Nancy (right) with her daughter Shelley. Picture by Anup Sinha

Jamshedpur, Oct. 24: For Nancy C. Mentzer, a former resident of steel city, it is a trip down the memory lane.

Accompanied by her daughter Shelley Mentzer, a physician at a Cancer Research Centre in Washington, Nancy could not hold back her tears as she met people at the airport.

“It was like a dream come true re-visiting the city after 46 years. Everything seems to have changed — the city and the people. Its a wonderful experience being here,” said an emotional Nancy, whose association with the city dates back to 1950 when her father L.N. Collins, an engineer, worked at the Tata Iron and Steel Company (now Tata Steel) as an assistant general superintendent. Nancy now stays in Denver, Colorado, USA.

After a chance discovery of a website on the city, jamshedpurlive.com, Nancy shot a letter saying she would soon be visiting Jamshedpur. Words reached Tata Steel, the employer of her father. Enthused by her love for the city, the company got back to her and decided to host her trip to the city.

Collins, a former Tata Steel engineer, was instrumental in setting up the D-blast furnace inside the works. He died of lung cancer in 1987 leaving behind his wife, Helen Collins, 88, who is still alive.

A retired teacher of Denver Public School, Nancy has fond memories of her stay in the city during 1950 to 1956 . Nancy, who had completed schooling from Kodaikanal International School in Madras, said, “I used to be in town for three months from November to December for my winter vacation. I remember at that time I was nine years old and my brother four.”

Nancy had brought along pictures of Nehru’s visit to the city in 1950 and Marshall Tito, president of Yugoslavia, with JRD Tata and Sir Homy Mody, visiting the Tata Steel plant in 1955. Her albums are full of events 52 years ago, showing her parents sitting with Sir Jehangir Ghandy and Pharoz Khutar, the then director- in- charge and technical director of the steel company.

An exuberant Nancy revealed that her visit to the city was a retirement

gift from her two daughters

Mari Babnik and Shelly. According to Nancy she is on a month long visit

to India. ``I have already

visited several places in New Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur and Madurai.

This is the last phase of my

tour and we would leave the country on October 27,'' she revealed.

During her stay in the city she visited the steel company, the Centre

for Excellence, Tata Steel archives

and also enjoyed the pristine beauty of the Dimna lake and the Jubilee

Park. `` I want to take home

memories from here for my mother Helen Collins, who is still alive at 88

years old,'' she said. ``After

getting in touch with the website in August this year, my will to visit

the the city became strong. I

would take the pictures of the city, the two golf clubs and the market

places for my mother,'' she said.

Admiring the changes, Nancy was in all praise for the steel company

which according to her had done

so much to keep the history of the city alive. She was referring to the

old records and documents

preserved at the Tata Steel archives and the library there.

eom