Heritage bungalow in tourist hub high & dry

CHANDRAJIT MUKHERJEE

Ranchi, April 9: With the rise in extremism in McCluskiegunj area, Ushanjali — a bungalow — has turned into a deserted place. The once famous guesthouse known for its sprawling rooms, prestigious library and good hospitality lies desolate today. There are two caretakers but they do not get the chance to attend any tourist. Instead they try to keep the guesthouse clean and tidy. Built inside the jungle at McCluskiegunj, which overlooks the main road connecting the hamlet to the highway, the guest house was built by one B.N. Ganguly, a retired government employee now based in Ranchi, in the 90s. The guesthouse has seven fully furnished rooms, including a dormitory. The structure is done up in a typical English cottage style with slanting roofs. A fireplace and large rooms inside the house also hint at the British style of housing. But what sets this guesthouse apart from the rest is the library, which has a good collection of books. Tourists enjoyed being in the midst of nature and at the same time have pure milk products, sweets, cakes and other delicacies as the guesthouse boasted of a dairy and bakery. “Ushanjali had more than half a dozen Australian cows and our bakery was famous at that time,” Ganguly said. The guesthouse is now looked after by Iftkar Hussain, a resident of the area. Hussain said McCluskiegunj was a colony of Anglo-Indians and a lot of people from Britain used to come in those days to this place. Now things have changed as people are afraid of extremist attacks. Hussain also said the guesthouse had 10 dogs of good pedigree once, but with Ganguly losing interest due to low turn out of guests, the bungalow has lost its charm. “We wait here everyday with the hope that some guest would turn up so that we can take care of them and make their stay memorable, but unfortunately we do not get to see any,” he rued. Sandeep Razdaan, a resident of the area, said people do not come here anymore. “The place is very calm, serene and beautiful but outsiders do not come to this place out of fear,” Razdaan said. Hussain said British settlers created McCluskiegunj after purchasing the land from Ratu Maharaja. After 1947, some of the Englishmen left the place while others stayed on and married the residents of the area, forming an Anglo-Indian community in this part of the country. As time passed and with lack of opportunities only a handful of Anglo-Indians stay here now.