january 1965 - ex-cbi roundupl. l. mccanless, canton, ga. reader 17 years ~ have subscribed to your...
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JANUARY1965
ELEPHANT hauling log through narrow path in jungle of Assam. Photo by A. \X'. Freshman,M.D.
2 Ex-eBl ROUNDUP
L. L. McCANLESS,Canton, Ga.
Reader 17 Years~ Have subscribed to yourEx.CBI Roundup for some17 years and enjoyed itvery much. I hope you cancontinue for many years tocome.
50554
Editor
January, 1965
Ex-CBI RoundupLaureP. O. Box 125
letter FROM The Editor ..
$3.00 per Year$5.50 Two Years
Please Report Change of Address 1mDirect All Corres r. e ~••
SUBSCRIPTIO.' R. IT
Neil L. Maurer
SECOND CLASS postage paid at Laure s. I
_____ CONTRIBUTI:'>G STAFT-----Clarence R. Gordon -John Felts ..........•................................................•...
Ex-CBl ROUNDUP, established 1946. is a remmlscmg magazinepublished monthly except AUGUST and SEPTE:l1BER at 11iSouth Third Street. Laurens. Iowa. b)' and for former membersof U. S. Units stationed in the China-Burma-India Theater dur-ing World War II. Ex-CHI Roundup is the official publicationof the China-Burma-lndia Veterans A&."Ociatio
Vol. 20, NO.1
• Someone has asked, since our recent "Return 0India," whether the beggars have disappeared fromthe streets. The answer, of course, is "no." In Calcutta,for instance, it is said that begging is steadily on theincrease. It is estimated that about 18,000 beggarsroam the city, almost twice what there were 10 yearsago. Begging is a punishable offense in Calcutta, butlack of space to house beggars has prevented properenforcement of the Vagrancy Act. There are eighthomes in Calcutta with a capacity of about 2,200vagrants; police have to quit making arrests after thehomes are filled. About 50 per cent of Calcutta's beg.gars are said to come in from other areas-a big cityin India is always a "happy hunting ground" forthese people.• Speaking of beggars, there are still two distinctcategories of beggars in India-professionals and thosewho really have to beg for their livelihood. It is saidthat a real professional can earn about Rs 6 per day,which is far above the average per capita income. Inthe Dalhousie Square area of Calcutta, there are reoports that an old woman comes around and advisesyoung beggars daily abou 'he day's strategy. Wewonder if she collects a fla fee or a percentage foreach day's advice.• Cover photo shows the face o' d noWorld War II, with a younger me flooking over the oldster's shoulde.Freshman, M.D.
STAGING area at Chabua airbase, Assam, India. It had beena polo grounds in earlier daysand wa: thu known during
e war. ::i n advertised "Then Redcap en'ice in India."
! C. J. loanaker.
JANUARY, 1965 3
To The Editors _
CARPENTER at Dibrugahr squats on box as he works. Photoby A. W. Freshman, M. D.
SOLDIER and guide inside mosque at Fatehpur Sikri. Thelacework is in marble. Photo by A. W. Freshman, M.D.
Reunion of Crew• The Buffalo Courier.Ex.press carried an a I' tic 1 esometimE.' ago about plansfor a reunion of the crew of"Jack's Hack," a B29 bomb.er that flew missions fromIndia in World War II. AI'.rangements were made bytwo of the 11 crew memobel'S; Jack Volkert of Am.herst, N. Y., the pilot; andRobert J. Ahrens of Ken:more, N. Y., the radar op.eratoI'. Eight of the menwere expected for the reounion. Only one of thE.'menstayed in ,the Air Force afterthe war: the navigator, nowMajor Frank Doherty. An.other became. a Catholicpriest five years ago. He isthe Rev. Henry Chodacki,the tail gunner, who nowI i v e s in Minnesota. The"Jack's Hack" c I' e w wasoriginally stationed in In.dia, and flew nearly half ofthe 25 missions from thereto Singapore and Bangkok.Then, in February or March,1945, thE:' crew was trans.ferred to Tinian. On onemission, while stationed inIndia, the men were in theair for 25 hours droppingmines on a river near Sai.gon. The bombing run wasmade from 1,000 feet abovethe river at night.
ARTHUR MATHER,Batavia, N.Y.
brave mothers' sons, wemust always have a placein our hearts and minds-not alone on their day. butin every day of our lives.
WALTER A. HEINTZ,Staten Island, N.Y.
Often Tells Others• Still enjoy the magazinea lot. See some of my bud-dies once in a while; meetex.CBlers rather often, andalways tell them about you.
