The Delhi Durbar

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 144, 14 December 1911, Page 5

The Delhi Durbar

THE OPENING CEREMONY. AX IMPOSING SPECTACLE. THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT REMOVED TO DELHI. By Cable—Press Association —Copyright. Delhi, December 12. From early morning a vast concourse moved to the scene of th" Durbar. Ev ten o'clock the great amphitheatre was filled with a brilliant assemblage, representative of every caste and creed in India. It provided a dazzling and kaleidoscopic picture of wealth and beauty, of which a feature v.v= th? jewels and Tich apparel of the princes, which were of fabulous value.

The people's mound, a great raised bank around the arena opposite the Amphitheatre, was packed with sixty thousand spectators, clothed in cverv bue, the mound resembling a distant bank of flowers. • In the centre of the anna was the beautiful throne, under a rich crimson and gold canopy. Nearer the amphitheatre was the equally beautiful pavilion, where their Majesties received the homage of the princes. The arena was occupied by 20,000 troops, representing each division. The military display was indeed the finest ever seen in India, and the most striking feature of the Durbar.

Punctually at noon the Royal procession entered, attended by an imposing escort of Indian and British artillery and cavalry. The King was robed in purple and ermine, and the Queen in a richly embroidered robe. Both wore crowns.

The troops =aluted. the guns boomed, while the great multitude rose and hailed the King-Emperor, and the massed bands played "God Save the King." After a fanfare by picturesque heralds the Durbar opened. The King addressed the assemblage, expressing his gratification at being able to commemorate his Coronation in India. Homage by the chiefs followed, an imposing array of potentates from every corner of India, garbed in national dress, making low obeisance before their Majesties. Their Majesties then went in procession to the centre of the amphitheatre, where the Coronation proclamation was read with most impressive ceremony. Salvoes o{ artillery, crackling musketry, and a flourish of trumpets announced that the King had been proclaimed. The National Anthem again crashed out, the herald called for cheers for their Majesties, and a mighty shout went up from a hundred thousand throats.

The King further announced that he had decided to commemorate the Coronation by transferring the seat of the Government of India fiom Calcutta to the ancient capital of Delhi. The announcement was received with storms of cheers. i

Among other Durbar boons announced by the Viceroy (Lord Hardinge) were gratuities for the troops and Government servants, a grant of £350,000 for education, while the native army was made eligible for the grant of the Victoria Cross.

The Durbar was an unqualified success, perfectly organised and carried out. It constituted the most profoundlv impressive spectacle of recent history. THE SCENE DESCRIBED. UNPRECEDENTED DISPLAY OF WEALTH AND POWER. Received 13, 10.10 p.m.

Delhi, December 13. The durbar amphitheatre, fivefold the size of the Coliseum in Rome, forming two semi-circles, the larger being uncovered and surrounded by a semicircular mound, was crowded with 50.000 of the populace, including thousands of school children in each section, which were distinguished by colored headgear. The smaller semi-circle was roofed, with the durbar shamiana on two front seats in the centre, surrounded by twelve thousand people, chiefly in their uniforms. The English visitors wore Court dress, and the ladies brilliant toilettes. Closely latticed enclosures were erected behind for the wives of princes. Just before the commencement, veterans, including a hundred who participated in the mutiny, marched into the arena, bands playing. "See the Conquering Hero Comes!" The troops roared a welcome.

At eleven o'clock the skirling pipes announced the coming of the lilack Watch to guard the shamiana, the 53rd Sikh's occupying a position on the other side. Then came the Viceroy (Lord Hardinge) and Lady Hardinge. The twelve thousand spectators rose and remained standing until, at Il.:10. a salute of 101 guns announced the arrival of their Majesties. A battery of artillery swept round the ring. The 10th Hussars and the Viceroy's scarlet clad bodyguard, composed of gigantic Sikh lancers, followed. The proce--ion circled the amphitheatre. > Their Majesties alighted at the shamiana. The King wore his Coronation robe and a sureoat similar to that worn in the Coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey. The Queen'was attired in a white dre=s and a purple velvet robe, being attended by a troop of pages of princely blood, their dresses being of white and blue.

The salute of guns e>nded as their Majesties seated themselves on their thrones in the shamiana. The durbar opened with a flourish of trumpets, and then tne drums swelled into a thunderous roar.

The King, in a clear voice, carrying well, expressed his pleasure to be in India and his heartfelt satisfaction at the people's love and Imperial devotion to India's welfare.

