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Plain Tales from the Raj

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Charles Allen's collection of stories about the British Raj in India by those who lived it is a wonderful insight into an often turbulent period of both British and Indian history. With first-hand accounts by the men an women who were a part of the Raj, Allen presents us with a kalidescope of exactly how it was in India in the early part of the 20th century. Whilst many of the eyewitnesses offer a typical British upper class view, there are wonderful descriptions of everyday life in village India. We are also presented with a glimpse of the moral standards of those who lived in the hill stations during the hot Indian summer and one can only surmise that with the passing of time, not much has changed. Kipling would have been proud of this broad panoramic view of the land he loved and wrote about with such affection. The cassette version is a sheer delight and is worth more than one listening. A must for any Indiophile or lover of Kipling.

A gem of a book! Too often, stories of the experience of imperialism are scrubbed to fit in with more modern sensibilities instead of staying true to the authentic tale. This book is glorious for the truth of the voices and the attitudes, morals and viewpoints that were the norm for the time. Invaluable to understanding what life was really like, and what motivated those who were the Raj. This was a wonderful read, completely free from political correctness and censorship. Finally a book that seemed to tell the tale as it was. The book flows well, the stories are engaging, the language is crisp and clear, and valuable information is present on every page. There is no attempt to portray the people as anything other than who they were, they are allowed to tell their own stories. I'm very thankful that someone realised how valuable this material would be to future generations and took the steps to capture it while it was still available.

Pithy though this book is it will keep you glued and captivated. British individuals who were masters or participants in Colonial India talk frankly about what it was really like. Many of the people featured in this book like Deborah Dring, Reginald Savory and Philip Mason (who also introduces the volume) would now be dead. The voices were recorded for radio in the mid 1970s. Now the memoirs resurface like something out of a faraway fairytale.

Charles Allen, now getting on himself was originally put in charge of the recordings for a BBC radio series documenting the period of Colonial India between 1900 and 1948 from then living witnesses to a bygone age by Philip Mason. Thank goodness that Mason had the courage to launch this project which was regarded as somewhat politically incorrect even then. Allen is much suited to the task as the heir to a British family that lived and worked in Colonial India over several generations.

The stories reveal a peculiar breed - the very caricature of the English as they once were putting up an even more formal front than they would have at home as the rulers of India - few in number but ruling by prestige. Every part of the book reveals character, humour or history with priceless aphorisms spoken in true English style:

"You get these burning plains right across India, fifteen hundred miles of them, absolutely flat with revisers wandering through them fed by the snows, and behind them the greatest range of mountains in the world. You gradually go up from tropical ... climbs, through European and Alpine flora until you get right up into the snows. I don't think there is anything in life which is such a relief and such a physical delight as going from the heat of the plains in the hot weather up into the mountains"

This is just the tip of an iceberg of a series of sensational real life recordings, but there is more leaving aside some nice photographs, cartoons and sketches reproduced from period material. There are quotations from books such as by Maud Diver from her "The Englishwoman in India" 1909 and bits from period material:

"It is clearly to be understood that no one except on duty is allowed to accompany him and in no circumstances whatever are any ladies allowed to proceed to the border" (from a travel permit).

Practically every aspect of Indian Colonial life is examined up and down the hierarchy from the Viceroy down to corporals and Anglo Indians of mixed blood - though the book leaves you yearning for more - it is not an exhaustive treatment thankfully. We get a great sense for the climate, the "subjects", the pace of life, flirtation, gardening, travel and the rituals associated with that once prominent institution the Club. We look into the army barracks and the Mess -with some men deprived of women for five to seven years and how they bore it, and into the endless parties at Simla in Summer . There are also accounts of the profligacy of the times such as sport, hunts and shoots and the snobbery and segregation that accompanied Colonial life altering through the decades. However, with their power, the British seemed to have dispensed their responsibilities with aplomb - it was a miracle that they did so for so long.

This past best-seller is a must for those who wish to understand the English and Colonial India - it will deserve repeat readings and sharing with friends. A vital reference - precursor to famous TV dramatisations like "Jewel in the Crown".

BBC compiled this book with interviews from 60 Brits who had lived in India while it was still a British colony. India -- the jewel in the crown of the British empire --was deep in the consciousness of British society and generations of young, ambitious Brits sallied off to India to make their careers as civil servants, soldiers, merchants, or missionaries.