RAY CHAPMAN,~ubbock, Texas
Armistice Day• Armistice Day (or Vet.erans Day, as you please)has come and gone. Some.where in the past I severaltimes heard some light op.era program either by ra.dio or TV, from Chicago.Ill. A noted gentleman,Colonel McCormick, wouldgive a short intermissiontalk about historical events.On the occasion of Armis.tice Day (to the colonel)or Veterans Day (to us ofWW2 and Korea), I recallthe short poems he wouldread of his buddies fremwars before I was born;d uri n g his' reading hewould weep for those menwho s too d with himagainst the world, and nowthey were no more. Manyof the fine citizens of ourcommunities 100 k uponthese days of remembranceas nothing, and pass on.The firing of salvos in sal-ute, laying of wreaths atmonuments mean a bit ofnoise, the sound of "Taps"but a child's tooting to beheard and forgotten. To uswho remain, we can senseat times our buddies, withwhom we slept, ate, train.ed, played, beside us withtheir kidding, joking andgriping . . . can't you seethose men right here in thedarkness again? To these
4 EX.CEl ROUNDUP
________________________ To The Editors
SIGN in railroad yard at Lalmanirhat. Photo by C. J. Sloan.aker.
ARMY PO T OFFICE at Chabua. Cpper Assam. Photo by Dal.las H. \Vil on Jr.
Ardent Reader• Have been an ardentreader af yaur magazine far!?any years. It is great,Just great.
COL. C. M. DAVISPart O'Cannar, Tex:
Dad in CBI•. Enjay reading yaur mag.azme \'eIJ' much. My Dadserved in China-Burma-In.dia during World War II.
DA. 'NY R. HARNESSHarrisan, Ark. '
Exchange Club• If any of the readers afEx-CBI Roundup wauld liketc?correspond and exchangenew card tamps, cains,bulb and flower seeds sau-venirs, shells, etc., and areinterested in joining theOceania Exchange C I u bwrite for application blank.
WINFIELD BURKE,Rt. 5, Box 38,Chillicothe, OhiO'
Initials CBI• A recent law enfarce.ment publication rep art sthat Mr. J. E. Hoover, Dir.ector af the Federal Bureauo~ ~nves9gation (FBI), wasVISIted III Washington, D.C., by Mr. D. P. Kahli, Di.rectar af the Central Bureauof Investigation (CBI) atNew Delhi, India. I wa~derwhether these initials werearrived at by design or ac.cident!
EARL O. CULLUMIndianapolis, Ind. '
green liquid was probablyurine with blue colaringadded (blue and yellawmakes green, as I learnedin grammar schaal, but Ihad failed to' leam to' bewary of vendors, especiallyan the stre,ets of Karachi,India). At least that is whatit smelled like. Thank good.ness for the .adequate show.er facilities at Malir, be.cause I neede.d them afterthe generaus applicatian afthis exatic Indian versian afMennen's Skin Bracer.
BARNEY FUDGE,Oklahama City, Okla.
Mennen's in Karachi• The letter from FrancesE. Vines in the November1964 issue brought to' minda humoraus incident. I wasa captain in the Air Carpsand was on my way to' Chi.na in Octaber of 1944 witha. brief stap in Karachi, In.dia. My favarite shavinglation, Mennen's Skin Bra.cer, a nice smelling greencalored liquid, was difficultto' abtain even in statesidePX's, So' I saw a single bat.tIe amang other wares ofa sidewalk vendar in down.town Karachi, I baught itwithout question, and usedsome of it the first chanceI got on my re.turn to' Malirfram tawn. Of caurse yauare probably ahead of mein my story and h a v eguessed that the bea,utiful
Detroit Basha Elects• New officers af the De.trait Basha, CBI VeteransAssaciatian, were elected atthe September meeting.They are Bab Perch am,cammander; Gearge Cap-pel, vice cammander; AlSkamski, finance afficer;Willis Rem u s, adjutant;Jahn Kushner, pravast mar.shal; and Ern i e Marsjudge advacate. '
MARGARET REMUS,Detroit, Mich.
JANUARY, 1965 5
Banaras Is Holy City of Hindus
CBlers Return to IndiaBy NEIL L. MAURER
If you want to see India, be sure tosee Banaras.
It's the sacred city of the Hindus, andis also known as the world's "oldest liv-ing city." You'll find it spelled eitherBANARAS or BENARES . . . and somemaps now list it as VARANASI. The l?-t-ter is the original name of the citywhich recently was officially revived.
This was our second stop in India onour 1964 "Return to India" tour. We tra-veled by Indian Airlines jet from DumDum airport in Calcutta, and after land-ing at Banaras were soon comfortablylocated at Clark's Hotel. This is an oldhostelry catering to tourists, and wefound it to be a delightful spot.
Rooms were large and air-conditioned.At first we found it a bit disconcert.ing to see lizards l?n the. walls andceilings, and large Crickets m the bath-room, but we soon became accustomedto their presence. Sadiq, our houseboy,was always on hand to look after our
TAKING advantage of local transportation fa-cilities, Katl' Smiser goes for an elephantride at Banaras.
6
ANOTHER TRIP TO INDIA?Several persons who were inter-
ested. but unable to make it in1964. have indicated that theymight want to go back to India in1965 or 1966.
