'A Grandfather's Tale: Memoirs being mainly concerned with service in the Indian Army and the Indian Political Service in India and the Persian Gulf from 1932-1947' [‎23v] (46/118)

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Karachi, being by the sea, was comparatively cool and we had a
pleasant two days there before boarding the S. S. Chakdina, the British
India Gulf steamer. It was a small ship of about 3,000 tons, and we were
the only first-class passengers. Gulf steamers were mainly concerned with
carrying cargo and deck passengers from port to port, and European
passengers were few and far between, particularly in the weeks leading up
to the Monsoon and during the Monsoon itself.
At the time I left the Regiment in November 1936 I dad promised
Kama Singh Gurung, my Gurkha Orderly, that when he went on pension about
two years later, I would take him on as my personal servant. He retired
early in 1939 after fifteen years' service, and had joined me in Agra a
month before my posting to Rajkot, and before I had any idea I was to move
so soon. I had therefore let my Muslim Bearer Nur Din go on leave to his
home in the Kangra Valley, Punjab, and when I went to Rajkot and was living
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. , I only needed one personal servant so Nur Din's leave was
extended. In the end, with much regret, I had to pay Nur Din off, particularly
as he was not keen to leave India for Persia. Kama Singh had never been
out of India before but was game to try anything and go anywhere. When,
however, we hit very rough weather soon after leaving Karachi he had his
moments of doubt and said plaintively "I want to get off!" But after a day
or so he soon recovered, and began to take an interest in life at sea.
We touched at Gwadar, a small enclave and port belonging to Muscat,
but °n the Mekran coast of Southern Baluchistan, and from thence went across
the Gulf of Oman to Muscat itself. Muscat harbour is enclosed between high
cliffs and on them were carved or painted the names of all the British men-
of-war that had visited the port during the last hundred years or so. We
went ashore in the afternoon to call on the British 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. , who
was then Tom Hickinbotham, and were a little surprised to be kept waiting
at least twenty minutes before he came out on to the verandah of his house
to see us. He seemed very off-hand at first but when I explained who we
were all was sweetness and light. It transpired that he had recently been
plagued with a series of importunate missionaries of various nationalities,
all seeking to borrow money which there was no likelihood of their returning,
and he had wrongly jumped to the conclusion that we were on the same errand.
He was a great character, and had spent much of his service in Aden and the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ,a lifelong bachelor. A year or so later he was transferred
from Muscat to Bahrain when Sheikh Hamad, the grandfather of the present
ruler, was still alive. Sheikh Hamad had four wives, each of whom had her
separate house and establishment, and when the Sheikh spent the night with
one of them the lucky lady hoisted a Bahraini flag to shew her lord was in
residence. Normally European men, even Political Agents, did not come into
contact with the Sheikhas but Hamad's senior wife, Ayesha, was a formidable
G&dy and conceived a great liking for Mr. Tom Botham as she called him, and
insisted on his taking tea with her, and on that occasion she hoisted the
union jack much to the amusement of the European community.
it From Muscat we sailed on to Bahrain which we were later to know so
well, and called on Hugh Weightman, 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. there, and then