Dear fellow members
Before I ask the question, may I quote the paragraph from "The miracle
of Purun Bhagat".
The last time he had come this way it had been in state, with a
clattering cavalry escort, to visit the gentlest and most affable of
Viceroys; and the two had talked for an hour together about mutual
friends in London, and what the Indian common folk really thought of
things. This time Purun Bhagat paid no calls, but leaned on the rail of
the Mall, watching that glorious view of the Plains spread out forty
miles below, till a native Mohammedan policeman told him that he was
obstructing traffic; an Purun Bhagat salaamed reverently to the Law,
because he knew the value of it, and was seeking for a Law of his own.
I lived in Simla for year, and celebrated my sixteenth birthday there.
I have to tell you that the Plains, as stated in the above paragraph,
are not visible from Simla. My mother and father have confirmed this.
One only has to look at a map of the area to see that Simla has forty
miles or so of foothills between it and the Plains. I can tell you
that Purun Bhagat could not have possibly seen the Plains from the
Mall. No way! However, I went to school in Mussoorie, another hill
station, when I was 9 years of age. The Plains are clearly visible from
there. (Look at a map). Perhaps Kipling, who wrote this story when he
was in America, confused the two. I would welcome comment from the
members on this subject.
Cheerio and all the best
Robbie White
Western Australia
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