THE GREAT DURBAR.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1341, 19 January 1912, Page 6

THE GREAT DURBAR.

SOME BRILLIANT SCENES. A MAGNIFICENT TENTED CITY. (BV KEV. FREDERICK STUBBS.) Delhi, December f>, 1911. All is hurry, bustle, and excitement in Delhi just now, for this week Delhi receives her King-Emperor, and the princes nnd rulers of all India, accompanied by their retinues, have assembled to do him homage. The principal thoroughfares aro ■filled with vehicles and pedestrians, policemen, and troops. Every now nnd again.the firing of ennnon announces the * nrrivn'l of some prince or ruling chief or .Lient.-Govcrnor. and then a gorgeous carriage comes dashing along the middle of the road, preceded and followed by troops in brilliant uniform.' Everywhere men are "at work oiling and rolling the roads, decorntiug hou>es, creeling standsEverywhere, are crowds'of men. women, and children sightseeing. At.the corners of the streets are men selling the viands aiid sweetmeats beloved of the .natives. In the bazaars the shops are 'surfeited, "with goods of every kind, which the salesman hopes to palm off ou (he stranger within (he gates a(. an exorbitant i>rice. The cost.of everything-has risen: in f.onie cases to an almost incredible extent. To get.nno's liair cut in the, camp costs four shillings! The. "cabs", of. various kinds are all authorised to raise their fares, and for a. journey uf lbs .than half a mile a "cab" driver asked me four shil-]iiig'v-iu ordinary, times he would be content :'with fourpence. For the most trifling objects a rupee (Is. Id.) is asked. Even the camp railway has doubled its fares, and, as for the hotels and restaurants, they nnist be simply coining money. Never in my life before have f heard of such sums as arc now being chargd. A friend of nvino, who last year paid 10s. a day, is now paying .£0 (is., per day at the same hotel, and. thinks himself for- ' tuirnto to,get a room at that price. At ii neighbouring hotel .CS per. day, or J;55 per week is charged. For a small tont from JCa 2s. to £8 Bs. per day" is • being paid. For a bottle of ginger, beer, I 1 was' yesterday asked Is. Id. What the price of a bottle of 'Bass or clarot would be, I dont know (which says something'for i . my' abstemious habits), ] anil drirc not guess. It is oiily fair to'say, however, that some of the restaurant-keepers,' hairdressers, etc., have to:i)by:'a.-heavy ground rent during the Durbar,, whilst in (he case of the nnist highly-priced .-hotel?; ..the' «<e or partial- use of "a. carriage ,is included. Goodness knows how all'the visitors will be boused. It'is-said. that there arc-1.10,000"of them, '•mostly.- native.-,.;0f course, but including somo..thousands-of Europeans. The great majority will certainly have to submit to a good- deal of discomfort, a discomfort considerably enhanced by the cold,'which at. this season is very severe after dark, though the days Are beautifully bright ami warm. At night ono sees the natives everywhere going about muffled up to tho eyes, and evidently feeliug the cold very much. In normal times I. suppose they would be comfortably huddled tip in their hoii.-esv Another serious item just now is service. OrdinarQy, labour in India is extremely cheap, the wage for a coolie being fourpence per day, and for. a valet or a cook not. more than eightpciice. Now wages are more than doubled, and in somo cases trebled. This is a serious matter where, as in India, a European must have at least ono personal attendant, besides employing other labour. Personally, I have been fortunate in my bearer, or valet, but some visitors are a good doal 6f trouble. A\\ sorts of incompetent and dishonest men are offering, and it is impossible in theso days to he very particular. One gentleman I met had his wa. f ch stolen by his - servant, who, ,• on being found out, immediately decamped. A Canvas City. This is not an exaggerated designation, for the camps extend for eight miles, and occupy au area of 25, square miles. To ferve thes.e, ICO miles of new .roads havo heen constructed, and lighted 'with the electric light, whilst 10,000 telegraph poles have been erected, and 900 miles of copper wire used. To supply water ' to ■"* the camp, huge filters havo • been constructed, furnishing 5,000,000 gallons daily, • to sunply milk 2000 cows have been imported. The provisions required daily for such a camp must bo prodigious. Nor Is it only human being that need to be supplied. Thero are thousands of hors.es to be fed, for every camp is supplied with horses, carriages, and motor-cars, and the cavalry, .of course, require.'a large • number of mounts. There are 2000 motorcars. The exact number of tents I do not know, but they would ran into thousands, and shelter, I should guess, not less than 60,000 human beings. There can surely be little doubt that this is tho •largest canvas city ever known in tho history of the world. i In order that tho public niav be able to reach the various camps and functions two light railways havo been constructed. The more interesting is the narrow gauge which serves a dozen stations, and