{"id":30,"date":"2014-10-27T23:13:05","date_gmt":"2014-10-27T23:13:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vengrai.com\/?p=30"},"modified":"2014-10-27T23:13:05","modified_gmt":"2014-10-27T23:13:05","slug":"british-fat-cats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vengrai.com\/?p=30","title":{"rendered":"British Fat-cats"},"content":{"rendered":"

____________________<\/span><\/p>\n

BRITISH FAT CATS<\/p>\n

-by\u00a0<\/span>Ven Parthsarthy<\/a>\u00a0Wednesday, April 02, 2008<\/span><\/p>\n

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This story has been read 280 times.<\/b><\/div>\n

<\/a>\"\"<\/div>\n

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\"Blog<\/a>\u00a0Blog this story<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0BRITISH FAT CATS\u2026..by\u00a0\u00a0Vengrai Parthasarathy<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0 The tides of history washed\u00a0 away the legacies \u00a0of British rule\u00a0 in India on August 15, 1947. Those were days when Indians meekly accepted the status of \u00a0\u00a0\u2018Subject of His Majesty the King\u2019\u2019 before being rousted by Gandhiji. John Bull is the collective nickname given to \u2018typical Englishmen\u2019. \u00a0Many of them who served here\u00a0 belonged to the ICS cadre,\u00a0 which Mr .S.Satyamurthy, the combative Parliamentarian, facetiously termed as being \u2019neither\u00a0 Indian, nor civil nor a service.Some incidents about English \u00a0officers are worth recalling.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 One of the perks which government staff\u00a0 enjoyed \u00a0\u00a0in the hey-days of the British was \u2018Casual Absence\u2019 which enabled employees to come late \u00a0or go early from work. for \u00a0\u00a0religious reasons, such as\u00a0\u00a0Ekadasi, Amavasya, Sankranthi, Eclipse .\u00a0<\/i>Taking advantage of the ignor -ance of the English Collector about these observances, a loveably \u00a0cantankerous \u00a0head clerk\u00a0 one Mr. Jambunath \u00a0took leave of \u00a0absence \u00a0whenever he felt like it \u00a0on the excuse of \u00a0marjala prasavam,\u00a0<\/i>\u00a0which the\u00a0 boss thought was one of those Hindu ceremonies. This was going on rather frequently \u00a0and one day, when confronted, he told the Collector, tongue in cheek, that it had \u00a0to do with\u00a0 planetary \u00a0dispositions \u00a0and was observed with fasting.. The Collector swallowed the story hook, line and sinker..<\/p>\n

\u00a0 On the last day of his tenure in India, the Collector was given a farewell party a number of speakers \u00a0spoke. Jambu, in his speech, first \u00a0laid it out with a trowel , \u00a0flattering the Collector in hyperbolic terms..\u00a0 Then, \u00a0knowing \u00a0nothing\u00a0 more was expected from the retiring\u00a0 Collector, he\u00a0 told the people there\u00a0 how he had hoodwinked the boss and went on to\u00a0 explain that\u00a0\u00a0marjala prasavam\u00a0<\/i>\u00a0literally meant\u00a0 \u2018 Delivery\u00a0 or Childbirth of \u00a0Cat\u2019, Somewhat flushed \u00a0in the face \u00a0and showing but a faint glimmer of anger , the English- man \u00a0joined the merriment. \u00a0When his turn came to thank he said that he had received an important \u00a0\u00a0telegram that day from London. about\u00a0 which he had not told them because \u00a0he did not want to throw cold water on their enthusiasm by cance- ling\u00a0 the engagement. Moreover, he added, with a nod and a\u00a0 wink at Jambu \u00a0 that \u00a0he wanted to hear what his staff thought of him. He had received orders asking him to stay on and send proposals for reducing the staff. of \u00a0that office since overheads were getting out of control. Jambu\u2019s face was blanched, as if all \u00a0blood had been drained out of it. There was an eloquent silence all round. After the party, when boarding the car he told\u00a0 Jambu \u2019It was my turn to pull your leg; I was just joking!\u2019
\nThe next \u00a0tale concerns an Indian ICS officer, one of \u00a0those \u00a0toady \u00a0types who knew how to say \u2018Yes, Sir\u2019 in fourteen lan- guages to his English bosses. One time, he was entertaining his English boss at his home for Tea . When the latter\u2019s \u00a0father \u00a0happened to pass them in the drawing room, \u00a0he \u00a0overheard \u00a0his son referring to him as the cook of the family. \u00a0The westernized son was ashamed of his\u00a0 orthodox, dhoti-clad father who was\u00a0 a retired teacher. with tuft and vibhoothi..When the time came for the boss to take leave the father, unexpectedly made his appearance, gave a \u2018Namasthe\u2019 with folded hands and told the white man with a straight face, \u2018 I am the cook here. I enjoy many privileges and a special privilege I get is that I sleep with his mother\u201d, he said pointing to his son. The son had nowhere to go and hide!
\nAnd then there was this Judge notorious for his\u00a0 cutting manner of insulting Indian lawyers.. On one occasion he went beyond bounds and snubbed a prominent lawyer \u00a0\u00a0known for his courtly manners and self- esteem. Mr.T.Rangachariar, the lawyer in question, who had considerable clout \u00a0being\u00a0 Deputy President of the Indian Legislative Assembly, \u00a0walked out \u00a0in protest and ignored the judge\u2019s invitation \u00a0to his chambers for patching up.. Rangachariar insisted on and got the apology in the same open court where he was insulted.
\n(Vengrai.com)<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

____________________ BRITISH FAT CATS -by\u00a0Ven Parthsarthy\u00a0Wednesday, April 02, 2008 This story has been read 280 times. \u00a0Blog this story \u00a0BRITISH FAT CATS\u2026..by\u00a0\u00a0Vengrai Parthasarathy \u00a0 The tides of history washed\u00a0 away the legacies \u00a0of British rule\u00a0 in India on August 15, 1947. Those were days when Indians meekly accepted the status of \u00a0\u00a0\u2018Subject of His Majesty… <\/p>\n

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