This made me laugh at lunch today. From the chapter "Courtship and Marriage" from Women of the Raj: "Courting in India sometimes had features unknown [in England]. One young couple who were living in a wild part of India were accompanied everywhere by a Gurkha bodyguard; when they begged him to leave them alone for a few minutes, he simply grinned and sat down firmly with his knitting." ha ha! Imagine having a Gurkha bodyguard, who knits!This book is fabulous, if you have any interest in the British Raj (the period of English rule in India). I'm not always such a good nonfiction reader, I sheepishly admit. I can have the best of intentions, but often nonfiction just doesn't sustain my interest. There are exceptions, and this is one. It's fascinating. Tales of cobras falling through the thatch roof, and pianos being trampled by wild elephants, and dance hall girls marrying maharajas, and one stout old memsahib during the Mutiny who killed two attackers with a boar spear before being taken down herself! I'm really not sure why I am so fascinated with the Raj, but I am, and that's it, my feeble excuse for a post today. Cheers!
2 comments:
This brought back memories for me of when my bodyguard, Daj, used to hula hoop upside down on our ceiling and whenever we would be traveling between New Delhi and other places by train he would knit us little tea tea cozies with cupcake-gulping buffaloes and such. He was sooooo talented Laizi, and you would have gotten along with him so freaky peachy. You would have been joined at the elbow.
p.s. I just got off the phone with Jimbobutt- I'm at the Apple store right now using their display computer and you can tell him my new power cord set me back EIGHTY DOLLARS!!! I'm so p.o.'d but its $80 or my pinky trapped in tape-cord and I need my pinky for many, many things so I'm biting the bullet~!
Okay, could Alexandra be more freakin' HILARIOUS?!! Every time I read a comment of hers, I laugh out loud. And that's saying a lot.
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