It is possible that another "Re-turn to India" tour might be ar.ranged. If you are at all interested.let us know as soon as possible.You might write either Ex-CBIRoundup. P.O. Box 125. Laurens.Iowa. or D. W. Keyes. VincennesTravel Service. 405 Main Street.Vincennes. Indiana.
needs; beds were comfortable, and foodwas very good.
Lush vines covered the wall aroundthe hotel compound, and there wereflowers everywhere. Several workmencould usually be found replacing brickpavement in the courtyard. The hoteldesk opened on a verandah instead ofa lobby, and there was an abundance ofchairs for those who wished to relax,watch guests come and go, or to enjoya cup of tea or a cold drink. It was arestful place and also a busy place-withbearers carrying luggage on their headsor scurrying about on errands, cars andrickshaws using the drive and inquisi-tive Indians peering in through thegates. Once each day a man and a boydrove in a huge flock of guinea fowl-poultry "on the hoof" for the diningroom.
Several times a day you could hearthe plaintive melody brought from agourd by the snake charmer, who camewith two assistants, several baskets ofsnakes and a belligerent mongoose. Fora few rupees you could see a fight tothe finish, but you were inclined towonder if it was actually blood or beteljuice on the "dead" snake.
Elephant wallahs came first to thefront gate, then inside the courtyard.Some of the women of our CBI partyhad their first opportunity here for anelephant ride, and decided there are morecomfortable means of transportation.
High point of a visit to Banaras is anearly-morning boat ride on the Ganges,to see thousands of Hindus taking theirmorning bath in this holy river. Our ex-cellent guide, N. K. Sharma, led us
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_____________________ CBlers Return to India
down a narrow lane crowded with peopleand got us aboard a couple boats at thebusy landing. We traveled up and downthe Ganges, watching the picturesquescene. Some people were pouring waterto the rising sun, the "symbol of lifeand enlightenment," some were sittingcross-legged closing the nose "to con.trol the senses," some were counting onrosaries containing 108 beads and otherswere reading sacred texts. Hindu priestsunder huge umbrellas were giving theirblessings to the worshipers.
There are 64 of these ghats in Banaras,but all are not equally sacred. DevoutHindus go to the most sacred points, ifpossible, so these are always crowdedwith people. There are huge buildingsalong the banks, most of them ownedby maharajas or other wealthy citizens,from which they make regular and fre.quent visits to the river.
Elderly people, especially widows, sitquietly at the river's edge. Since this isthe holiest of the holy cities of India,many come here to die.
As the bathing goes on, the body of adead water buffalo floats idly by. Butthis fails to bother those in the water,many of whom are taking water intotheir mouths. Our guide tells us that"the antibacterial property of the Gan.ges water is scientifically proved."
Before leaving the river we .visited theburning ghat on the bank of the Ganges,which is said to be the most sacred cre.
mation ground for the Hindus. Two orthree bodies were on the pyres, whileothers were awaiting their turns. Therewere a few mourners nearby, all of themmen. We were requested not to takepictures.
Back at the boat landing we pushedthrough the throng of worshipers, andwent back along the narrow lane. Therewere many men and women going toand from the river. In addition, therewere sadhus or "holy men" all but nakedand smeared with ashes, and a long rowof beggars whining for "baksheesh."There were shrines along the way; cowsand goats mingled with the people.
Want to visit a temple'? There are 1,500of them in Banaras, so take your pick.
We visited several, of different types.One was Bharat . lata Temple, betterknown as :\Iother India Temple, whichis of a national rather than a religiouscharacter. It is educational in design,containing a huge marble relief map ofIndia showing mountains, rivers andcities of the country. It was inauguratedby ~Iahatma Gandhi in 1936.
Another was the Nepali Temple on theGanges, constructed 300 years ago by theMaharaja of Nepal and sometimes calledthe Temple of Love. It is built in pagodastyle, and is covered with erotic carving.If any of the women were seen to blush,there was good reason for it.
Newest and cleanest of all was theTulsi Manas Mandir, '~n elaborate crea.
CLARK'S HOTEL was headquarters for the Ex.CBI Roundup "Rerum to India" group while atBanaras. Here is the large verandah at from of the hotel.
JANUARY, 1965 7
CBIers Return to India _
EARL Y MORNING bathers in the "sacred" waters of the Ganges at Banaras.
BOATS like this were used by members of the Roundup group to view actiVIties on the Ganges.In this boat, with guide and boatmen, are Dr. and Mrs. H. T. Smiser and Mr. and Mrs. Wil.liam R. Ziegler.
8 EX.CBI ROUNDUP
______________________ CBIers Return to India
tion of gleaming white marble-beauti.ful and interesting. It must have cost apretty penny! With untold thousands ofHindus subsisting on little or nothing,and with 1,499 other temples in Banaras,we wondered, "Is this temple necessary?"
Durga Temple is better known as the'monkey temple, but there wasn't a monokey to be seen. Built in the 18th century,this red sandstone structure has alwaysbeen crowded with hundreds of monkeys,ringing the bells and pestering visitorsfor food. For some reason they've all de.parted. From the roof of the templequadrangle we watched activities within,until a priest arrived and draped ropesof flowers around our necks. We contri.buted a few rupees to the cause.
