India’s “muddy waters, getting her dust between my toes” was his favorite thing to be engrossed in.
Charles Robin Allen, a well-known British freelance author and historian from London, was born in the industrial city of Kanpur, India, on January 2, 1940. His many writings center on the British Raj, and both of his parents were born in India as well. Prior to his passing in August 2020, Charles Allen had visited the length and width of India, documenting its fascinating history and publishing about twenty books.
In his final book, Coromandel: A Personal History of South India, he shares a very fond recollection of his childhood days when he had the chance to ride an elephant through the jungles of Northeast India in Assam.
The Life of Indian Princess, A Soldier of the Company, Maharajas, in the search of Shangri La, Introduction to Rudyard Kippling, and his best-selling book Ashoka: the Search for India’s Lost Emperor are some of his several works. The last British rulers of India were interviewed for a BBC radio program in 1974, which was then released in book form in 1975. Plain Tales from the Raj allows the British to tell their own stories and describe their time in the Sub Continent. Instead, Charles believes that the British Raj was a selfish attempt to exert influence over others. In addition, he discusses how individuals made bets with themselves, cross-cultural encounters, and mergers, the effects of which are still felt today. Regardless of their age, profession, or where they were stationed in India, the radio and book demonstrated how one could uncover so many hints with India simply by questioning a typical British family about their experiences, whether joyful or not. These occurrences undoubtedly contributed to influencing their lives, as evidenced by the diverse narratives and happenings, their daily interactions with the community, and numerous other incidents.
Chapter 21 provides a snapshot of British life in an Indian context, with mention of the people—whether young or old (chhota and Burra), the women, spouses, and daughters who were often referred to as Memsabibs, the sepahis, the soldiers, and other civil service employees working in various parts of India. It also painted a clear picture of how the British acquired various skills, such as running a household with the aid of indigenous servants who replicated English houses, and how they built a home away from home in the mountains in order to avoid the intense heat of the plains. However, he also makes a note of how the British must have felt when they were forced to abandon India and give up all the comforts and servants that were at their beck and call.
Allen nostalgically recalls his childhood in India, mentioning the bright sunshine, the comforts of large homes, the variety of pets, and the individuals who looked after them. He also mentions the feeling of superiority that every white-skinned person had. The thrill of riding horses rather than strollers, sleeping under mosquito nets, a nanny with smallpox, and a snake murdered in the restroom. An essential component of every British child raised in India is the Ayahs, who served as the entry point for Indian interaction.
The train rides, which were enjoyable for youngsters, were otherwise seen as tedious for adults. Spike Milligan, a writer and humorist, fondly recalls it as the “golden experience” in comparison to England, where life is somber, monotonous, and depressing.
The Rivetts, Carnacs, Maynes, Ogilvies, Birdwoods, Napiers, and Lawrences were among the most well-known families in India and the men who served the empire by the end of the nineteenth century. For instance, the Maynes arrived in India during the 1760s and employed individuals in several cities, including Lucknow, Bangalore Akola, Meerut, Saurashtra, Allahabad, and Darjeeling.
Allen also mentions how the tea farmers in the Assam area cultivated tea and even managed to tame a bear in order to keep trespassers away from the tea estate, despite all the obstacles in their way, including the extremely wrathful Bhramaputra River. In addition to the British, many Scots worked as civil servants or were engineers and farmers.
He acknowledges that the last of the youth who were in India would have found it hard to believe that independence was just around the corner, and that for many, their memories of India were so ingrained that they were hard to shake.
