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| From Photos for Blog |
The above is one of the four pages of a letter sent to Peter from Dacca, East Bengal. It's from a friend of his, Dinah Stock, who's gone out to Pakistan to teach in a university. India/Pakistan received their independence from Britain on August 14, 1947 at which point the Indian/Pakistani federation was setup.
What makes this letter so fascinating is two things: (1) that it's Dinah's first letter from East Bengal, so it's full of incredibly rich description about her new home and (2) that it's written just a month after independence, so it gives a great glimpse into the Hindu/Muslim tension's of the time. Here's a few excerpts that were particularly rich:
Notice the comment about Ghandhi's fast, as well as the struggles of the new Pakistani government.
'I don't know that I have much to tell you about the situation here in general [...] You probably know as much as I do about the near breakdown of Government in the Punjab, and the recent [next page] resurrection of trouble in Calcutta just when everyone thought it was over, and Ghandhi's fast, which does seem to be stimulating the people of Calcutta to a desperate effort to regain control. Here in Dacca, none of these things are happening: there have been riots, but as far as I can observe, people are now anxious to live at peace with one another. But the town itself is in chaos because of the arrival of the East Pakistan Government with all the expansion that is bound to mean. Government officials are living in [?parapes]; houses are being requisitioned on all sides; bamboo huts are being run up to accommodate the clerical staff, and there's a shortage of building materials. I should think Dacca has got to become one ['one' added after wards with an editorial mark] of the biggest cities in India; but as far as I can observe no one has had time to do any planning; it is simply expanding at top speed as best it can.'
This one is about her new house help. I'm amazed by all he does - especially the taking care of the accounts at night. But, as a cultural insight, the fact that he spent his own money on new pots and pans is amazing.
'I live alone in a 3-roomed bungalow, and owe a great deal of the ease of life to my bearer, Abdul Huq. He comes at 7.30 in the morning, gets the breakfast, does the shopping (he knows a few words of English, so can consult me about it) cooks and tidies up and goes over the accounts every evening, and leaves after dinner - all for 60 rupees a month without food or sleeping quarters. His zeal for the honour of the house is great, and his methods sometimes rather high-handed: I paid him his month's wages and he promptly went and spent more than half of it on crockery which he thought no mem-sahib could do without, so of course I had to pay him back [?meekly].'
Then, lastly, is this great description of what she thinks of India. I've never been, but the way she writes makes in tangible:
'In spite of the hot and clammy weather (for the rainy season is excelling itself) there is a kind of beauty about this country. It is in the magnificent clouds and [?strange] [next page] changing lights in the sky, and the vivid green of the paddy fields and [?clumps] of sugar cane, and the [?gleam] of water everywhere and the slow movement of ox-carts and the bright check shirts of the men. '
After this, she talks about a 6 week holiday coming up where she thinks she might go to 'Darjeeling' to climb around in the foothills of the Himalayas. Made me smile because of Darjeeling Limited as well as this incredible picture in my mind of hiking around in the foothills of the Himalayas. It's amazing that that image of adventure captures my imagination now - 60 years after this letter was written.
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