowing it is right to trust them or not, and without thinking, if the person is trustable or I should share that person my secrets or not..." - Soniya Mishra. 

"Foolish means I think it is showing a lack of good sense. I think we can be fooled by anyone, so in my option, we shouldn't trust everyone very fast. We should take time to know that person, his or her habit, nature, and personality. Only then should we trust them. I think foolishness can be both negative and positive; for example, some people fool their friends or relatives as a joke or to see the reaction of the person being a fool. This is positive. But negatively, foolish is kind of brainless, senseless, rash, dumb etc., like, e.g., "She is foolish," shows like that person is insulting another person. 

I have also been fooled by my friends and brother so many times, but that day I still remember when I was fooled by my brother. During summer vacation, we all were together and having lunch. Then my brother started talking about me and making fun of me by saying that yesterday night when I was sleeping, I kicked off the blanket, and it fell. Then I woke up in a deep sleep; after that, I picked up the blanket and again fell back to sleep. He told me I did the same thing more than 5 times, and then my parents started laughing at me and making fun of me, and even I laughed at myself. I felt embarrassed. And I got angry, but after a few minutes, he said he was just making me foolish to see my reaction. But it was funny and also a kind of amusement. I was stupid to believe him".  - Smriti Rai.

"Hiding a mistake from someone older than us, even after knowing about it,  is bigger than it is. Once when I was about 5 to 6 years old, I went on a morning walk with my youngest brother, who was about 2 years old, and some friends. I was so busy with my friends that I forgot about my brother. When I went back home, my mother asked me about my brother. I was so scared that I lied to my mother and never took him out with me. That was my foolish mistake because anything would have happened to my brother, and I would be guilty and sad about my life." - Monika Singh Pundir. 

“The only thing we can do is better…no one is perfect. We all come with mistakes and have done foolish things, and it makes for a better story too. Be humbled by your past and learn to be better from there on”. - Januka Basnet. 

"It is rightly said that "No one in this world is perfect except for the Almighty." We all have made many mistakes and will continue to make many more. Mistakes not only allow us to improve but also help in making a version better of ourselves. We try to overcome them, learn from them and move on with our lives. Many of the mistakes we make in our daily life are neither intentional nor deliberate. It happens naturally or accidentally since we all are imperfect, and it is human nature to make mistakes. I have conducted plenty of mistakes, most of them rather too silly. Therefore, it is tough for me to think of a fault which was not at all foolish or brainless. 

In the end, I would like to quote a line from an unknown author who said, "Once you realise there is life after mistakes. You gain self-confidence that never goes away." With this, I come to the end of my piece of work. Hope you enjoyed it?" - Tenzin Norsang.

"Like everyone makes mistakes, I have also made many many which were foolish in my life. Those mistakes taught me many things, and I learned from them. Those mistakes also include my childhood memories.

I would like to share one of the incidents from my childhood. When I was 6 to 7 years old. My parents always told me not to touch the lighter that was kept in the kitchen. I was inquisitive about using it because whenever my parents used to light the fire, I found it fascinating. One day when my parents were busy with work, I took the lighter from the kitchen and tried to use it on the dry hay kept near our house. I was so happy that I could also light a fire with the lighter. I didn't realise that the fire grew big as it was dry hay. Somehow my father saw smoke and came running. He hurriedly put water from the tap which was nearby. He was furious. I got terrified. He scolded me, and I started crying. I never tried to disobey my parents from that day." - Shristi Khulal.

"For me, foolish means to believe whatever other people tell me. Back then, I was so silly that I always thought of them. Once upon a time, when I was young, my friends and I played in our school. We played a game named hide and seek, which we used to play every day. But once it was my turn to search for them, they all went towards a very dense forest, and I went to search for them there, but they were not there because they all were hiding in a big tree and I could not find them.

Once, they fooled me into thinking that there was a ghost who eats human beings. I was searching for them, but suddenly I remembered what they had told me; I started running from there and they made terrifying voices simultaneously. Later on, when I was unable to run, I started crying, and then they all came out and took me from there and later told me that they all made me a fool. There was no ghost at all. Later, I laughed while writing this." -  Manisha Rana.