takes an hour to go from one terminus to the other. It is an extraordinary rail-■-way. Its turns and twists almost make 'Olio dizzy, and one comes across its airy •open cars trundling along in most, unexpected places. The carriages, as befits a camp, are not unduly luxurious. The /eats are plain boards, painted gTer. ono side of the car being ouije open, without doors, whilst on the other side is a. protective wire netting. When I got to tho station. I found that, though the cars "'.ere all exactly alike, tho fares were very • different, the lower class being 2 anna's >(2d) and the upper class 8 annas, this ►difference being intended to meet tho meeds of the aristocracy. In these circumstances I could not, of course, travel in 'the lower class, so chose tho upper, aided, no doubt, in this unaccustomed extravagance by the fact that a generous Government had bestowed upon me a season ticket, entitling mo to travel free with two servants (the reader will observe my state!) and a large ouantitv of Jusrgagp. So I seated myself on "tho painted board, and gripped the rail as the train began to twist and turn' about the camps. The route was not exactlr pretty, hut was at least interesfin". Fii-st of all the scenery suggested'wild jun»le. pit the left we could see the historic huildin.es of the mutiny, whilst on tho Tight was a broad, thoroughfare, gav and gaudy with the teniDorarv booths of enterprising firms. Then the little train ran into the heart of tho camps, which' could bo seen stretching aw;av as far rs the eye. could reach, serried ranks of snow-white '.tents (for no soiled or decoloured tent is permitted) in an emerald setting oi newly-made garden. For. tho miracle is this: A. few months ago tho , site of these camps was a huge stretch e,f waste. land; to-day it is>a veritable garden-city, with beautifully formed and oiled roads, perfectly smooth oreen lawns parterres of flowers, clusters of palms and shrubs: and then the thousands of hand-somely-furnished tents, gorgeous arches, pavilions, decorations, illuminations; which I shall now attempt to describe. Tented Magnificence. In tho very heart of-this tented city rise the parapets of the Queen's drawingrooms which tho evening glow converts into battlements " of shining aluba-ster. Closoby is the gigantic reception tent of the King-Emperor, which will accommodate 3000 people. I managed to obtain admission to tho .whole of tho Royal apartments, down to the very bathrooms. Two colour schemes havo been adopted in the Koyal tents, dark blue, the colour of tho Sta,r of India, for the King's apartments, and rose pink for the Queen's. They aire. handsomely and comfortably furnished, just as any wealthy

Kuropean's might be. bat thsro is ho" display, and they must appear quite plain to the great princes of India. (By the way, whilst I ires in tho King's bedroom, one of the Kind's officers showed me.two uglv marks on the cream-colonred paint where tho day Ijoforo a Killing Chief had struck a uuitch in ardor to light his signr. "I could have knocked him down," was the indignant comment of tho colonel). Tho Royal camp is spread around—tho tents that will to-morrow be occupied by his Majesty differing but little from ttioae of the Viceroy and ither great officers of State. To the left itrnrches the camps of the Provincial Governments. That of Burmah is tuarde'l by big stucco dragoons, strangely and wonderfully painted. That of Bombay is distinguished by a line fountain end vases. Madras has provided itself ivith the bU'gcst and best lawn. Bengal,

tlic I'oreign Oliice, the Southern and Northern armies, anil (he. Commander-in-Chief also have camps, • each covering a large area, in this .portionof the jilnin That of Eastern .l>engal, with line portici and pretty English windows, is considerci tho hniiiLsouiost. In ail these- camjis palms and flowers adil mnoli to the gen oral brightness. Chrysanthemums ar much in evidence, anil Rood use lia.s lieei made of. the blue convolvulus . nd olho pretty creepers to cover boundary pal nigs. Not far olt is the splendid ikili ground, whore polo is played every after noon, succeeded by ji performance of Hi mussed bands, mid where all the rani and fashion of the camp daily congregate It is a most varied and intotesling a* .vein binge 'hut one sees hero between th hours of 1 and C— Indian princes am chiefs dressed iu almost every conceiv able fashion, but for the uiojt part ii tight riding trousers, with coat am handsome puggaree; British and nativ flfficers in mufti j tourists drawn from al parts of the world; above all, ladiesEuropcau ladies—gorgeously attired ii costumes that challenge.the attention am vie in their extravagance with those o tho most fashionable centres of Paris am Herlin. Those- all walk up and down tin green sward, or stand in groups gossip in'g; few, I fear, paying much attentioi fo tho beautiful music being discourse! by the bands. Hut we must return to our camps. Tin ruling princes' camps are on either sidi of three splendid thoroughfares called Co ronation "Road, King's- Way, and Prince'.' Road, occupying a position next only tc Hie Kmperor and his highest olficers.'Tin contrast between the two areas is'verv striking. In the Jiritish camps, 'simplicity and ncatiiMS are chiefly aimed at, and so far as colour gees the scheme is th< tame; white and green sot off by red ruads and decorated with (lowers. 