The ceremony of offering homage followed. Lord Hardinge alone kissing his hands. General Sir O'Moore Creagh led the members of the Viceroy's Council. The Nizan of Hyderabad and the Gaekwar of Baroda followed. Then came the princes of Mysore, Kashmir, Kaipur and Rajput and other princes, most of them wearing their robes of honor of cloth of gold. Many of the robes were priceless, pearls hanging in festoons, whilst the necklet* of diamonds and emeralds sparkled in the headdresses, as did the rubies on the sword hlits.

Thp massed bands meanwhile played soft music.

The Begum of Bhopal, attired in dazzling robes of richly embroidered gold, heavily veiled, met with a great reception.

The homage lasted for forty minutes, and ended with salaams from the rugged north frontier and the Arabian Desert chieftains.

Their majesties rose amid strains of the Coronation March, and walked hand in hand up the broad raised way 150 yards to a lofty dais placed on marble steps twenty feet above the ground, the princely train-bearers following, also attendants bearing symbols of Imperial estate, with scarlet umbrellas and fan and mace.

Upon reaching the golden thrones be- , neath a golden dome, their Majesties stood a minute to be crowned and robed, facing twenty thousand troops at the foot of the dais with their glinting scabbards and fluttering pennons. Fifty thousand of the populace gathered beyond, extending in a great sweep for half a mile upon the semi-circular , ' mound.

Lords Hardinge and Crewe and their Majeties' suites wore standing on the lower platform of the dais. Twelve British and twelve Indian trumpeters on white horses rode into the central avenue and blew a stirring fanfare on silver trumpets at the foot of the flagstaff, when the Royal Standard fluttered.

General Peyton, the Delhi herald, standing in his stirrups, read the proclamation announcing the London coronation, and the assistant herald repeated it in the Urdu language. The silver trumpets again sounded, and the massed bands, numbering sixteen hundred performers, played the National Anthem.

A salute of 101 guns was fired in salvoes, the troops outside firing a feu de joie.

Lord Hardinge read the proclamation, excepting the reference to Bengal and Delhi.

This part of the ceremony was ended by the herald calling for three cheers for the King-Emperor, the concourse of one hundred thousand responding. Their Majesties then returned to the shamiana.

The King, rising unexpectedly, hnnounced the creation of Delhi as the capital. The suddenness and unexpectedness of the disclosure held all spellbound. There was a momentary silence. Then the audience was afire with enthusiasm and Indian cheers.

The ceremony closed with the singing of the National Anthem and final salutes,

The King throughout was calm and dignified, displaying an iron resolution fitting to an Oriental ceremony. A State banquet was given in the evening to Lord and Lady Hardinge, the governors and native princes, and afterwards a reception was held of four thousand in the investiture tent. Bombay, December 13.

