Author: Y D Gundevia
Publisher: Orient Longman/Disha
Year: 1992
Language: English
Pages: 233
ISBN/UPC (if available): 086311 3079
Description
A fascinating account of the life of a young Indian ICS officer during the last decades of the British Raj.
Based on personal experiences, these memoirs portray a way of life that has gone for ever. The British in India, even in the late 1930s adhered somewhat punctiliously to the outdated etiquette of the Victorian era. In a society where official hierarchy and protocol played an important part in the administrative process there was a necessity to maintain certain 'standards'. The author has recapitulated in an often light-hearted yet vivid manner the social and political milieu in which he worked.
Among the topics that have been written about in this book are accounts of Club life(exclusively British in every way), the author's timely intervention that prevented a widow from committing sati and an official enquiry into the unfortunate murder of a police officer. Furthermore, a chapter on the author's experience of working with the Congress offers an insight into the political scenario of the time.
CONTENTS: Land of Hope and Glory / First Lessons - First Impressions / District Officer in the Making / The Club / Murder of a Policeman / Sat / Rokshi / The Floods in North India / Christian Missions and Missionaries / Working with the Congress / Mirzapur / Tigers in Mirzapur / The Romance of Mirzapur Carpets / Hog-hunting of Pig-Sticking / Farewell, Beloved U.P. / Glossary + Index
Contents
Foreword by Shri Ram Sathe
Acknowledgements
CHAPTER ONE
Land of Hope and Glory
CHAPTER TWO
First Lessons - First Impressions
CHAPTER THREE
District Officer in the Making
CHAPTER FOUR
The Club
CHAPTER FIVE
Murder of a policeman
CHAPTER SIX
Sati !
CHAPTER SEVEN
Rokshi
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Floods in North India
CHAPTER NINE
Christian Missions and Missionaries
CHAPTER TEN
Working with the Congress
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Mirzapur
CHAPTER TWELVE
Tigers in Mirzapur
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The Romance of Mirzapur Carpets
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Hog - hunting or Pig-Sticking
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Farewell, Beloved U.P.
Glossary
Index