'Memoirs and Recollections of An Officer of the Indian Political Service' [‎37r] (73/156)

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at Rajpipla had become famous, and invitations to them were much sought-after. Sadly,
those days of 1939 were the last of the series. Austerity now became the order of the
day.
Gisela, our German nurse, continued to render us exemplary service as a children s
nanny, but her position and ours became increasingly embarrassing after the evacuation
from Dunkirk, and the subsequent Battle of Britain. It became impossible for the
authorities to maintain the fiction that Danzig was neutral territory. Gisela was
cold-shouldered by the other nannies of Abuy and people were even heard to say that
we were harbouring an enemy alien. So, after she had been with us for about a year,
her neutrality was rescinded, and she was removed to the official ’parole centre' at
Belgaum, where she remained with the other Axis and Japanese internees until the end
of the war in Europe. For a long time we sent her parcels and exchanged correspondence,
but gradually it ceased; we have never since heard what became of her. However, we
owe her a debt of gratitude for the care and skill she devoted to the bringing up of
our son.
During the winter months of 1939 and 1940, I - and occasionally my wife also - were
lucky enough to be taken by the Resident on his tours to some of the numerous Rajputan^
States. Thus we visited Udaipur, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Bharatpur, Kotah, Bundi,
Alwar and Danta, a minute state where I shot a panther. My work in Abu gave rise to
strange problems, for instance during the hot weather of 1940, there was a prolonged
drought in this part of India. Drinking water in Abu in those days came from a number
of deep wells, and was delivered to the population by water carts or carried round in
animal skins by bullocks and by the 'bhisties'. One or two of the richer householders
and the single hotel had their own artesian wells, as did the military camp, where
one hundred or so British troops would spend short spells in rotation from the
cantonements in the plains. But pure drinking water became so scarce that, as Chairman
of the Municipal Committee, I was compelled to ration it, and to prosecute persons who
clandestinely drew more than their share from the few remaining good wells. I should
add that the lake water was too polluted to drink although the Hindu pilgrims who
frequented the Temples on its banks paid no heed to our warnings. What we chiefly
feared was an outbreak of water-borne disease, such as cholera. Fortunately, there was
no such outbreak, but I myself incurred considerable odium as the author of the
onerous and, to some people, uncalled-for restrictions.