Twenty thousand poor congregated on the sea front and secured food and clothes. Many saints and ascetics were present. There were similar scenes in many other districts, and distribution of food and clothing was the leading feature of the celebrations. DURBAR AT ADEN. Received 13. 10.10 p.m. Aden, December 13. At a special durbar, convened for the proclamation of the Coronation, the entire European and native communities were present. DISCUSSION IN PARLIAMENT. UPROOTING OF TRADITION. London, December 12. The King's announcements were communicated to both Houses of Parliament. In the House of Lords. Lord Lansdowne said that he doubted if the House had ever listened to a more important statement. The transfer of the capital uprooted many traditions, and the creation of a great solid Bengalese province was an abrupt reversal of Lord Curzon's policy, which had been accepted by his successor and successive Governments. In the House of Commons, the Premier said that he agreed with Mr. Bonar-Law as to the necessity for discussion, but did not think it" desirable while his Majesty was absent. THE KING'S PROCLAMATION. TREMENDOUS REJOICINGS. Delhi, December 12. The amphitheatre at Delhi was a dazzling picture of brilliant costumes and flashing jewels. The homage of the ruling princes was an impressive •spectacle. The King's proclamation granting half a month s pay to English and native soldiers and making the officers and men of the Indian Army eligible for the Victoria Cross, and the releasing of civil debtors on the payment of their debts, aroused the utmost, satisfaction. The transfer of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi, the establishment of a Governorship for Bengal, with Lieutenant - Governorships at Behar. Chota Nagpur. and Orissa, and a chief commissionership in Assam, was loudly applauded. The selection of Delhi as the capital was the signal for tremendous rejoicings in the district. DURBAR HONOR LIST. Loudon. December 12. A lengthy list of Durbar honors is announced. The Orders of the Star of India and Indian Empire are increased by statute. The Gram! Commanders of the Star of India (G.C.5.1.) include Sir George Sydenham Clarke, Governor of Bombay; Capt. Sir Arthur Lawley. Governor 'of Madras: General Sir O'Moore Creagh. Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army; Aga Khan, head of the Indian Mahomniedans; and the Nawab of Dacca, on account of his services in Eastern Bengal. A baronetcy is conferred on Sir Bassoon David, of Bombay. The Order of the Crown of India is given to the Marchioness of Crewe, the Begum of Phopal. and the Maharranee of Bhavangar, who has abandoned the purelah. A GORGEOUS PAGEANT. THE DELHI DURBAR OF 1877. REMINISCENCES OF AN OLD BOY. (By '-Chastleton" in Timaru Herald.) In view of the great durbar that is being held in Delhi, where our King and Queen, on their accession to the throae of the Great Moghul, are receiving in person the great homage of the rajahs, | chiefs and feudatory princes of India, I | thought some of your readers might be interested in the reminiscences of an old boy of a past durbar, perhaps as important, held at the same historical capital, when the late Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India, or as the title is rendered in Hindustani—"Kaiser-i-Hindh.'' Those who admire style and elegance of diction had better skip at once, for this is but a plain unvarnished tale of little happenings, and no familiar chronicle "of Pontiffs, and high Consuls, and ancient Alban Kings." My recollections are only those of a schoolboy, but vivid, anil real, and fresh, for I was essentially a jungle kid. whose year comprised nine months at school in the Himalayas and three months wild fishing and shooting holidays, and had previously seen no more brilliant spectacle than a village fair or up-country military gymkhana' so that the vast crowds and gay pageantry of that great historical gathering made a deep impression on my youthful mind. We wore stationed then at the head of the western Jumna canal, where my father, as executive engineer, was superintending the construction of a great dam and regulator, when he, like Tiundreds of other servants of the Great ] White Queen, received an invitation, amounting to a royal command, to attend the assemblage at Delhi. So thither we went, where we were the guests of an opulent and most hospital indigo factor, who looked after us uncommonly well. Our party, which consisted of some thirty people, was camped to the north of Delhi, on a triangle of land some ten acres in extent, which took in the

old racquet court. Just to show how the wily native was taking advantage of the festive occasion, the rent paid by our host for that small plot was £14.0, not a bad rate for ten davs or so.

It was an ideal spot from a boy's point of view, though a man of fastidious tastes might have objected to the dust, for a stream of carriages, with out-ridcrs and escorts gorgeous in crimson, gold, silver, blue and all the other colors of the rainbow, went constantly flowing past, either cityward or to the vice-regal camp on the opposite side of the ridge, where an occasional gun proclaimed the advent of some supreme chief on a visit to the Viceroy. The turnouts were splendid, but the effect was sometimes rendered ludicrous by costly harness mended by rope and string, or by the sight of a"postilion attired in fautless coat and fashionable inexpressionables. while a naked toe was tkrust into a stirrup improvised out of rope. 1 i:i:i afraid we in our igno'rane'e or pride as children of the dominant race rather looked down on the "nobility of the land," as we contemptuously styled them, quite forgetting, or perhaps not caring, that the blue blood of our own aristocracy was new in comparison with that which (lowed in the veins of these native rulers, tracing as many as do their descent in unbroken sequence for centuries. I allude of course to the Rajput Ranas. who claim to be the lineal descendants of the mighty Vikram, who in the early dawn of history brought the whole of Bharatkhanda —the Sanscrit name for India —under the shadow of one umbrella. But it was with liking and admiration we gazed upon the handsome, stately Sikh Sirdars —descendants of the ancient Getae—each one a gentleman from head to heel, and many a surprised and pleased smile we received from them when we fainted and greeted them witl the right Sikh greeting "Viceroy to the teacher, great chief." For were not men of their race personal friends of my own; and many a tale of wild foray and ancient myth did I hear from my Sikh attendants, when I shot in the streaming valleys of the Eewaliks or the sal jungles of the Kalassar Doon. And besides, my father owed his very life and fortunes to the unswerving devotion of a faithful guard of that gallant race, who watched over his safety when he was holding a detached post during the dark days of the ''Great Sepoy War." Another reason that made that camping ground pleasant to me was the fact that' nest to us on the opposite side of the road a great Mahomedan Xawab had his encampment, and every night at about 8 o'clock, our dinner hour, his band struck up "Kelvin Grove," the only tun» I think they knew, and my favorite. So we had music gratis, and now I never hear that air, but I see again in spirit that big Shamianah, a-glitter with lights and silver, and decked with flowers, and the men and women of long ago, lightheartid and merry, and hear again the laughter, jest and song of that most happy time, while the white-clad servants with their dark inscrutable faces moved noiselessly about their ministrations.

