Col Edward James Corbett was an Irishman born and brought up in and around Nainital, British India. He spoke the local language as good as anyone else and understood the terrain and the people better than anyone else. Most of his books are related to life in Indian jungles and gripping tales of encounters with man eating tigers and leopards.
The book “My India” takes a different track and it can be regarded as one the best compilation of real short stories with a priceless value proposition for what can be learnt from this book cannot be imparted, it can only be realized. Jim puts together his love for India and its people, he writes about his accounts while he worked with the railways as a fuel inspector and later on as a trans-shipment contractor at Mokameh Ghat.
Chapters of the Book:
Dedication & Introduction: In this chapter Corbett starts off with the most beautiful description of India, the reader can see through the book into the eyes of Corbett and what he must have felt while reminiscing those days when he penned down this chapter. The chapter has vivid details of the mountains, the jungles, lakes and the prairies.
The Queen of the Village: The story focuses on the wife of the headman of Jim’s village. The headman has died and his widow is now the head of the village. Corbett describes the attire and the looks of this kind old lady and the kindness of the bania and the other people who have come to visit him.
Kunwar Singh: Kunwar Singh was Corbett’s best friend as a he was growing up and a great teacher about the jungles.Together they had named every tree and every blade of grass in the jungle. Both enjoyed many shikars together and spent good times. Now Kunwar Singh was on his death bed and as a last wish Kunwar Singh wanted to see Jim. The story has a nice twist in the end so I won’t spoil it for you.
Mothi: Like Kunwar Singh, Corbett had known Mothi for a very long time. The chapter revolves around this hardworking young man Mothi Singh, his wife, his kids and Mothi’s eternal trouble with a wild boar which had pledged to devour Mothi’s potato crops. This is a very interesting and at times funny chapter.
Pre Red Tape Days: This chapter talks about an interesting story which Corbett witnessed where Sir Frederick Anderson who is the superintendent of the Terai region was to pass judgment on a few issues in the neighboring villages
The Law of the Jungle: This chapter talks about Harkwar and Kunthi, the hardships they faced as poor laborers and the incident which made their life not worth living anymore.. They had two little children whom they left at home every day when they went out for work. Their hut was in dense forest and one day both kids went missing. The story is very touching and very engrossing as it shows the agony of the parents and the remarkable turn of fortunes when a buffalo rancher finds the kids in deep jungles after 3 days.
The Brothers: This is another touching tale of two brothers who go through a lot of adversity including an attack by a tiger. Jim narrates their affection for each other and the events that Jim and his sister Maggie were a part of.
Sultana: India’s Robin Hood: Sultana was the prince of thieves, he was a shadow figure, a hero for the less fortunate and ruthless killer for others. Jim became a part of the efforts of his friend Freddy in trying to catch this dacoit and in many occasions Jim came close to receiving a bullet or two. The chapter also dwells into stories related to Sultana, the horrors faced by some people who were subjected to his brutality and also the appreciation of others who regarded him as their king.
Loyalty: In this chapter Jim talks about his work as a fuel inspector in punjab and how he got to become a trans-shipment contractor at Mokameh Ghat. An interesting read overall.
Budhu: Budhu was of the depressed class and a landless laborer. He and his wife worked for Jim at Mokameh Ghat, however they were forced to show up to their village 2 – 3 months a year to work for a charlatan Zamindar for free who had tricked Budhu into getting his thumb prints on papers that made him a servant for life. Story has a nice ending.
Lalajee: Lalajee ended up at Mokameh Ghat as a dying man, he had caught Cholera and was in a near death state as he lay down next to river Ganges with one foot in the water. Jim took Lalaji and set him in a quarter where he learned that Lalaji was once a wealthy businessman who lost everything. Lalaji recovers and the turn of fortunes for Lalaji is a very interesting read indeed.
Chamari: I personally rate this story as the best story in the book. Chamari was a man of the depressed class. He and his wife came to Jim for work at the trans-shipment docks. Jim gave then the job but Chamari was too weak to do heavy labor. Jim found out that Chamari could read and write, so Jim hired him as his accountant. Chamari as it turned out was a man with a golden heart. He was a modern day example of “Karna” as he never refused a favor to anyone and no one left his house hungry. Chamari dies in the end due to cholera and receives a hero’s funeral. This is a very touching and deep story.
Life at Mokameh GhatGhat: Jim concludes his book with a short chapter on life at Mokameh Ghat, he talks about how the inter railway hockey and football games started, his efforts with Ram Saran in establishing a school, his nights out with his friend Kelly hunting birds, his encounter with a cobra in his bathroom and some other short yet interesting stories.
Final words: I have read this book many times and every time I found something un-expected and learned something new. The stories in this book are not just those of people who were a part of it but of every Indian. About 100 years ago, Jim has described India as a magnificent country with brave, honest and polite people. 100 years is only a fraction of the years of our glorious history but the past 100 years have seen the most dramatic changes in our land and our lifestyles. Ours is the most polite of all languages with the three distinctions while addressing others “Tu Tum and Aap” and history has called us time and again as the most intellectual and honest people. I just hope we strive to remain so and lead by example. This book is not just a collection of stories but a manual for our generation to visit our roots and instill ourselves with humility and compassion which the super fast and competitive lifestyle is trying to drain from us.