Next to the temple was a large poolarea, which we were told is a "sin puri.fying pond." There was a crowd of peo-ple at one edge, and you could see thehead of a man who had just drowned.We asked why someone didn't pull himout; were told that it was necessary towait for the police. When we came bythe same place a couple hours later thepolice still hadn't arrived.
Most important of the Hindu templesof Banaras is reached by walking forseveral blocks through narrow, crowdedalleys lined with shops. It is the GoldenTemple or Vishwanath, constructed inthe year 1785 and covered with nearly aton of gold by the Sikh leader of Punjabin 1839. Nearby is the huge Sacred Bull,the mount of Shiva; and the Well ofKnowledge. Hundreds of men and womenwere going in with offerings of flowersand sacred Ganges water in brass lotahs.
Our last tour before leaving the Ba.naras area was a visit to Sarnath, theburied Buddhist city six miles away. Thisis the center of the Buddhist world; itwas here that Buddha preached his firstsermon, more than 2,400 years ago. Theruins of the city, memoria~s of variouskinds and a museum are all most inter.esting contributions to the history ofBuddhism and India.
From here we were to move on to Agraand the Taj Mahal, and this part of ourtour will be covered in next month'sissue of Roundup.
STUPA, or monument, marking the spot at Sar-math where Buddha preached his firs tsermon.
GUINEA FOWL on way to kitchen at Clark' Hotel in Banara . A floc' like this was driven ineach afternoon while CBIers were there.
JANUARY, 1965 9
Women Not Content With Just Looking
Shopping Is Fun •In IndiaBY GRACE R. MAURER
Planning a trip is half the fun, 'tissaid. All your relatives and friends areloaded with advice. Be sure to take araincoat! Put your cosmetics in plasticcontainers! Take some warm clothing!Take some cool dresses! Now don't packtoo much stuff; leave room to bringhome some presents!
All that advice, but not a bit abouttaking along enough money to just havefun! It is true that by the time thecholera, typhoid, tetanus and other shotsare over, the comfortable shoes are pur-chased, and the right size luggage issecured, the bank account looks mightyslim. But, you figure, I'm only goingonce, so splurge.
Women cannot be content with justlooking at historic places. They simplyhave to buy stuff. And going to India,who doesn't want a raw silk suit to wearlater on? So in we went to look at theBanaras silk on display in a hotel shopat the Great Eastern in Calcutta. Therewere bolts of blue, green, orange, red,beige and many other colored silks. Ispotted a piece of black and grey which,I thought would be just right to wearat home. But it was already measured,bolted and ready for shipment te theUnited States. They wouldn't sell it tome. Just then a tall, good looking man,who was in the shop, said to the clerk,"Sell it to her; you'll make it up." I gotthe s1.k. Later I visited with the helpfulgentleman, who was a missionary in Cal.cutta. He told me his wife buys lots ofmaterial there to send back to friends inCalifornia.
It is true-you can get a dress madein 24 hours time. We grabbed a taxi,driven by a Sikh in turban, his whiskersrolled up and tucked in a band underhis chin, and drove helter-skelter to Mid.dleton Road. We pulled up to an estab.lishment bearing the sign. "CalcuttaDress l\Iaker." In the room, approximate-ly 15 x 15 feet, sat four men on the floor,sewing. Around the wall were garments,all hand-made with the finest of stitches,waiting to be picked up by customers.I told the eldest man, who got up toserve us, what I had in mind. He handedme a catalog, printed in England, andtold me to pick out the style I wanted.Then he measured me, suggested I havethe jacket and skirt lined, and set a timefor me to return. Such beautiful work
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and such little cost, in our American wayof thinking!
Anyone visiting in Calcutta must goto the New Market. It is definite:y aforerunner of the shopping center in theUnited States. You, literally, can buyanything from soup to nuts. There areaisles and aisles of small shops display.ing various items. Barkers, trying to leadus to their particular stalls, were a nui.sance; but we managed to shrug themaside and do some looking. In Harry'sPlace we mulled over ivory earrings tobring home to friends. Charming ones,carved with miniature elephants, teokour fancy (we later had an opportunityat the Ivory Palace in Delhi to see thecarving being done). We had so muchfun matching them and visiting withHarry, that he finally suggested we visithis storeroom. Up a winding stairwaywe struggled to get to a large roomfilled with Indian articles of variouskinds, ready for transportation to othercountries. Here we had a good look fromthe roof at the activity below in themarket We came away with a catalogto be used later in ordering anythingwe saw in the storero m.
Two of the most interesting places inthe New Market were shops that dis-played articles from Tibet and Kashmir.In the latter I saw beautiful silver andturquoise broaches and purse clips. Alsothere was a darling dress, embroideredin the finest stitches of the skilled Kash-miri, which would have been just rightfor my granddaughter. I didn't buy herebecause I planned to go to Kashmir ...but I never saw them again. Whichmakes me want to say right now, ifyou see something that is just right,buy it. You may never have the oppor-tunity to do so again.
