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/