Chennapuri: Part 4

Continued from here

Life in Madras

Governor and Lady Erskine

 

The British knew the fine art of empire building. They were past masters and knew a few tricks which the French, Portuguese and Dutch never learnt. The Americans did not have a clue. The Romans had similar ideas. Dazzle the natives with your dress. In spite of the hot humid climate the British wore thick woolen serge uniforms with embroidered gold stripes on the shoulder and the front with a lot of medals. The higher up you were, the more elaborate the dress. The picture above illustrates the point. I have seen the colonel’s dress in my granduncle’s house complete with a sword which he had to wear for the Governor’s banquet. This created a great impression on the natives except in Delhi where people were used to the Mughal extravagance. The British had a surfeit of unemployed Earls and Lords in Scotland and Ireland, and a number of debt-ridden English lords. They were promptly dispatched to India and Indian love and respect of nobility was taken care of. The master stroke was the employment of native soldiers to fight natives. The shortage of their own manpower was taken care of. The Indian army took the brunt of the fight in the Gallipoli campaign, the African campaign and the Italian campaign in the world wars and suffered major causalities. Another master touch was socializing with Maharajas, Zamindars, Nawabs - hunting and dining with them, giving them gun salutes, giving them fancy decorations and in select cases introducing them to British Royalty. These were master touches which helped them to stay on a long time.

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Madras was the British bastion more than any other Indian city. They took to the English language like fish to water. After over half a century, the hold of English language is so strong that determined efforts by politicians have not succeeded in dislodging it. The boom in the IT and out-sourcing industries in Madras is due to excellent knowledge of English. The southerners took to western education and made full use of the excellent colleges and institutions set up by the British.

 

The western dress had an immense effect on the Indians. The rajas and zamindars created their version of the governor’s dress. The civil servants and commercial men wore suits with ties and shoes and socks, with a pith hat when going out in the sun. If you were orthodox, the problem was solved in an ingenious way. You wore a turban, had your caste mark on your forehead, a coat and tie, a dhoty tucked between your legs and of course the inevitable shoes and socks. The habit of shoes and socks still hangs on especially in some clubs in Madras though all the members are Indians!

 

Most Indian ladies stuck to a nine yard saree and full sleeve blouse, adorning themselves with abundant jewels when going out. Even in the house some items like bangles and chains were always worn. Only a few film actresses wore sleeveless dress and the modern six yard saree. If you wanted to see bare arms and legs you had the choice of the Anglo Indians or the Memsahibs. I remember my cousin who was bold enough to wear my shirt and pyjamas to look like a Punjabi. She admired herself in the mirror but did not have the courage to go out in that dress!

To be continued...

Comments

[gurunathan]

Simply Superb! I love this series. May I request you to allow me to create a link to your blog from mine?

[Ambika]

Looks like the Madras Club committee also thinks along the same lines - full suits to impress us lowly members, even in the 40 degree summer heat!

[Raja Ramakrishnan]

Thanks gurunathan.please create a link between our blogs.
raja ramakrishnan

yes ambika.These suits now cost a about a lakh rs or more.Impress at the cost acute discomfort.
Appa