VICTORIA & ABDUL
Author : Shrabani Basu
Publisher : Rupa & Co ,year 2010, Pages 241 + 3 pages of charts & maps,
+ 16
pages of coloured / sepia photographs
=========
Excerpts :
(
) The British government wanted the wealth, glamour of the heavily jeweled
Indian maharajahs, maharanis to add to the pomp of the jubilee and display the
loyalty of the Indian rulers and colonies. Careful weeding and cherry picking
was done of those who would look handsome and elegant, speak English fluently
and be reasonably at home in the western environment.
(
) Two days after the Jubilee celebrations, the two ‘presents’ from India- Abdul
Karim and Mohammad Buksh were brought
before the Queen at the breakfast table
of Frogmore . Their clothes made them
look almost princely. The Queen was delighted. Dressed in striking scarlet
tunics with white turbans, they approached slowly, eyes lowered to gaze at the
ground, bent down to kiss the Queen’s feet. Sir Henry Ponsonby, the Queen’s
private secretary noted that they shall receive 60 Pounds a year, were to be khidmatgars, or table hands, and General
Thomas Denneby who had accompanied them from India, spoke their language, would
be in charge of them.
(
) Since their arrival, Karim and Buksh, handsomely liveried, were always by her
side. As she ate from her golden eggcup with her golden spoon, Karim served her
on a golden plate. Later when the Queen attended to her correspondence, Karim
would stand at a respectful distance, helping her along with her boxes, leaning
forward only to blot the Queen’s signature with a pink blotting paper. Weeks
later, Karim decided to surprise her. He took the box of spices brought from
India to the kitchen in Osborne House. The aroma of cloves, cinnamon, cardmom,
cumin and nutmeg wafted around. A fine Indian meal – chicken curry, daal, pulao
was ready. For the first time in her life, Queen Victoria was introduced to the
taste and smell of India. Exotic biryani, dum pukht, ground almonds and cream
laced rich curries simmered. The Queen described them as excellent and ordered
them to be made regularly. The Indians had mastered the art of waiting at
table.
(
) His very presence and understanding manner helped her feel better and she now
decided to promote her ‘dear Abdul’ and give him a special rank. It was the
moment that Karim would cross the threshold. No longer would he be a humble
servant waiting on the Queen. He was to become her Munshi, or clerk and
teacher. He was given the grand title of Munshi Hafiz Abdul Karim, said good
bye to waiting at tables. Salary increased to 12 pounds a month, increasing on
1July each year by 12 pounds until the total amount reached 250 pounds an year.
He would talk freely to her about his views on various political issues,
sympathise with the Queen in her grief at her daughter’s plight in Germany and
critisice the arrogant and rudeness of Kaiser Wilhelm II.
(
) The Queen now gave Karim the room previously occupied by John Brown, the
symbolic act being immediately noticed
by the Household. Invariably, the rest of the Household began to resent Karim
and some of the Indian servants also grew jealous of him. But if Ponsonby or
Reid pointed out a discrepancy in Karim, the Queen would not tolerate it.
(
) An incident at Sandringham House. The entire Royal entourage, the Queen, the
Prince and Princess of Walescame for a gala performance of a theatre by cast of
sixty, live orchestra. About 300 persons were in the hall including neighbours,
servants and tenants. The Queen enjoyed it describing it as very thrilling. But
the Munshi who had been allotted a seat with the servants, took it as an
insult, stalked out and spent the evening in his room. The next morning he told
the Queen about it. Immediately she came to his defence and issued orders that
Abdul Karim should always be seated with the Royal Household. The Munshi had
climbed his first step on the social ladder.
(
) The Munshi was increasingly drawing the Queen into Indian politics. As he
provided her with information about the insecurities of the Muslim minorities,
the Queen wrote lengthy letters to the viceroy about the issues Karim raised.