After a great experience in Banaresat the bathing and burning ghats, wehad some time for shopping. I was de-termined to buy a lotah, a brass potused by the Hindus. Our guide directed usto a home brass works. It was filledwith beautiful brass, a great percentageof it painted. The owner found my lotahfor me and then I spotted a round brassjar with lid. It is the type that Hinduwomen use to store their red powderfor beauty marks. Another article of in-terest to me was the long ropes of seedbeads, 108 in number, that are used likerosaries. I purchased the beads in a stallclose to the Golden Temple.
Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy had visited
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____________________ Shopping. Is. Fun in India
the Banaras silk weaving shop. Theowner was mighty proud to announcethat: Mrs. Kennedy had purchased silkthere, but that she had left plenty foru,;. It was a spectacular sight -to havethe colorful saris spread out before us.The silks were woven in every color ofthe rainbow, with borders abundant withdesigns in gold thread. My husband hadalready indulged me by a gift of a blue.violet sari, so here we bought silk headscarfs to bring home.
Bangles, bobbles and beads goes thepopular song! I just had to have somebangles (glass bracelets) that -the wo-men wear profusely on their arms. Thosewho have money wear gold or silverbracelets, but the less fortunate seemshappy for a time with the glass-alwayshoping that someday she may add ametal bracelet on her arm. This banglebusiness starts in infancy. One scarcelysaw a child without a bracelet. I wishedI had bought many more, for my teen-age daughter and her friends just lovedthem-they would have been light totote home, too.- Not all India jewelry is of the cheap
variety. Precious sapphires and rubiesare used in the better pieces. We visiteda jewelry place in Agra and were usheredinto a small room, where gems werebrought out _for us to see. We boughttwo small star sapphires for a friend,who had sent us money to make thepurchase. I'm afraid they were about halfthe size he had anticipated, for the priceon them must be double that of theWorld War II years. I resisted anythingfor myself, except one lovely ring setwith pearls and turqouise, at a moderateprice. After all, Shah Jehan had built abeautiful shrine studded with preciousstones for his wife-guess my husbandthought he should buy a memento ofAgra for me.
I had lamented the fact that I neverbought the bamboo footstool in Calcutta.It is a product of the Bengal province.So while in New Delhi, I found one withleather top. I asked the shopkeeper ifit were made by a Hindu. He answered."Just say it was made by human hands."Maybe he was afraid the leather wascowhide. A really beautiful footstool, de.signed in brass, we sent to our son anddaughter. in-law. At this time neitherhas arrived. I keep hoping they will.
Many people thought, because we wereto be in Kashmir, that I would comehome with Cashmere sweaters. Thesweaters we have are not made in Kash.mir. But Kashmir does have beautifulshawls and scarfs, so fine in texturethey almost shimmer in one's hand. Alarge shawl can be pulled through aring from your finger. These shawls run
JANUARY, 1965 :-.:0
from $SO American money on up. Theyalso have lovely ones at a much lowerprice-that was for me. The most charm.ing salesman was a man named "But.terfly" who used the butterfly design onmany of his garments. It was fun pickingout material for a suit and having ittailored. I had the fitting, but had toleave Kashmir before it was completelyfinished. The tailor promised to send itair mail-but I should have known bet.ter. It, too has not yet arrived!
One of the interesting crafts of Kash.mir is wood carving in beautiful walnut.We were told that the woodcarvers wewatched were from one family. However,the vast storeroom of carved furniture,toys, boxes, etc., made us question the"one family" bit. Finally our guide ad.mitted that this place also sold for othercarvers. ~Iy most prized possession isa cow, carved out of a solid piece ofwood-so typical of the cows we sawroaming the streets of the city or lyingin utter disregard on a safety island inbusy New Delhi.
Again we were told at the rug makingfactory, that separate families workedon each rug. Here I could believe it, forthere were small boys, as young as eightyears old, working side by side withtheir father and grandfather. Their deftlittle hands were already skilled at tyingthe knots on the famous Kashmir rugs.The crude, but sturdy looms were set upwith various color yarnS! on skeins above.As one in the group would chant thepattern, the men would quickly dart inand out of the warp with the yarn. Justas quickly would the knots be tied. Ofcourse we had to visit the salesroom tosee the completed rugs. I do not havea place in my home for a rug-so wecame away without making a purchase.
Papier mache is also sold to the touristin Kashmir. I thought I would not be in.terested, but came home with a lovelybox. It was interesting to watch theworkers making he papier mache arti.cles. Old rags are soaked in a solutionfor about Lx week until they becomea pulp. The pulp is pressed into moldsand allowed to harden. Then free handartists paint and decorate the articlesusing the finest brushes. Many of thefinished products were almost monstrosi.ties. but by careful selection, one canfind most attractive trays, jewel boxes,vases, etc. The box I have is dark greenwith gold leaf, and decorated with thechinar leaf pattern.
