Tonnes of material on the 1911 Royal Durbar held at Delhi gathers dust in libraries and museums. Those geographies? some forgotten, some altered ?which hosted this grandest of grand imperial events still exist in the city, albeit on the inner fold of its identity, as the resurgent capital of the world?s largest democracy. Somehow, an event that happened a century ago, changing the course of history, at least modern history, of Delhi and the country just finds a dumbed-down and simplistic mention in volumes written on the British rule of India. For, this Durbar was a threshold moment in history where Delhi was restored to its former glory of being the capital, the most beloved jewel of the the British empire?s most coveted prize: India. But history, as we know and as Winston Churchill once said, is written by victors. And perhaps that?s why A Glimpse of Empire by Jessica Douglas-Home doesn?t come across as merely a work of history, but much more.
It tells the story of then 23-year-old Anglo-Irish beauty Lilah Wingfield, the author?s grandmother, who travelled to India to witness the Durbar, then criss-crossed the nation in what became the journey of a lifetime.
Lilah?s breathtaking beauty, which attracted enough attention through her journey, at times bordering on the unwanted and uncomfortable, is thus described in the book: ?Nearly six foot tall, with deep-set brown eyes in a classically proportioned face, she had rich auburn hair, a full bosom and a tiny waist. Extrovert, imaginative and artistic, she was passionate in conversation and possessed a flow of vital energy by which in later years, even when she was in her nineties, our family was frequently overwhelmed?. For Lilah this trip was to escape the claustrophobic Edwardian life she dreaded to conform to.
The book is based on a diary that Lilah kept on her visit to the sub-continent, recording in great detail all that she observed, from the grandiose ways of the Indian royals to the simplicity of the common folk, and from the high headedness of many a British official to the magnificence of India. Coupled with the pictures she took during her travels, and the resulting book, although presented quite simply without hyperbole and verbose content, is quite a treat for anyone interested in the India of that time and age. The story of how and why this book could be made possible is also not without its own twists and, if we may say so, intervention of luck. While Jessica had Lilah?s pictures with her, it was a complete stranger who discovered her diary at a local bookstore in Norfolk in 1999 and tracked down her relatives.
Coming back to the book, Lilah being half Irish already developed quite a paradoxical view of the Empire, which is evident in her writing and the way the story is told. Wherever original excerpts from her diary appear, one gets a feeling that Lilah was easily able to detach herself from any affiliation, which one might expect from an English travelling to India for the first time at the might of the Raj. ?A child of her background, she believed as instinctively in the inherited English political and social order as in natural rights of the Irish. If that was inconsistent, so was much else in Britain?s paternalist, often idealistic, view of its Empire,? writes Jessica.
Access, it is evident, was not a problem for Lilah, given her lineage and the fact that she was hobnobbing with the more, if not the most, important people at the Durbar. As for her observations of the Durbar, its preparations, the extravagance and the people behind and around it, the writing is extremely simple and subtle, yet it doesn?t miss much. What the writing lacks in extravagance, it is made up for in the powerful content, which appears to be mostly presented without a coloured lens.
From vivid vignettes of her stay at the huge tented city that was constructed only for the purpose and duration of the Durbar, to the ceremony itself, which had an unprecedented attendance of Indian royalty, the book is a pleasure. And every now and then, the reader is reminded that it is as much, or probably more, about Lilah?s personal journey as it is about a transition that would change the course of history for a city and a country. And she went beyond?from Khyber Pass in the NWFP to Rajasthan, and from staying with the Begum of Bhopal, with whom Lilah seemed quite fascinated, to the gory sights of the 1857 mutiny. All through the book, the story of that India is told in straight, honest and unadulterated manner, almost clinical in terms of the influences that often renders history, without its share of objectivity. Lilah?s particularly empathetic view of Indians in the fag end of the book goes a great distance in explaining her thoughts about the land, its people, and her fascination with both. ?I hate to think how their (Indians?) generosity is imposed on by many of our fellow countrymen who come to India with a big idea of how they can treat mere ?natives? and use their money for their own amusement and invite themselves as the guests of some prince or rajah…Many of these contemptuously termed ?natives? are far finer truer gentlemen than many an Englishman,? she wrote.
History geeks might complain that an academic perspective on such an event was missing somewhere in the book. Maybe it is. But then this piece of writing is not the best place to look for it. The strength of the book lies in its honesty and lack of any pretence. It is exactly what it promises to be, a simple tale of travel and time, nothing more, nothing less. And lastly, it?s about the deep affection Lilah developed for India, as one can almost feel sadness in her writing as she leaves India for home. It?s one of those books where you rush to the preface again after flipping the last page. The preface ends with: ?To escape and find herself, she (Lilah) set off for India in 1911 to attend King George V?s Coronation Durbar. It was an apogee of the British Empire, and the celebration was on an unimaginably grand scale, but what Lilah fell in love with there was not so much Britain in India as India itself.?
Credit to Jessica Douglas-Home for putting it as simply and honestly, as it was probably felt by her grandmother. And just maybe, we should try and look at our own history with a greater degree of acceptance and objectivity. It?s surely interesting enough to deserve that.