Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON
This photograph was taken a few minutes after the picture of the vintage licence plates in the blogpost below, Better Plate Than Never. I was walking through the rain in Gravenhurst, Canada, from the antique shop to the wharf, to board the RMS Segwun. That's when I caught sight of a bagpiper in kilt and full Scottish regalia. I was a long way from home and as anyone who grew up in Calcutta will tell you, the sound of bagpipes evokes very deep emotions and memories of the Gurkhas who play the unique instrument. This piper, it turned out, was on hand to play at a wedding reception. In the top left quadrant of the frame you'll spot the Segwun, the oldest operating steamship in the world, with smoke curling lazily from her tall, stately funnel.
6 comments:
Yes, I well remember the Gurkhas. There was a band that played every evening at the 'Institute' at the bandstand in Kharagpur. I was quite young and my 'ayah' (along with other ayahs!) used to take me for a walk there at tea-time each day (about 4 p.m.). These ladies used to greet each other with a 'how are you' in Hindi, and the reply was always, 'taking the air' (which, literally translated was 'eating air') - I never failed to be amazed! But what ambience, walking gently to a community center, to stand and watch and listen to bagpipes each evening...
hello david
i read your comments in lotus reads' blog and thought there were a few things in common between us.i lived in kolkata for the first fifteen years of my life.and i am very fond of that city.after all childhood memories never fade! my work takes me to kolkata atleast once in a month. i studied at st xavier's school when fr picachy was the prefect.then we moved to mumbai. from the late 80s we lived for about ten years in malabar hill.in the building society there were a few flats leased out to banking and other foreign companies.there were quite a few scotsmen living there.and every sunday morning they would get together in the lawn and they would be dressed in the typical scottish attire and play the bagpiper. then i lived in goa for three years where vindaloo is very famous.i have never tried it though as i am a strict vegetarian.must get hold of your book.
Hi GS,
Thanks for taking the trouble to visit my blog and add a comment. I did like the story about the Sunday bagpipers - maybe I can add that to my next novel.
Some of my closest friends were Xavier's students. Of course, Fr Picachy went on to become Cardinal Picachy.
Sounds like we must have crossed paths several times in Bombay as well, a city very close to my heart. My wife and I have very good friends there as well.
Living in Goa must have been wonderful. I take it you no longer live there?
I've never heard of a vegetarian vindaloo, but if you can get hold of one, get stuck into it and enjoy!
I hope you enjoy the book. I'm not sure which part of the world you live in, but the easiest way (I've been told that Amazon are sold out) is to go to this link http://david-mcmahon.blogspot.com/2006/12/oxfords-collar.html and go to the Oxford site to order it. This link will also take you to the first-hand account of the ``story behind the story'' of `Vegemite Vindaloo'.
This is from a recent email from the Oxford webmaster: ``Your friends can order the novel from Oxfordbookstore.com. We will despatch the books within 48 hours. They can select DHL courier as the mode of shipping. In case they have any further queries, they could get in touch with me. I will be happy to help them in getting the book.''
Hope that info helps. Let me know how you go.
Again, thanks for writing in.
Cheers
David
hello david
thanks for your response.i live in south mumbai. lived near dabolim in goa for three years and had a whale of a time.
i read a review of' vegemite vindaloo' on the net and i am curious to read the book. hopefully i will get it at the oxford book store which is five minutes walking distance from our home.
in mumbai gurkhas are decreasing in numbers.at one time gurkhas and watchmen were synonymous.perhaps due to the influx of nationals from up and bihar and the red tag of maoist attached to some nepalese,they have been losing their popularity.
i have a blog called chummachumma.blogspot.com .actually my daughter encouraged me to start one two and half years ago.she mainly writes on food and her blog is lululoveslondon.blogspot.com.
my next subject will be veg vindaloo!
Dear GS,
Shall visit your blog and your daughter's today - I do like the choice of names!
Yes, Oxford would have copies of `Vegemite Vindaloo' - it has been on their bestseller lists for a few months now.
In fact, the Oxford webmaster asked me to write a first-person article about the book for the Oxford site. There is a link to it at http://david-mcmahon.blogspot.com/2006_12_01_david-mcmahon_archive.html
I certainly look forward to your thoughts on the book.
Cheers
David
Dear GS,
Re: your comment about the ``gurkhas'' of Bombay. It always surprised me (with my Darjeeling background) that the term in Bombay was entirely generic and that it referred mainly to night-watchmen and not to people of Nepalese origin.
Cheers
David
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