The day after our arrival the Viceroy made his state entry into Delhi, and the procession of elephants, gorgeous in housings of cloth of gold, or silver and blue, with their foreheads artistically painted in divers colors of fancy design, and bearing on their broad backs howdabs of gold and silver, richly chaiet, presented, a spectacle of unique and barbaric splendour, which would have graced even a triumph of the great Akhbar. But the cynosure of all eyes were the gigantic mail-clad war elephants of the Raj-put chiefs. Their tusks were tipped with steel, on their fon heads were shields and breast-plates of polished steel, whicli flashed and glittered as the great beasts, images of strength incarnate, with swaying heads, gleaming luokis and ponderous tread, moved on their majestic way, while on their backs rode fully-armed warriors panoplied in mail. The vast shouting, the music, and all the poetry of motion formed a picture which has deeply engraved itself on the tablets of my memory. It was on New Year's Day, 1877, when the Queen was proclaimed Empress of India. It was a great stroke of policy on Disraeli's part, if for no other reason than that the title of Queen was changed from Maharani to Kaiser-i-Hindh, for the former simply means the rightful consort of a Rajah; noble must she be of birth, but she is only one of a number of women who constitute his zenana, and to the mind of the average native our Queen, while she bore that title, represented this state and nothing more. But Kaiscr-i-Hindh is masculine in gender, and when she assumed this latter title she became in their estimation essentially a warrior and a man, endowed with all a man's strength and all a man's virtue-, "stern to millet and stubborn to endure, who would smile in death," powerful to protect, and swift to avenge, the beau ideal to the Oriental imagination of a great king, and for such a personage would they be ready to cry, as did the Austrians of old. despite thc'Salic Uiw for Maria Theresa: "Long live Victoria, our King." We dm.. .'.-.• t to the open plain, "between the ;i. ■ .it and the sown," where the ceremony was to take place. To each of us had been presented printed and numbered cards corresponding to numbers on seats, so no difficulty was experienced in finding places, except by my unfortunate silt, for a lady who knew one of our party had, with the cool sellishness of her charming sex, calmly occupied mine, so I had to skir-mi.-h over to hers, where I was a stranger surrounded by strangers, none that 1 eould speak to, all alone, but not in my glory. It nearly spoilt the whole show for me. But after a while I rallied, and took notice of things. I was seated in the middle of the second row of the stand, very near the Viceroy's dais, beyeind which was the third pavilion occupied by the great native rulers, and high British officials. The decorations were of unparalleled splendour, and each chief had his heraldry emblazoned on banners placed behind his chair, while cloth of gold and of silver, and silk and satin, met the eye in every direction. The potentates, principalities and powers, blazing as they were with diamonds and precious stones, and clothed in gorgeous oriental robes of every hue, mingled with British uniforms anil plumes, glowed a magnificent mass of brilliant coloring. The one worth viewing most was to my fancy young Holkar, an aggressive looking Black Prince, the breast of whose garment was a perfect cuirass of diamonds, so thickly were they .sewn. The ladies were all in love with him, as I could tell from their frequent exclamations of delight. Amid a -blare of trumpets and clatter of arms the Viceroy arrived and ascended the steps of the dais, while the vast assemblage stood up to do him honor, and only seated themselves after the National Anthem had been played. He was accompanied by Lady Lytton amd her daughters, whose trains were held up by boys dressed all in white satin. It is curious to remember that we boya had a great contempt and dislike for the Viceroy, chiefly, I think, because w« thought him conceited and a "beastfly poet." but no doubt we unconsciously reflecteel the thoughts and opinions .. "grown-ups," for he was anything but popular with the great majority of officials. But for the memory of the great Governor-General, Lord Mayo, handsome man, and noble gentleman, who was assassinated in the Andamans, there was whole-hearted esteem and admiration; and I well .recollect with what startled feelings of horror the news of his untimely end was received. His death, and

that of Sir Henry Durand, LieutenantGovernor of the Punjab, whose elephant, panic-stricken, bolted under a low archway, w<ere the two first great shocks my young life received, so sudden and tragic were they. The former's death was more shocking to us, for he had just previously visited our school while on that last fatal tour which ended in the Andaand what impressed his personality .so strongly on me was the fact that he had given mo a hand-shake in his hearty genial way, because of an answer I had given that pleased him to some question he had asked in history.