The book is organized by themes in each chapter. A chapter on households describes the homes and servants the British had, "The Club" tells of that famous British institution transferred to the sub-continent, "Hazard and Sport" is about polo, hunting, tennis, and pig-sticking. Every aspect of life in India is taken up in 21 chapters. It was not an easy life for the colonials, but it was impossibly exotic, witness the popularity of writers such as Rudyard Kipling and Somerset Maugham. Rigid British notions of race and class fit well with Indian caste laws; otherwise India was as different from Great Britain as it could possibly be. That the colonial enterprise was rotten at the core was concealed by stiff upper lips and a government that was "probably the most incorruptible ever known."

"Plain Tales" includes a brief biography of each of the interviewees who represent a cross section of British society in India and a glossary of Anglo Indian words (pukka = proper). This book presents a bird's eye view of the life of British subjects in India and their interaction with their unwilling Indian hosts, the environment, and their fellows. It's all a really fascinating tale. And, finally, in 1947 when the British had to go, they threw their topees -- those ridiculous cork hats -- into the sea and returned to England and Home.

Smallchief

I read this book long ago, which I picked from the pavement book seller
in Delhi. I read and reread it. Since I have lived as a child with anglo Indians in Central India "Dongargarh" a Railway colony, I could relate to stories easily. I am Angloindiaphile Indian and I admired chalres effort of preserving bygone era. Loved reading this book. DR Pardaman Singh Nagi

If a first-time traveler heading for New Delhi tomorrow could take only one book on the plane, and had already enjoyed Passage to India, Burmese Days and The Jewel in The Crown to name a few, this reader would recommend "Plain Tales of the Raj" for the journey. This authentic and fascinating short oral history, a collection of reminiscences relayed by the Survivors of the Raj in the early 70's, and wonderfully edited by the author Charles Allen, tells it all. Beautifully executed, this book leaves few "cobras" hiding under stones in the blazing sun of India as generations of Britons go marching on through nearly three centuries of its territory and history, leaving their foot-steps in the dusty paths of both glory and poverty laced with royalty in this ancient civilization until Independence takes place in the Summer of 1947. The anecdotes to be found here are priceless at times, causing some good laughs in nearly all of the twenty-one brief chapters while intermingled with some very sobering passages as well. The tone of the interviewed narrators remains moderate throughout as they look back in hindsight, leaving one enchanted and moved with feelings of nostalgia for this mystical bygone era. But, perhaps it is Philip Mason, an active participant of the Raj and falcon-eye observer of this time in history, who summed it up best in the introduction of "Plain Tales" when he said: "No one who wasn't there will ever really understand what it was like - but this book may be a step on the way towards understanding", and he was right. Brilliant and enjoyable, it is irresistible on all accounts.

Despite the fact that I am a little over 3/4 through the book,"PLAIN TALES FROM THE RAJ" Images of British India in the Twetieth Century; as edited by Charles Allen, I can safely say:..... "Magnificient!"

"Pith helmets, oppressive heat, ball room dances, Calcutta women, and Bombay Gin...Here's to all who were there...cherio and chin chin chin!!"

If, you even have but an inkling of interest in the history of India, and or Great Britain...you need to read this book about real stories and real people. A superb book....an outstanding read!

just plain excellant,with a mason foreward to boot should be on every shelf on lndian history the final chapters were the best....thanks

This is the first book of a trilogy based on the personal and recorded accounts of residents of the British Empire between the world wars and the closing stages of British rule. This book is on India, the sequel on Africa is "Tales from the Dark Continent", and the third on the magical lands of the Far East is "Tales from the South China Seas". These books are edited extracts from the British Broadcasting Company Radio archives. Charles Allen, the `oral historian' for the series was himself born (1940) in India to a family of six generations who served in the British Raj.

Each of the chapters (of all the books in the series) are edited narrations from BBC radio 4 interviews with the actual raconteurs. Many of them, if not most, are now gone of course, so these works form their last true oral history.

Despite our rather jaundiced modern view of imperialism these fascinating accounts show some of the very positive benefits of realistically benevolent government. These voices from an imperial past offer insights into the motivation of the British Raj in India, including a sense of giving service, great courage and leadership and of personal sacrifices. But they also reveal the class-ridden lifestyle of relative luxury that was perhaps at the core of the eventual resentment and strengthening of the Indian emotional need for independence.

I know people often say, "I couldn't put it down"...but literally I could not put this book down! Wonderfully written, a classic! Found a used copy as it was first published in 1975...definitely worth the search. Oral histories woven into an incredible tapestry of British life in India between 1900 and 1947.

Historian/Author Lady Antonia Fraser: "One of the most enjoyable books I have read...It is an authentic record of the survivors of British India...a book which takes on where Kipling left off...Informative, funny and deeply touching"