Recollections of a Busy Life: Being the Reminiscences of a Liverpool Merchant 1840-1910Forwood, William Bower, Sir
History
Recollections of a Busy Life: Being the Reminiscences of a Liverpool Merchant 1840-1910
Forwood, William Bower, Sir
Forwood, William Bower, Sir, 1840-1928; Merchants -- England -- Liverpool -- Biography
There is no scenery in India until we reach the hills, which occupy a
considerable area in the Madras presidency, and margin the whole of the
North-West. Central and Southern India are vast plains. The grandest
mountain view in the world is that of the Himalayas, from Darjeeling.
Darjeeling stands at an elevation of 7,000 to 8,000 feet, on the foot
hills of the Himalayas, about forty miles from "Kinchin Junga," which is
the centre of one of the highest ranges. In the foreground are several
deep valleys, usually filled with clouds. Looking over these, a further
great bank of clouds appears high up in the heavens. On closer
examination we begin to see they are not clouds; their opaque, snowy
whiteness and their sharp peaks and serrated edges tell us that this is
a range of mountains. "Kinchin Junga" stands in the centre, with an
altitude of 28,000 feet, but in this mighty mountain group there is no
mountain less than 24,000 feet, and not one of these has been scaled by
man. On a clear evening, when the setting sun throws its roseate rays
over the snows, no view can be more sublime and beautiful. Away on the
west they dip down into Nepaul, and on the extreme right the deep
indentation marks the pass by which the British troops entered Tibet.
[Illustration: THE HIMALAYAS FROM DARJEELING.
IN THE CENTRE, KINCHIN JUNGA, 28,180 FEET.]
We do not travel to India to see scenery, but Oriental life: the
splendours of Agra and Delhi, the pilgrim city of Benares, and the
silent, deserted cities of Fatehpur Sikri and Amber, all rich in
historical records of the great Mogul kings, who for so many centuries
held sway in India. It is only by seeing these places that one can form
some idea of the magnificence and splendour which surrounded these
monarchs, which has never been surpassed.
[Illustration: AGRA--THE TAJ MAHAL.
THE MARBLE TOMB, ERECTED BY THE EMPEROR SHAH JEHAN, IN MEMORY OF HIS
WIFE, A.D. 1648.]
While we were in India we saw the beginnings of that unrest which has
caused so much anxiety and has led to those outrages which the best
Indians must deplore. We have in promoting education in India forgotten
that there is but a limited opening for mere students, and in the
absence of fitting occupation they become agitators. We ought to train
the young men for some definite calling as agriculturists, engineers, or
mechanics.
We also thought that the Europeans in India hold themselves too much
aloof from the educated Indians. Caste prevents any great intimacy, but
more might be done to bridge this over.
With small and reasonable concessions to native ambition, but, above
all, with that firmness of administration which alone appeals to the
Oriental mind, the present feeling of unrest will pass away, and India
will continue to pursue that remarkable development and progress which
have done so much for the happiness and well-being of her people.
LORD CLIVE.
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