Traveling by air limits a woman tothe size and amount of purchases: I triedto _limit myself to articles with somesignificance, which I could treasure.There were beautiful things I passed up-_0 I'm looking forward to another tripto India.
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San Francisco Newspaper Tells
What India Is Talking AboutFrom San Francisco Chronicle
CITY IS TOO LOUDDELHI, INDIA-Delhi is up in arms
about noise. A recent scientific studysaid that the city is simply too loud-four times too rnoisy for concentrationand effective thinking.
Recently the motoring correspondent ofa local newspaper devoted an entire col.umn to one of the main noisemakers ofDelhi-the bulb horn. This resembles anemaciated tuba with a rubber ball at.tached to one end. When squeezE-d thedevice emits a cry similar to a cross be.tween an oboe and a young yak.
The motoring correspondent maintainsthat "There is a great art in blowing abulb horn. The novice. grabs the thingand pinches it roughly, but this is like.ly to choke the windpipe and the noiseis not impressive-it may even offend.The long, deep note. is obtained by rest.ing the fingers on the bulb and pressingmainly with the thumb-rather in themanner in which a good .nurse dischargesa hypodermic syringe."
He goe.s on to mention that simpletunes are possible, "Colonel Bogey is dif.ficult, but the opening bars of Beetho.ven's Fifth Symphony are most satis.fying."
Another, far more troublesome noisemaker is the loudspeaker. It is used forspecial events such as ground.breakingceremonies and we.ddings, in order toinflict the joy on the entire neighborhood.
Most Indian weddings are huge affairs,held outside beneath stripE-d canopies.The loudspeakers are stationed in thesurrounding tree tops and broadcast reocorded songs or the occasional efforts ofthe omnipresent brass band. Recentlyduring one of these instances the noiselevel in an otherwise quiet locality wasmeasured at 90 phons--the sam e a sdowntown Bombay during rush hour.
During October-the month of festivals~the city fathers g I' ant innumerableloudspeaker permits. Pockets of noiseerupt in all neighborhoods, often over.lappin.g eaoh other and causing t€'l11persto shorten as the month wears on.
One group of foreign residents reoquested ,the police to enforce a curfewand volume regulation at a: neighbor.hood sideshow organized and staged bythe servants of the area. The requestfoun-d its way from neighborhood' of.ficials to the district magistrate who
12
countered, "Do you remain quiet and in.doors at Christmas."
But many sounds of Delhi have greatcharm: the melody of temple bells atsunset as people leave their homes topray, the half.sung chant of vegetableand fruit merchants describing the i I'wares, and, when one is in the mood asthey cycle by it, the impudent chatter ofmynah birds adds to the pleasant aspectsof life-exotic but at the same time fa.miliar-always uniquely Indian.
-Jane Quilter Kennedy* * *
RICH. BUT NO FUNDSNEW DEL H I-Once upon a time a
brave Hindu king, sorely pressed forfunds to fight the approaching Moguls,rbesought his guru for help. This holyman presented the brave king a swordand a charger and told him the distancegalloped by his horse would be strewnwith jewels.
This was the 16th Century but todaythat area surrounds the town of Pannain Madhya Pradesh and 90 per cent ofIndia's diamonds are mined there.
Last year Rasool Mohammed, an illiteI'.ate peasant, made h adlines with hisfind ofa 47 carat diamond-since namedthe Vijaya. He was working a mere yardof sandy earth which he had leased forfive rupees, about one dollar. His Vijayais worth $85,000.
Rasool followed the age.old procedureupon discovering his treasure: he shout-ed his good fortune for all to hear. 1m.mediately the local government repre-sentative hustled to his pit and relievedhim of his jewel In return for an officialgovernment receipt.
At the annual March diamond auctionRasool got 80 per cent of the sale valueor rather he got another official receiptfor $68,000. . ' .
Slow are the ways of the'Tndian bu.reaucarcy, in fact its mechanisms <;ouldalmost be said to grind to a halt whenmoney is involved. A year has passed.When last heard from, Rasool was con.sidered lord of his village, a millionaireamong paupers, possessor of more moneythan he could contemplate spending inthis life or in any Incarnation to come.However Rasool has not seen a cent ofhis $68,000. He is living on reputationalone and is deep in debt.
Being a millionaire he. would .lose faceif he lived in his old hut, dressed in hisold manner or took any kind of a job.Daily he visits the post office. At first
EX~CBI ROUNDUP
------------------What IndiaIsTalkingAbouthe declared the government would payhim in gold coin. However the more so-phisticated of his acquaintances persuad-ed him otherwise. Now he matntains his$68,000 will probably come by moneyorder.
He also pays literate men exorbitantfees to write to Delhi inqui11ing after histreasure. So far all he has rece~ved is anotification from the tax bureau. Askedhow much tax he is expected to pay Ra-sool only shakes his he,ad. He is unableto read so he does not know.
He only knows he is a millionaire."People keep telling me. Also I saw mypicture in the paper," he says in Hindias an aHerthought.
