'THIM DAYS IS GONE' [‎17r] (33/248)

for married o f f i cers^and ^ . ^0* ™ ^ h ° USeS in tt ’ eir own gardens
PF""- '-f''"""f"tr"”."a t r p “~v; r r d s ,
S; r .'.",%V"-, b Co-*.“ 6i ,; ' na ,a ,or ,Be (^'"c'o.’do 0 /
Hemp which they were sopposed’to dr ("nV-'"a'no'' ’t,Tame f to ^tpam
considering the nature of their occupation) to climb in order tn
remove the 'welsh hats' and their contents from the commodes
They were said to classify those they served as haziri - oahlis
Kabhi r Kahhi b s r V kfaSterS) i' , Haz’ri-bads (after BVeak f as t er s )
Kabhi-K abhis (occasion a 1s) and Kabhi nahins (nevers). They could
ranir~and file on the health
give oracu 1 ar pronouncements to the
and probable temper of their officers!
However the aroma of the pines was delicious and the chorus of
the cicadas at sundown almost deafening. The air was clear anH
h P ::r;f e ^e b p r i a a C in n s 9 . and 1t Was difncu1t t0 r —stifnng
Iave 0 ns y an°f' em ^ 1 . ' ma fl ’ o e) for the battery commander was how to
tra?n^nn Lhi 0 " 1 dy ’ n9 ° f boredom - A Pa r t from the usual parades
training, endless games, and education classes our only function
was to march half way to Simla, unload the guns and point them in
that direction, and fire a salute in honour of each Indian PMnre
on his arrival in the summer capital. The salutes ranned frnm
guns for His Exalted Highness the Nizam of Hyderabad to 9 for the
"yi"" 1 o ' t, ' e , ‘ j * s - •"« *'«>* co°J,// r t s h e ;
However we did organise a polo team the next year and
wice weekly at Annandale - the delightful but undersized
set amongst the deodars several hundred feet below Simla
most enjoyable not least because we were playing against
officers from Army Headquarters and civilian luminaries
government whose chair-bound existence ill fitted them to
with the young and active!
p1ayed
ground
It was
senior
of the
compete
Physically, therefore, we were not un-exercised but thi*
existence made negligible demands on our minds and’ I beoan tn
u pect h.t anyone who could tolerate this level o? i nte1lectu 1
inactivity for years must be of limited mental powers or perhaos
just bone lazy. My way out was to take to the study of Indian
everv a9 a e ft W ’ th the h a' P ° f 3 teacher - ^0 would come ^for an hour
StanrtarH ft F 00n ’ f • and • ,n 1933 1 l,lani, 9 ed to pass the Higher
stand ard Examinations in both Urdu and Pashtu.
?nt J'° nt V nU '"J 1 - these studies, I subsequently added first class
StanH^H d PS - in UrdU> Persi ^ and Arabic, and a Higher
Standard in Panjabi. Not only did this immensely increase the
derived from one's life in the country
in r a n j a o i .
interest, and enjoyment, ,,
but brought in cash rewards
which
1 7
- • U M l I jr f
were a not ineonsiderab1e