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That Raj Niwas Christmas
CHRISTMAS BEGAN to be celebrated by Armenian community in Delhi soon after Shah Jahan moved his capital from Agra. But the British joined in only after Lord Lake took control of the city in 1803. At that time there was no Civil Lines and the British troops were quartered in the Walled City.
There wasn't much of a celebration either as no ladies were around. The soldiers made merry, after chapel service by the camp padre in their quarters, with whatever liquor they had and the sweets brought from Chandni Chowk. The Christmas cake was a rarity and few knew how to bake it.
The next year the threat of an invasion of Delhi by Jaswant Rao Holkar dampened the festive spirit in October. But Holkar was beaten back by Colonel David Ochterlony and his men, assisted by Moghul troops sent by Shah Alam - old, blind and feeble though he was. On Christmas Day 1804 Holkar's defeat was complete at the hands of Zake's troops in Deeg, after his retreat from Delhi.
Slowly over the years the spirit of Christmas began to prevail. The local backers learnt to make presentable cakes and the arrival of the ladies added cheer to Burra Din, with Metcalfe House a focal point in the celebrations.
The Mutiny of 1857 saw the British moving out of the city (not entirely though because Kashmere Gate continued to retain some British presence). The Civil Lines came up along with Ludlow Castle, and there was no dearth of Yuletide merriment. Ludlow Castle is no more, but the street to which it lent its name, though known as Raj Niwas Marg now, is still buzzing with memories of the days when the British had their famous Delhi Club there.
The castle has made way for a school and the hackney carriage stand on the opposite side of the road has become a taxi stand but many of the rambling old bungalows exist as reminders of a bygone age. And yet 25 years ago Ludlow Castle was very much there with its turrets dreaming of the Raj and its majestic walls hiding the secrets of the club where the sahibs and memsahibs enjoyed their yuletide and other evenings after the sun had set on a hard day.
There was Diana Baby who sang to her lover on the piano, softly though, so as not to rock the hall, and there was Henry Sahib who drank whisky-soda, Frank, who played the violin when the year ended to the strains of Auld Lang Syne and his friend, Holly the tall one, forever loitering with his girlfriend in the bushes, unmindful of the Missibaba who some times cried quietly for the sahib who had left her. The wet handkerchief in her hand was the only evidence that she pined for someone whenever the Firangi Company was making merry. But the biggest attraction was Denniese, the magistrate's daughter, who wore the prettiest frock.
Warm chat
They used to come in horse-driven carriages, to play bridge or billiards, drink, talk, dine and dance in the huge chandeliered rooms which once served as the office of the commissioner. The carriages were parked in the stand where the grooms used to sit huddled together, building up or destroying the reputations of their sahibs at will, while those worthies strolled with their sweethearts towards Rajpur Road to enjoy a few moments of bliss.
Inside the club people were engrossed in their own affairs. But they were back by the time the khansamas laid out the dinner on occasions when feasting continued till late at night and the ladies were specially invited to what was essentially a gentlemen's club.
Christmas, of course, was one such occasion, and so were New Year's Eve and Easter. Later at night the sahibs escorted the memsahibs back home, though many of them were so tipsy that they had to be supported!
Those times are over and few remember Ludlow castle or the defunct Bombay House of old Lewis, but still Raj Niwas Marg, where the Lieutenant-Governor resides, has the charm of a past age when life was much more leisurely than now and one had the time to stand and stare at the girls coming in their fancy ballroom dresses for the Xmas dance. They talk about those times in the bungalows along the road, where tales in the servant quarters are passed on from father to son. Ludlow castle may have been demolished. But who can demolish gossip.
Erratum: In the article on Saigal last week, it should have read: "Nevile recalls this sitting in his old house in East Patel Nagar" . The line inadvertently got dropped. Also, the name of the actress was Uma Shashi (not Shastri) and the music mastro Bal (not Baz) Gandharav.
R.V.SMITH
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