-Jane Quilter Kennedy:;': * *THE LIQUOR MUDDLE
BOMBAY, IN D I A-Indian officialdomhas observed that many American tour-ists experience acute discomfort as are.sult of certain customs of this country. somuch discomfort, in fact, that they arechoosing to stay away ill large numbers.This applies particularly to that mostdesireable category of American tourist,high. living and fre,e spending, who isaddicted to a martini before dinner.
On New Year's Day the Chief Ministerof Maharashtra stunned a dry nation byannouncing that this state and its ma-jor city, Bombay, would "relax" prohibi-tion as of April 1: He will not defy thecentral government's 15-ye:ar.old com-mitment to temperance, said VasantrauNaik, he will just "rationaliz€''' it.
While teetotalers in Bombay immedi-ately threatened to offer satyagraha (Le.,launch a non-co-operation campai~n inthe Gandhi tradition), the press editor-ially cheered the chief minister. Heads offive other states have expressed profoundadmiration for his idea of "rational pro-hibition," and have announced similarplans 'fortheir own states.
The ministers are agreed that by mak-ing it easier to purchase spirits theirstate treasuries will be fattened. And notthe ieast of the fat will be pro\-ided bynew thousands of thir ty American tour-ists.
Hearing the matter put so logically,ordinary citizens are also giving supportto the proposals.
It must be said that Indian-style pro-hibition merits a high place on any listof the classic legal muddles of all time.
Nalk holds it responsible for wide-spread bootlegging, smuggling illicit dis-tillation (espe,cially of the lowly toddypalm), and corruption of civil sen-an ,among other "grave evils,"
The ,states are permiltted to' interpretnational policy in their own way. And
JANUARY, 1965.'
different districts within the states havedifferent practices. Some are all dry, somepartly dry, some illicitly but flamboyant-ly wet.
I! you are a resident of Bombay, theIndian city .that most closely resemblesSan Francisco or New York, you gothrough a rigorous protocol to ge:t a li-quor permit. If you are under 4D, youmust appear before a medical commis-sion to get proof that you need liquor forsurvival. If you are over 40, you can geta physician-friend to make the affidavit.
But if you happen to be 40 years oldyour pe~mit is good for only a year, whileif you 'are 39 it is Ji!:oodfor two years.
(These inconveniences have not de-terred thousands of respectable and ro-bust-appearing residents from swearingto a condition of hopeless alcoholism.They proudly display the card that pro-claim them to be habitual drunkardsrequiring special consideration at theliquor dispensary.)
If you are a casual tourist in India,you may get a special form to fill outin triplicate which allows you a "unit"of liquor per month. You get the formstamped and take it to your hotel bar(if you are in a city where hotel barsare legall. The ,bartender will examinethe signature, serve the drink, stamp thepermit, and make a labored entry in abig ledger which he stamps and tucksaway for your next visi.b
In some cities you can drink in yourhotel room but not ina bar. In othercities you may drink in public but notin your home or hotel room. Even whereit is legal to drink at home, it is illegalto offer a drink to an Indian guest.
You may buy a cocktail on Tuesdaysbut not on Wednesdays. All the largeci,ties observe at least one "dry day" eachweek, when :not even tourists can finda drop to drink.
A typical well.intentioned tourist in!\ew Delhi will carefully memorize theday (Wednesday I which is dry. Then hegoes on to Bangalore. He piously abstainsfrom spiri on Wedne day, looking for-ward to Thursday when he can slake histhirst. Consider his dismay, then, onThurSday, when he orders a small beeronly to learn ,that in Bangalore it wouldhave been pe.1'fe:etlylegal ,to carouse onWednesday but he can get nothingstronger than tea on Thursday.
Multiply this pitiable inc ide n t bythousands, say the embattled chief min-isters, and even the central governmentmust concede that prohibition as prac-ticed in I n d i a is not conducive totouri m.
It seems very likely that it will be adamper summer this year than last, inIndia. -Audrey Menefe.e
1
BOMBA Y BOOZE AGAINBOMBAY-You would need a goverm.
ment permit if you wished to slake yourthirst in this city with anything stronger
new or at the full, and then they emergefrom the tree with mischievous intent.
The ground under the tamarind is afavorite place for ascetics to sit and do.penance. There is one out there now,wearing sacred ash and mermilion onhis forehead, and holding a small bag.His flaming eyes were focused on ourfront door until we sent the cook out witha donation of 25 naya paisa. Now his at.tention is riveted on passersby, most ofwhom drop samples into the ,bag of what.ever edibles they may be carrying.
Inside the house there is a puja. roomwhich our small son has commandeeredfor a playroom. The air is still redolentof burnt camphor oil and incense andstale blossoms. (Only the blossoms areever plucked, never the stems. It was anIndian scientist, you may recall, who re-corded the scream of a rose at the mo.ment its stem was cut.)