Pestalozzi Children's Village India

Education and financial independence - Mishu Gupta

Education and financial independence are tools that can help us face difficulties. Still, confidence must be developed throughout life means that if we are educated, we will try to make changes in society and the thoughts of ordinary people.

For example, well before our society, girls were said to stay at home and had no right to be educated, which led to discrimination between boys and girls. On this matter, many educated people tried to remove this thought from their minds (many failed also) because they knew what the outcome would be. They kept on trying, and today we can see the conclusion. A woman who belongs to a tribal caste is heading a country (Smt. Droupadi Murmu), setting an example every day. Many women play a significant role in our lives. And also we are so grateful to them.

Speaking in front of an audience and trying to express my thoughts in front of someone is an excellent way to improve self-confidence in our self.   

Mishu Gupta 
Pestalozzi Children's Village India

Wabi Sabi: The art of imperfection - Rishona Chopra

Nature is imperfect, people are imperfect, and you and I are imperfect, which is why we are beautiful and unique. 

Many of us aim to be perfect and flawless. We fail to understand that our flaws make us unique. Our mistakes give us more experience and learning. As said by Genard Way, "Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means you have decided to look beyond imperfections." There is beauty in imperfection. Trees shed their leaves, flowers rot, animals die, and seasons change, which is the beauty of nature. If trees didn't shed their leaves, they would grow huge and cover up the buildings and roads. Many people's income is on cleaning the fallen dry leaves. They would, too, lose their job. 

To talk practically, many young people start during facial surgeries at a young age to look "perfect", unable to realise they were born simply perfectly. Why do we long to change yourselves for others? Hardly anyone changes for themselves; we all change for others. So that people like us, they become our friends, but when we do that, we lose our true joy and beauty. 

We all are beautiful and pretty, and no one can change that!

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

What I value the most in life - Monika Singh Pundir

Many things have their own value in my life, like the opportunity I have got and will get only once. For now, as a student, earning a scholarship and going to the best colleges and universities are valuable to me. Every single person values their parents and time because, without parents, we could not make it possible, but being happy and being treated equally is also valuable. 

The most valuable thing for us in this life is happiness because we get only one life, so we should enjoy it. 

Monika Singh Pundir
Pestalozzi Children's Village India

Reflections from The Sunday School 15th Jan 2023 - Pestalozzi World

What do you value in life?

"Things that people do for me for my own good, like my school teachers, staff members in Pestalozzi as well as the staff working for "My Good School" and the uncles and aunties working in EBD, creating a lot of good memories with them are the valuable things in my life. My family's support and courage also matter greatly to me." - Tenzing Dhekyong N.

"I value time very much, and I respect and value people who spend their valuable time on us. This not only encourages me to become a better human and not let their efforts go in vain but also give time to others who may need it cause it's time which is the actual ultimate healer. Blessed " - Tenzin Tsering.

"The thing I value the most in my life is my home. It is the place from where I started the journey of my life.No matter where or how far a person goes, he/she has to come back or end up with a place called 'home'. The home provides us with most of the things that we want. It is a place where we make love for each other and for family members. It is the very first place to start with anything.

Like before going to school, we learn A, B, C, D...... at home. We learn manners and moral values, which I still do. What do we want in our life? A safe place to stay where we can spend our days and night. So, what would be safer than home?

And the second thing that I value the most is the person's personality, behaviour, the way he/she act and react and the way of thinking etc. I guess these are the things we need to carry with us until death. These are the precious jewels a person should have." - Nisma Meghi.

"I get all the respect of others due to my Integrity, Spirituality, Perfection, Confidence,  Leadership, and Responsibility. These are the most valuable thing in my life." - Brahamdeep Thakur.

"I value many things in my life: parents, truth, study, personality, time that has given, loyalty, relatives etc. 

But the person I value a little more is my sister; in Tibetan, we say ache (sister); she helps me when I am down. She is like my close friend with whom I share feelings. And sometimes, I fight with her severely but end up hugging and crying together, saying sorry. She is also the one who teaches me good things that I value." - Richen Khando.

