Fareastdriver,
Another masterpiece of the detail which is so rivetting !
I add a few words from my (very old) experiences:
...yet another Indian woman holding a bunch of twigs...
Either a handful or attached to a broomstick. Has been used this way by "sweepers" for ever and a day.
...pushed the contents down their mouths with their hands...
Normally one hand only (the other being reserved for a less salubrious purpose, often a little brass pot of water being carried around to serve as an
al-fresco bidet).
...bought a copy of the Bombay Times from reception and checked up on the war...
So I picked on the wrong war just now ! What on Earth were we doing to get mixed up in that Sino-Indian border dispute ? What dog did we have in that fight ?
...It was all the British’s fault. When they had mounted an expedition into Tibet they had moved the border around a bit for tactical reasons and had amended the maps..
When we were the ruling power in those parts, the borders were pretty well where we said they were. Reminds me of the oft-repeated gibe that the colonial powers in Africa divided it up "with ruler and set-square".
...The nine rupees we were getting just about covered a bowl of soup...
How is the Rupee fallen ! When I was in Calcutta, the "Grand" hotel in Chowringhee (second only to the "Great Eastern" in Old Court House Street) would do you room and full board for Rs10 a day (say 14/- then, say £17.50 today [UK general inflation] or £60 [UK wage inflation] - the Rs [Indian] inflation has been much worse than the £ [and that has been bad enough !] The Rs [Pakistan] half as bad again). Take a deep breath and look up the Oberoi Grand's (5-star) prices today !
...as most were very close to collapsing...
They often did ! (balconies in particular). The Building Regulations (if any) of the time were very loosely applied, being a matter of negotiation between the developer, the municipal authority and the contractor - and it was not unknown for a few bundles of notes to change hands in the process.
Couldn't happen today, of course. (
oh, dear !)
...In the middle were what looked like miniature power station cooling towers. Our guide explained that when a sect known as the Farsi had one of their number die they put the body on a grid on top of the towers. The vultures would demolish it and the bones would fall through and be collected for the family shrine...
They were called "Towers of Silence", erected by the Parsee (originally Persian) community of Bombay. There this has prospered, their members being known as the "Jews of India" (not in any perjorative sense, but on account of their financial acumen). I suppose it is the ideal eco-friendly method of disposal.
Would not be too sure about "collected for the family shrine", for the iron grid on top is a multi-occupancy affair; India is a very large exporter of bone-meal; have a look round your friendly local Garden Centre.
...What amused me was the number of Morris Cowleys, produced in India as the Hindus...
Not sure about the "Cowleys", but the 1951 1500 Morris "Oxford"'s jigs and tools were sold on to India; they produced the Hindustan "Ambassador" which (with, I believe, a Japanese diesel engine) was the staple Indian car for decades.
...They had nearly lost a Javelin. The pilot had pulled too much and a problem with the Javelin is that if the angle of attack is too high the delta wing blanks off the tailplane. This causes it to mush and it goes into a spin...
Not a spin, but at Geilenkirchen about '62, a 11 Sqn pair of Javelins "ran in and broke" - all too literally in the case of the No.2 - seems it happens if you pull too much 'G' and too high a rate of roll at the same time (both killed).
This is splendid - keep it up ! (and there must be more of you out there who could add to this feast)
Danny.