Clearly influenced by Karim, the Queen wrote :
“It (Muharram) only comes once a year, whereas the Mahomedans
complain that the Hindoos, who have many religious festivals, try to
have one of their own at this very time, hence the quarrelling. Could
not the Viceroy arrange that the Hindoos held no feast during the 13
days of Muharram? This wd avoid all fighting and enable the Mahomedans to carry
on with their religious festival in peace. If this is impossible, perhaps the
Viceroy wd give strict orders and prevent the Mahomedans and the Hindus from
interfering with one another, so that perfect justice is shown to both. But the
former course would be far the best.” (underlining done by the Queen)
(
) The Queen sensed the hostility towards the Munshi from her Household and
family. She decided that she would provide for Karim so that he was comfortable
after her death. She foresaw that they would not be very kind to him after she
was gone. With this in mind, she sent a volley of letters to the Viceroy and
the Secretary of State for India to get a generous grant of land for the Munshi
in India.The viceroy was in a fix as there was no precedent for such a land
grant. The Queen was relentlessly pressing it.
(
) Fritz Ponsonby informed the viceroy that both his and Lady Elgin’s letters
were apparently given to the Munshi to read and that he retailed all the news
back to India. The Queen refused to listen to what they had to say but was very
angry.
(
) The news broken by Reid provoked a collective display of raised tempers. He
had been treating the Munshi for gleet and a relapse of venereal disease. The
Queen wished to take Munshi to Cimiez on her annual spring visit. This meant
the Household would have to dine with him, which they were determined not to
do. If Karim went they would strike. Harriet Phipps, lady of the bedchamber,
was picked for the job to inform the Queen. She walked briskly across the
courtyard towards the Queen’s sitting room. No sooner had Phipps spoken the
words than the 78 year old Queen flew into a violent rage, dramatically
sweeping off the contents of her desk. Books, pens, papers, memos, boxes and
mementoes went crashing to the floor as the Queen threw them down, shattering
several glass objects in her fury. The Queen won the argument, the Household
did not resign and on 10 march the Royal suite started for the Cimiez.
(
) The eighty-one-year-old Victoria had died peacefully in her sleep three days
earlier, her family beside her. After all the Royals, children, grandchildren,
her most trusted servants and Household members had filed past; the King
allowed Abdul Karim to enter the Queen’s bedroom. He would be the last person
to see her body alone. At her funeral procession in Windsor, Abdul Karim walked
with the principal mourners. The elderly Queen had given this instruction
herself, despite what she knew would be intense opposition from her family and
Household. She had ensured her beloved Munshi would be written into the history
books.
(
) But only days after the Queen’s death, the Munshi was woken by the sound of
loud banging on his door. Princess Beatrice, Queen Alexandra and some guards
stood outside. The King had ordered a raid on his house, demanding he hand over
all the letters Victoria had written to him. The Munshi, his wife watched in
horror as the letters in the late Queen’s distinctive handwriting were torn
from his desk and cast into a bonfire outside Frogmore Cottage.
(
) As the ‘Dear Abdul’ letters burnt in the cold February air, the Munshi stood
in silence. Without his Queen he was defenceless and alone. Postcards and
letters from the Queen, dated from Windsor Castle, Balmoral, the Royal yacht
‘Victoria and Albert’ and hotels across Europe, crackled in the flames. The Queen
used to write everyday, signing her letters variously as ‘your dearest friend’,
‘your true friend’, ‘your dearest mother’. Every scrap of paper with the
Queen’s seal on it was taken from the Munshi’s desk and confined to the mercy
of the guards. The Munshi’s family, once so essential to the Royal Court, stood
bewildered, treated like common criminals. With the Queen in her grave, the
Establishment had come down hard and fast on the Munshi. King Edward VII asked
him unceremoniously to pack his bags and return to India. The fairytale was
over.
==========
My Take : This is a true
story of the Queen’s Closest Confident. The author has painstakingly collected
authentic material from the Royal Archives of Windsor Castle, Photographic
Collection at St Jame’s Palace, Osborne House, the British Library and the
Regional Archives in Agra.
Excellently written, the narrative
brings out the glitter and trappings of The Raj. The jealousies and scheming in
the Royal Court are similar to any Royal Household the world over.
The book keeps you glued to know what
happened next. A must read to know our
own history which you shall never find in any text book.
========
Subject
type : Historical
events of much exciting interest.
Narrative
Style : Excellent
Readability
: Excellent
Reader’s
Interest : maintained
continuously.
======
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