Jewel in the Crown
The British came to India initially as traders. The consolidation of British power in India involved many wars and much intrigue with the battle of Plassey in 1757 and ending with the great mutiny of 1857. In 1857 India was made a dominion and a part of the British Empire. India had once been a far away place but in Victoria's reign the Steam Ship and the Suez Canal changed that. The contrast of poverty and splendor attracted the British to a colonial way of life which consisted of bungalows and verandas and the swinging Punkahs, the British brought England with them and in the hill stations of India the Churches, Towers and Malls reflected the British way of life. There were Royal Hunts, Open Air, Picnics, Dances, tent Pegging and Pig sticking. They had cantonments in which the bungalows with their extensive servants and the inevitable clubs mirrored the life of English country. Some of the English Officers adapted a Lucknow style of dressing and performance by nautch girls.
King George V as Prince of Wales piggybacking to cross stream in Hyderabad during his visit in 1903.
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Troops marching.
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The hill stations were created to escape the stifling heat of the Indian plains to the coolness of mountains. The club was a British invention meant to create a separate standard for the British officers and to have separation of classes. The British felt that the Indians needed discipline and organization with which they had united India under one rule and given a way of life consisting of English Law Courts, English Schools and Colleges, Hospitals and Administration which enabled the British to rule India.
Hunting Party: The Grand Duke Alexandar of Russia on the steps (right) of the Falaknuma Palace, 1891.
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The Prince of Wales at a Shikar Party, 1876.
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