Jamalpur Gymkhana, Jamalpur , Bihar, built by the British linked to the Eastern Railways

Jamalpur Gymkhana, Bihar.  flicker.com

Jamalpur Gymkhana jamalpurgymkhana.in/

The Jamalpur Gymkhana, often referred to as Gymkhana (or merely Gym) by its members, is a misnomer and  is a hostel for young apprentice officers of the Indian Railways in Jamalpur, Bihar, India.

In the colonial days, those who chose 4 year training  as  UG engineers - 'Special Class Railway Apprentices' (SCRAs)  were to  stay at the  Gymkhana during  their training period. So, Jamalpur Gymkhana,  functioned as  a regular hostel for Special Class Apprentices.

Pvt.owned EIR logo. wiki.meramaal.com

The  long linear  colonial building  came up in 1929 in the midst of greenery and well  maintained lawn. The terracotta structure  consisting of  ground and first floors with high  ceiling  was built by the  East Indian Railway  company (privately owned). In the first GBM, it was decided to name the building as Gymkhana.

A part of the building was Gym. Initially, Gym had two lobbies - the eastern and the western, covering  the ground and first floors. To cope with the increase in numbers, extensions to these lobbies were built,  called the L-lobbies. The building included a club for music lovers, dinning hall, the quadrangle  with a stage between two lobbies  to hold cultural programs

Jamalpur Gymkhana en.wikipedia.org

During the British Raj with a view to tackling the shortage  of mechanical engineers for various positions in the fast growing railways, the British government  started a technical school  in 1888 called   Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (IRIMEE). Subsequently there arose a necessity to employ  Mechanical Engineering Officers for Indian Railways and in 1927 six centralized  Training Institutes (CTIs) came up.  IRIMEE is located at Jamalpur in the Munger (spelled Monghyr, during the British rule of India) district of Bihar, on the Patna - Bhagalpur rail route. They conducted short term courses for  Indian Railways Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME) officers and other Organizations.   A 18th month training program was held for IRSME Probationary Officers, besides other courses for different jobs in the railways.  Those who joined the  4 year training  as  UG engineers   were to  stay at the Jamalpur Gymkhana during  their training period.

The railways needed  lots of engineers in the railway workshop  at Jamalpur as the company was progressing over a period of time and the proximity of the  technical school housed in Gymkhana  was quite advantageous.. 

Munger dist. Bihar. India mapsofindia.com

The Gymkhana   was also used by the Europeans  as  a club like any other Gymkhana. This club was not open to everybody.   Admission was very much restricted and the membership was open to those who had spent formative years under the roof of this building.  Members were informally  called   Gymmies by its inmates.

.IRIMEE, Jamalpur, Bihar. railpost.in

Tit-Bits:

In May 2020 rumors were rife in the air that there was  a proposal to shift  the railway  technical school (IRMIEE) from here to Lucknow, UP. The railways on   refuted the claims as "misleading". ''Any assertions to this effect  are incorrect and misleading.'' . The spokesperson said that Indian Railways is very proud of the history and the legacy of IRIMEE of  Jamalpur.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamalpur_Gymkhana

https://www.quora.com/What-is-famous-in-Jamalpur

https://jamalpurgymkhana.tripod.com/building.html

https://www.railpost.in/no-plan-to-shift-indian-irimee-from-jamalpur-ministry-of-railways/

 I