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Kasauli May 1893
The heat was relentless. The Loo gained strength, blowing from the south west spawning dust devils which pirouetted across the parched, vast plains of North West India. In a shimmering fandango they vanished as quickly as they appeared.
It was May 1893, the Monsoon would soon arrive
The land rose to the north in Himachal Pradesh as the plains gave way to the foothills of the Himalayas. Garrisons were established at these higher elevations so that Europeans could escape the debilitating effects of the summer heat. The snow-capped mountains provided a majestic backdrop to these patches of little England
Kasauli was an inferior Hill Station as its elevation was only 6,000ft compared with the nearby, far grander and cooler, Simla at 7,500ft
It was stifling in the small gloomy Garrison Hospital. The hubbub of hawkers, buffalo carts and horses could be clearly heard and the temperature outside was already in the mid 90’s
It was the 10th May, a strong, healthy baby boy with bright blue eyes had just been born.
A man in the uniform of a Sergeant Bandmaster of the 5th Lancers was looking down at him. He was an unprepossessing weather-beaten man with a large droopy moustache and striking grey eyes. His face…
