Look back and laugh
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`The past can be viewed as a source to draw wisdom from, whereas grieving and brooding over it is of very little use. Better have a laugh about it, is the suggestion of Capt. Malhotra.'
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I MUST admit that I was suspicious when I opened this book. Grammatical errors, instances of poor editing, punch lines marked with loud exclamation marks leapt up from the page. Yet I only needed to read a few pages before I was hooked. Capt. Malhotra is a diehard raconteur, and he has many amusing anecdotes and nuggets of obscure Raj lore to share. All his acquaintances must enjoy his company with the exception of a certain S, the unnamed co-traveller in this whacky re-examination of the Raj heritage.
Capt. Malhotra is — according to S — a show-off who lectures and talks down to people. The concept of the co-traveller who argues with the narrator, and dissents, is fun, and reminds me of one of my all-time favourite travelogues, the infinitely entertaining Travels with the Fish by G.Y. Gopinath (1999). Similarly Bandobust: A Raj Experience is shot through with the idea of humour, and the good Capt. Malhotra dispenses his gems of wisdom with a chuckle, as when he evaluates his choice of travel companion (the above-mentioned S). "It is so easy for companions to fall out with each other with bitter hatred, especially travel companions, that one must actively guard against it. Indeed, travel companions should be regarded in the same light as other travel hazards, like bad drinking water and blisters!"
Being a commercial airline pilot, Capt. Malhotra has seen a great deal of India both from above and within, and he appears to have developed an obsession with quaint Raj memorabilia, quaint Raj architecture and quaint Raj habits. Apart from touring monument-rich cities like Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and Delhi (he makes it a point to use the colonial names), as well as various hill stations, he enlightens us — for instance — on the medical practices of the day. These included the strangest narcotic concoctions and bleeding treatments with leeches ("If the patient survived all this he would recover. If not then not."). He writes about the traditions of the Indian Railways and the Army, the Hobson-Jobson dictionary and how Indian words made their way into English, and how the curry infiltrated the households of the British royalty (George V would have curry for lunch almost everyday). The most British of all sauces, Worcestershire sauce, was apparently invented in 1835 as an imitation of Indian curry for a former governor who returned to England missing the flavours of Bengal. However, the British chemist failed to emulate the original, so instead the mixture became a sauce that won its own popularity. Malhotra also describes the massive amounts of alcohol that was consumed by the East India Company staff; to encourage temperance, the President of the Surat factory ordered strict rationing, "the amount being set as two pints of wine and half a pint of brandy. This ration was per person per meal!"
On a more serious note, the book ends with a reflection on why it is necessary to rediscover and re-evaluate the Raj. My own enthusiasm for this book derives partly from the fact that it is not by another western travel writer travelling back in time, but a refreshing take on colonial history by a Punjabi who doesn't mince his words. Colonialism was an exploitative, unfair system during a shameful phase of human history, yet Capt. Malhotra makes the point that history is something we must learn to live with — and since the heritage is there, why not even enjoy it. "If we look back on the Raj experience we find that we have inherited so many things like the English language and beer, Parliament and tiffin, education system and mulligatawny soup, judiciary and red tape. It is possible to debate endlessly on the pros and cons but that would get us nowhere."
The past can be viewed as a source to draw wisdom from, whereas grieving and brooding over it is of very little use. Better have a laugh about it, is the suggestion of Capt. Malhotra. "Nations are like people. Only when they can laugh at their past foibles and themselves can they be said to have come of age. Only then can they heal and move on from there." And all said and done, it is fun to read about how a bull in Calcutta chased Sir John Lawrence, the Viceroy, around the Maidan in the 1860s.
Bandobust: A Raj Experience, Capt. V.K. Malhotra, Humormongers, 2003, p.362, B/W photographs, price not stated.
Zac O'Yeah is a Swedish travel writer.
ZAC O'YEAH
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