'Bui in tin areas occupied by the princes and ruling chiefs it'is very,different. Colour is al ■ loivt-d' to "run riot, and tho arches, gateways, palings; portico??, and pavilions art resplendent with every hue of the rainbow. The editor of this journal would not thank nic if 1 were to -it.ttem.jit t< describe'- all the native camps, but 1 think it will be interesting if I try am 1 tlescribe a few of the most, beautiful am: striking. That of the Maharaja of Kashmir, everyone admits, takes the palm Tho whole front of,the camp is palisaded with the most beautifully carved woodwork, each panel consisting of a fretted floral design,-grapes on one, poraengranates ou another, and so on, each of the panels a jierfect gem. The great gateway in the centre, giving entrance to- tht camp of. 220 tents, is of the. same darkstained carved wood, the roofs, being oi copper, each point surmounted by a gill ball. The camp insitlo is worthy of it,< magnificent front.' A band is playing, va it plays every day, on the lawn, and or presenting my card a high officer of tht Maharaja receives me and takes me round, Barbaric Splendour, '- The. ceiling of Hie great pavilion—a lenl that would hold 100 people—is of exqnisifc but quiet-toned embroidery; the hanging.- ! of lovely cashmere shawls. The floor i.< covered'with magnificent Kashmir eirpet; and rugs, of the value, I. should saw ol not. less than, £1000. The tall tent poles, of which there are between 20 and 30, art all covered with roughly hammered solid silver, massive and weighty, flu the dub are two large thrones, every part of which with the exception of the seats, which arc of crimson velvet, are of silver or goltl exquisitely wrought, oil each arm a massive golden lion. The rug that covers the dais is, with the exception of that in tht King's Kecoption Hall, the most splendid I have seen, with a tleep border wrought in pure goltl. The canopy over the dais is of gold embroidery supuortsd by silvei and gold poles. Passing from this magnificent apartment to the drawing-room tent, I . found the most ■ richij furnished apartment it has " evei been' in.v lot to see. The ceilings ant wails, liko those of the pavilion, are com jiosetl of beautiful Kashmir embroider} and shawl work. At the farther end, twt large sofas, all of massive goltl beautifnllj fashioned; all the chairs in the drawing room are also of silver or goltl, whilst, a; in the case of the. pavilion, all the pole; that support the roof art; of hainraeret silver'. Of all tho camps, this is ths most''-splendid and costly, representing . considerably over .£IOO,OOO. The (iaekwai of Baroda's camp is also elaborate ant exquisitely finished. It is entered througl: a triple arch in cream and gold, ovei .'which is the legend "Long live the King Emperor;" Kirst are seen the (lower beds .flags, and banners common to all. Bui the Durbar tent is the chief attraction The walls and ceilings are of enibroideret silk; the floor covered, with a magnificent carpet, with litre and there a Per sian rug or tho skin of a tiger which has been shot by his Highness. At the cm! of the apartment is a large silver couch elaborately worked. Antl then other costlj chairs:, Moorish cabinets heavily" gilded, lovely vases, statues holding electric lights, etc. The adjoining tent of tht Maharanee, which has five airartmehts, i' hardly less beautiful. This camp is much less costly than that of Kashmir, but is distinguished by the good taste with which the whole scheme has been worked out to suit the European tastes anil habits of the Gaekirar family. There are other native camps one would like to describe, such as H.H. tht Nizam's, with its luxurious shaniiaiia.; (htPatiala, with its white and gold gatepost; itirmouuted by gilt models of cannon, it: silver and gold furniture, crystal chandelabra, and costly bric-a-brac; the Gwalioi Camp, with its life-sized lions; the Nawat Palanpur's. with its tasteful double arcli of whito picked out with goltl, supporting two beautiful Saracenic balconies. "Unfortunately, the Nawab's pavilion wa; fired by the fJectric apparatus the other day. antl they were busy constructing another whilst I was with him. Some of the arches and decorations of the" smaller camps are very crude and gaudy, reminding oho of a faiT, but most are tasteful, and marly costly and beautiful. The camps as a whole represent millions ol pounds, and it is depressing to reflect thai all this costly splendour is to serve but a. few weeks. Is it worth while? The question is being coistantly asked, antl is not easily answered, but I earnestly hope that it will serve to impress the nativ; mind with the King's l interest iu his Indian subjects, and that the mingling ol East and West that is now taking place on so largo a scale will tend to increase the tolerance- and respect of each for the other.