The Browning of the Raj

More Curry talesThere was a time when British India had these nice dining cars on trains with set tables and liveried waiters at call, fancy cutlery, and so on, but they were long gone before my time. Then there were the restaurants and clubs in cities which pandered to the Raj. But for the British...

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The Ghost Radio - Congress transmitter 1942

This is Congress radio calling from somewhere in India on 42.34 meters The Vilayati RDF lorries were making yet another circuit trying to triangulate the weak radio signals which were now becoming regular. The CID had started out early in the morning, driving around Girgaum to locate the dammed congress...

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Ithu oru nalla pasu (this is a nice cow)

On the Germans interned in Yercaud 1940-45 and the fascinating story of the Friedmann family Yercaud is not on the way to anywhere, for you have to go there, and I have not been there. So my description of that magical place comes from the memories and threads woven by so many others who lived there....

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The Bombay Riots - 1921

The Prince of Wales Visit 1921Lots of things happened in 1921, good and bad. Insulin was discovered, the communist party was formed in China, Hitler became the leader of the Nazi party, Einstein was nominated for the Nobel prize, and so on and so forth. In British India, KR Narayanan and Satyajit Ray...

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