Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

LIFESTYLES

THE SAHIBS

and lime, that was very much liked by both men and women but the favourite drink was Scotch, which was measured in chota pegs (single tot of whisky) or burra pegs (double tot). The British in India made a fetish of physical fitness probably from the belief that unless one was in top physical condition there was the chance of catching some dreadful disease or other. Both sahibs and mem sahibs strenuously played tennis and squash till they had worked up a good sweat. Polo was played all the year round. Before breakfast there was the early morning ride on horse back. Pig-sticking was a popular sport which was hazardous as well. But nothing matched the shikar. Up to the early twenties the Indian countryside was teeming with game — deer, peafowl, partridge and

The British first entered India as traders under the umbrella of the East India Company which was established on December 31, 1600, when Queen Elizabeth I granted her royal charter to a com- pany of twenty-five commoners, led by Thomas Smythe, permitting them to monopolise England's eastern trade for fifteen years. Till 1858 India was under the rule of the Company. On November 1, 1858 following the mutiny the British Crown (Queen Victoria was the Queen) assumed full responsibility for India's administration. The term Raj is used to denote British rule in India from 1858 to 1947. Even as late as the 1920s an Indian could be ejected if an Englishman entered the railway compartment and wanted to oc- cupy the other berth. The Indian Gentleman's Guide to Etiquette by

shot by the British armed with rifles and shotguns. Shikar was not a sport from which women were excluded. The tiger, the very symbol of India, was slaughtered by shikaris. In the princely states, shikars were organ- ised for visiting Viceroys, Governors and other VIPs in which tigers were shot from the safety of elephant backs of shooting platforms built in trees. The climate in India is divided into three seasons — cold, hot and the rains. In South India it never gets as cold as it does in Central and North India where during the summer tem- peratures of 45° C and above are com- monplace. For the British the hot weather was an ordeal that had to be faced every year. The Central and Pro- vincial secretariats, with their staff, went to the hill stations, the cool re- treats high up in the hills, with the ap- proach of summer in April. Those who could not go to the hills coped with the heat as best they could. The hot weather saw the employ- ment of the punkah-wallah who oper- ated the hand-pulled fans before the coming of electricity. It had to be pulled all through the day and night, if need be. He lay on his back in the verandah with the string attached to his big toe, pulling this string and going to sleep at intervals. When the nights became in- tolerable the best way of keeping cool

H. Hardless published in 1919 put it more tleman, with all self-respect to himself, should not enter into a compartment re- served for Europeans, any more than he should enter a carriage reserved for la- dies. Although you may have acquired the habits and manners of the Europe- ans, have the courage to show that you are not ashamed of being an Indian, and in all such cases, indentify yourself with the race to which you belong.’ An Indian riding his mule or his pony on a track in the mountains or hills was supposed to dismount if an European came riding that way. Similarly, Indians carrying an open umbrella had to close it. The Maharajas and Princes, whose domains were for the most part outside British India, who were often great sportsmen and great hosts, were treated differently and as more than equals. The Mutiny of 1857 can be ascribed to many causes but one of the most im- portant was the divide between the of- ficers, both in the Army and the civil side, and Indians of all classes. This lack of liaison did not disappear even after 1858. The club was the social centre of the civil and military station. A club was to be found in all but the smallest stations. Senior officials — the Collector, the Sessions Judge, the District Superin-

politely: ‘The Indian gen- duck — but everything

was to wrap oneself in a wet sheet and lie down in it. The coming of the rains provided some relief but it was usually short-lived with the hot and dry weather being replaced by a hot and humid one. Every burra sahib's household had an army of Indian servants. There was the ayah, who looked after the children, the chota sahib and the missy baba; the bearer or valet; the Khansama or cook; the mali or gardener; the punkah-wallah; the sweeper; the syce who looked after the horses; and the chowkidar, the night watchman who moved around at night clearing his throat and spitting. ( Y V )

tendent of Police etc., were all members of the club. Indians were excluded from admission to most clubs. A few admitted a restricted number, many of them descendants of Indians who had been loyal in the Mutiny days. But the Indianisation of both the civil and mili- tary services made it difficult for all but the largest station clubs to preserve their exclusiveness and gradually the racial barriers came down. The normal routine that was followed was to go down to the club in the afternoon, play three or four chukkas of polo, change and then settle down for a good, long drink. There was the gimlet, a gin