GOPAL BABA Charles Johnston April 1889. We first saw Gopal Baba on an early April morning, while the grass and trees of Berhampore Square were still white with dew, sparkling in the yellow radiance of the dawn. Verochka and I were wending homeward toward our barrack bungalow, from a walk along the high embankment of the Bhagirathi, replenished now by the first melting of Himalayan snows. I have a fancy that, crowned with huge helmets of white sola pith,... Read more
HOW THE NAWAB’S ARMY WAS KIDNAPPED Charles Johnston April 1, 1889. “Huzoor!” said the corporal of the Treasury guard in that ridiculously squeaky voice of his, as he saluted with an air of respectful apprehension; “the men of the Nizam Bahadur are at the door.” “Very good,” I answered. “Are we all ready for them, Babu?” “Quite ready, sir,” said Dinanath Babu, the Treasurer. We were seated at the table in the Treasury chamber, which was abominably hot and... Read more
SAINT APRIL It was just around the time that Johnston was studying for his Sanskrit examinations when he wrote “Sanskrit Study In The West.”[1] It is also possible that he met Harvard Sanskritist, Charles Rockwell Lanman.[2] Given Johnston’s theory of language, and the use of the term “Mussulmani-Bengali,” it is likely that he also discussed the theory of language with the Nawab’s private secretary, Khondkar Fazl Rubbee. A man of “exemplary fortitude,” Rubbee was a man well-regarded by his... Read more
SANSKRIT EXAMINATION Charles Johnston March 1889. In every case, the British Indian government has followed the principle of conservation. The religious code belonging to each community has been confirmed, and family affairs, questions of marriage and succession and so forth, are regulated for each community according to its own religious laws. Thus we dispense to Hindus the precepts of Manu; Muslims have their inheritance cases decided according to the doctrines of the Qur’an; for Parsis, the Zoroastrian regulations are... Read more
BERHAMPORE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY The ascendency of the Bhadra Lok created a social ecology in Bengal curious about Western scholarship, including Western occultism. Mriganka Mukhopadhay, the leading scholar in the Theosophical Movement in Bengal, who has written much on the subject, states that the first Bengali to become a member of the Theosophical Society was Peary Chandra Mitra (a prominent member of the Young Bengal movement) in 1877. Mitra, an entrepreneur, journalist, and founding member of British Indian Society,... Read more
ANGLO INDIA Tuite-Dalton took his leave of absence in late-February/early-March. His replacement, John Gerald Ritchie (1853-1921,) soon arrived with his wife, Margie, and their infant daughter, Theo.[1] John Gerald Ritchie (1853-1921) was born in Calcutta. The son of William Ritchie, Advocate General of Bengal. In 1859, his mother took him and his brother back to Europe, where they lived with their aunts in Paris. In 1862 he entered a private boarding school, Whitnash Rectory, Warwickshire, and then Winchester School... Read more
WHO SOWS SESAME REAPS SESAME Charles Johnston February 1889. The Nawab sent us one of his carriages, a big barouche with a fine pair of “Walers,” what we of Anglo-India call the big-boned steeds from New South Wales. Our kindly Muslim nobleman always sent for his visitors. And we, who helped to govern India, might, if need were, borrow a carriage, or an elephant or two, or a horse. But there must be no presents, save only fruit... Read more
MAHARANI SWARNAMOYEE One of the first acts of official business Johnston was assigned, was overseeing a land purchase by the Maharani Swarnamoyee (1827–1897.) A household name in Bengal, Swarnamoyee was “synonymous with all that is noble and good in woman.” Her generous donations for the purposes of education (particularly education of women,) and social services (which benefited everyone, regardless of caste and creed,) endeared her to many. Her charitable donations extended to the Theosophical Society. As soon as Blavatsky... Read more
THE PAVANE OF AN INDIAN DYNASTY Johnston turned twenty-two on February 17, 1889. He and Verochka likely attended the opening of the Murshidabad Exhibition ten days later, on February 27, 1889.[1] The event was hosted by the Nawab in the Mubarak Manzil, a mansion in his family’s possession. The Nawab had taken great interest in the Murshidabad Exhibition from the beginning.[2] A generous philanthropist, the Nawab recently made a donation of Rs. 2,000 toward the construction of Lady Dufferin’s... Read more
THE DAGHEE Charles Johnston Mid-February 1889. Who would have thought there was a woman in the case? “Who is he, Babu?” The old man was squatting on the ground behind his tile, looking up at us with a glint of fire in his eyes. He was not like the rest of our tame Bengali jail-birds. Not only was his face different—wide cheekbones, olive skin, eyes a bit oblique—but there was a vigorous, breezy air about him: big mountains and... Read more
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