'Memoirs and Recollections of An Officer of the Indian Political Service' [‎28r] (55/156)

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spartan conditions of life in Bushire, she was rather taken aback by the reality.
However, by this time the hot weather was over and the days and nights were cool and
sometimes very cold. The Resident'and the other Europeans were kindness itself to the
young bride in their midst, and we were very happy in our first married home - the
minute eight-sided "Hashti". In January 1938 I was informed that I had been confirmed
in the Political Service, and simultaneously I was promoted Captain. A month or two
later, the Resident took us with him on tour to Khorramshahr (Abadan), Basra and
Kuwait. As far as Basra, we travelled in state on the 'slow mail'. To get to Kuwait,
we journeyed by hired taxi across the desert - an unforgettable experience as apart
from the occasional Bedouin and his camels, this was literally an expty quarter. I
remember too that, when we stopped for a picnic lunch, the Resident asked to be excused
and then walked away across the flat desert sand to rele^ve himself. My wife was a
little shocked!
In Kuwait we stayed at the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. as the guests of the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Major Gerald
de Gaury, a distinguished Arabist, whose later career took him to Iraq as advisor to
toJXtA/
King Faisal, until the 1 was murdered in the sixties. In those days petroleum, though
known to exist, had not yet been discovered in Kuwait. However, drilling was in
progress, and early one morning de Gaury took the Resident and us out into the desert
to the single experimental rig which was in operation. We were told by the engineers
that they hoped to penetrate the oil-bearing deposits that very day. We waited in
excited anticipation, and then suddently, something went wrong. The bit or bore on the
end of the drill had dropped off, and the operation came to an end. But for that, we
would surely have been in at the birth of the now world-famous oil fields of Kuwait,
which during the following year came on stream, eventually to produce the riches which
made this barren coastal Arab state one of the wonders of the world. Apart from this,
I chiefly remember the pearls, some natural and some black in colour, which were
offered quite openly for sale in the Kuwait bazaars. Alas! we could not afford even
to bargain with the vendors.
In the New Year, the Resident had me moved from the town office to work in his own
confidential office in the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. . This was far more interesting and congenial work,
and it gave me a close insight into the intricate political problems of the Gulf, both
on the Arab and on the Persian sides. In the capacity of his Personal Secretary, the
Resident took me with him on an extensive tour of the Sultanates and Sheikhdoms across
the other side. We were away perhaps three weeks travelling on 'HMS Bideford', one
of the Royal Navy's Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. sloops, under the command of Captain Eveleigh, R.N.
We first visited Bahrain (where oil had already been discovered and exploited some years
previously) and then Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Muscat. In those days, the