Page 95 - All About History - Issue 26-15

All About
YOUR HISTORY

Kenneth (far right)
sitting with Jute
Wallah colleagues
at the Great Eastern
Hotel, Calcutta

Kenneth and his mother with his
pony Rose Beauty at the fountain on Elephants playing in the river
Darjeeling’s Chow Rasta Hooghly less than 100 yards from
the Miln’s Megna bungalow

It was almost unknown for Europeans to invite Indian Ourfavouriteleisureactivitywastogotothenearest
colleaguestotheircompoundbungalows,amost club, which most Wallahs were drawn to at weekends.
unfortunate state of affairs that may have contributed to Mostclubswereverywellequippedandcomfortably
ill feelings, especially during the lead up to Partition. furnished with a swimming pool, billiard table, cinema
Jute Wallah’s would also employ domestic servants. hall and, of course, the all important bar. Inter-compoun
Iftheyhadafamilythentheywouldusuallyemploy tennis matches were held regularly and were an excuse
betweenfourtosevenservants,whichwouldincludea forbigTamashas(noisyandboozyparties)–usually
butler, cook, sweeper, childminder, gardener and a young ending up with a sing-song and a number of inebriated
boytosendtothebazaar. Wallahs jumping into the mill reservoir. All good fun
The compound gardens were full of exotic plants and until the next day, normally a Sunday.
colourfulflowersincludingCannas,Frangipani,Hibiscus During the war years most Wallahs would tune in (o
and Poinsettia. There were wonderfully coloured theirvalve-typeradios)toBBCnewsbulletinsforthe
birds, butterflies and dragonflies, as well as snakes – latest information concerning the war in Europe – and
fortunatelymostwereofthenon-poisonousvariety. theJapaneseadvancethroughBurmatowardsIndia.
Therewerealsowell-tendedvegetableplots.Most Although there was nothing like the dangers faced
compoundswerevirtuallyselfcontained.Itemssuchas by folks in Britain, there were times when Japanese
meat,chicken,fish,riceandflourwerepurchasedfrom bombers flew overhead looking for West Bengal’s major Kenneth as a pupil
nearby bazaars. power station. of St Pauls School,
Darjeeling, 1947
Doyouhaveanyfamilystoriestoshare? /AllAboutHistory @AboutHistoryMag

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