"For me, As a blanket statement for every living thing on Earth, nothing is the most valuable thing in life. Some people value memories. Some people value time. Some people value certain idols or ideas more than they value their lives. And that's completely fine — it's up to them to decide what they love the most in life. But who's to determine what's the most essential thing in life, ever, for everyone?

You create your own meanings and your own value in life. You really do. What you value in life differs from your friends, family, neighbours, pets, etc., and the billions of other humans you don't know and never will." - Thank you from Januka Basnet. 

"To begin with, today, I am here because I would like a better or brighter tomorrow. Being here means I receive an education and can learn valuable things daily. Whether it is academics or life lessons. So firstly, the most valuable thing in my and most people's lives is their parents. They have supported me since I was young and will support me in my future life.

Secondly, my friends and Pestalozzi have given me such a good environment and help me whenever I need them. I am very proud to have such good teachers who teach me studies and good behaviour. At the same time, there is my health and time.

Health= if I will not take care of my health, I will not be fit and fine.

Time= Not only me but everyone should value time and use it properly because time will not wait for you; you need to learn to love it." - Manisha Rana.

"Many people have their own valuable things in their life to which they really care and never wanna lose it. Similarly, I have many valuable things that cannot be bought or lost easily. Like time, we should always value the time we have, especially with our circle, since it's elusive and significant. Even happiness is essential for our mental health, which may affect the people around us." - Tenzin Nyesel.

"Firstly, life is the most valuable thing because we get human life after millions of years as a gift. We can make the most of the life given to us. Parents are also important in our life as parents not only give birth to children and provide needs like love, attention, support, care, and, most of all, knowledge. Pestalozzi is also one of the most valuable things in my life. I am fortunate and thankful to be a member of Pestalozzi and for giving me such a good opportunity to learn new things and be part of The Sunday School, by My Good School." - Smriti Rai.

"First of all, time is the most valuable thing in my; it does not have any start and end. It has its own way of moving; no one can stop it. For example, we cannot say time; please wait for me. I will study later or do any work later on. It will not wait for us. Because time doesn't wait for anyone, time is precious, so mostly all are scared to waste time. Time changes everyone's life. If we do all our work on time, it will make our future bright if we play with time, then our life will get worst. Time can control everything, but no one can control time. Even there is time for doing every work. Secondly, to be kind to others, be respectful, and help others is also valuable in my life." - Nirusha Limbu.

There are several things which have great value to me. Things which have great value in my life are time, health (both physical and mental), studies and nature. These things have been essential parts of my life since my childhood. I will always take great care and focus on these helpful values. Nishan Karki.

"Someone has rightly said `, Time and tide wait for none'. Each of us knows the value of time because we only get successful if we see the value of time. So, time is precious in our lives. We can buy a watch, but not time; once it goes, it never returns.

The second thing I value in my life is the opportunities and the love, care and support I get from people around me. Opportunities are valuable as, once gone can never come back. I am always thankful for all the people who helped me. I feel very grateful and lucky to have all those people in my life, especially Pestalozzi." - Shristi Khulal.

"The thing that I value the most in my life is my family. Families are important because nobody can live alone all the time. We need others to support us in our hard times and good times.No one could better support us than your family. They are always going to be there for you whenever you need them. I am here with my friends, who always support me because my family taught me to be friendly and good to everyone. There is a saying that says, "Treat others the way you want to be treated." I have a good relationship with everyone because of my family and the saying that they constantly reminded me of when I got upset and had a hard fight with anyone. I remember the saying and took action which would help make the situation better. I am very thankful for my family.

In my life, I value everything given to me by Pestalozzi and my family. I even value my career, so l can be successful and earn enough money to provide for my family and myself. I value my family, Pestalozzi staff and friends the most because they are the people with whom I can trust and share my problems. They are always there for me. Whenever I am in need" -  Ankita Khadka. 

"What I am grateful for, I wish to thank everyone I have ever met. They all are the ones who motivated me, who supported me, who studied and played with me. My family, especially my mother, to whom I am grateful for giving birth. My father who helped me in all ways till now. He is the one who fulfilled my requirement and who brought me toys when I was small. Here in Pestalozzi, I am grateful and thankful for whatever I get. I wish to thank the scolding which I get from my Ma'am".  - Tenzin Jambey