The kitchen stove is completely coveredwith a thin coat of dried cow dung. Thisensures that everything cooked on thestove will be sanitary, and eve.n slightlysacred. Cow dung is known far and widein south India as a sterilizing agent,and often taken internally as a remedyfor ailments. (Most ailments here are.fairly mysterious and referred to by thegeneric term "fever.")
The sacred nature: of cow dung is re-cOginized by the small girls and old wo-men who collect it iri~wide flat basketseach day for fuel. For the same devotion-al reasons that food is touched only bythe right hand, so cow dung is pickedup only in the right hand.
Moving day was humid and unnatur-ally calm, but it ended on an auspiciousnote when the season's first "100" cameup, bringing a hint of next month's monosoon.
The sky turned dark, and hot windsblew from the east, blowing away loosepapers <!lnd topsoil and Passing Showcigarette boxes. The sluggish buffaloesthat amble down the center of the roadbegan to run in aU directions, and thehobbled donkeys of the dhobies (wash.ermen) hopped about in grea,t excite-ment. Then the rain came down in wildgusts, soaking dry fields and causingthe thankful people to run outside andleap up and down. The long dry summerthat began last January was nearing itsend.
It was indeed an auspicious day.-Audrey Menefee
.:: * *
W;hat India Is Talking About _
AN AUSPICIOUS DAYTITPUR, INDIA-It was a most aus-
picious day. Hindus were celebratingthree.day marriage ceremonies, and theirwoven we.dding pandals stretched acrossthe streets in unexpected places. Mar.riage pipes sounded from loudspeakersfar into the night and started up againbefore dawn.
The day was auspicious for manythings, including travel. Travel encom.passed such activities as moving anddying, and Tribals were on the movealong our main thoroughfare, B-H road.Several fine funerals were being cele.brated.
The day coincided with Bakrid, whichis observej by the Moslems as the daywhen Hazrat Ibrahim, after a revelation,decided to sacrifice his dearest possession~which happened to be his son. As hewas about to wield the ax, his son, bya miracle, was replaced by a lamb. Thisis why all the Moslems butcher and eattheir lambs on this day.
In fact it seemed that all Tiptur wasjumping. And we celebrated, too, by mov-ing out of the compound into the airyhouse of the magistrate on B.H road.(B.H stands for Bangalore.Honavar, butwhen it was built long ago that was itsintended destination.)
We were able to leave the compoundonly because. the magistrate, a learnedman with ,two university degrees, hadmoved out in the morning to a half-fin-ishej house two furlongs away. He ex-plained that if he did not move on thisday he would have to wait more than amonth for the next auspicious day.
An assortment of bearers, peons, andcoolies-in descending order of status-arrived to help us. They made a rarespectacle carting all our furniture andhousehold goods on their he.ads acrossfields to B.H road. Citizens dropped theirmormal occupations and loitered about tosee that the thing was done properly,shouting helpful suggestions which thebe.arers acknowledged by rolling the eyes.
A bullock cart loaded high with coco-nut shells followed close behind, the dri.vel' having spotted a house-moving pro-cession and sensing a sale for his fuel.
School boys on holiday gathered man-go leaves and twined them into festoonsto drape over our veranda door. The gar-land wards off the Evil Eye, and willensure an auspicious occupancy.
In our garden are banana and papayatrees bearing sweet ripe fruit, and ju toutside the garden wall is a shady tam.arind tree. This tree cannot be plantedtoo close to a house, because ghosts fa-vor it as a dwelling place. 'Ilhey are gen-erally amiable except when the moon is
Ex-eBI ROUNDUP
----------------- What India Is Talking Aboutthan Coca. Cola. This has been so for some13 years.
And to get the magic permit you mustbe either a foreign tourist or, if an Indi.an, a confirmed liquor addict or a terriblysick man blessed with the right type ofsickness which whiskey alone can cure.
As the coconut trees sway in the cool,gentle breeze, producing an illusion of"winter" in this tropical island metro-polis, the citizens fondly hope that whensummer comes again it will bring withit pots of toddy, the native beer tappedfrom coconut sap.
Toddy tapping can land you in jail foranything up to two years.
A third of India is dry in varying de-grees but nowhere is the prohibition lawso strictly enforced as in Bombay. Per-haps, in no other state is the law alsoso systematically breached as here.
The Free-Press Journal recently esti-mated that 50,000 Bombay citizens areengaged in illicit distillation and the"ancillary" occupations. The paper in-cluded 10,000 women and children in thisfigure.
Some 2,500 people are arrested underthe prohibition law every week.
All the newspapers are against the drylaw. The opposition parties are alsohighly critical. And now a section of theruling Congress PaDty is clamoring for"realistic rethinking" on the subject.
Chief Minister Naik has announcedthat within a month he will announce
"a new prohibition policy." He says thatsince ,the dry law has done a lot of goodto the poorer classes there is no questionof scrapping it outright.
But he has said enough to enthuse thecity's ,thirsty people who now have tobuy Scotch in the black market at $25a bottle.
But not all people can afford to paythat much for a bottle of hard liquor. Itis brewed in suburban cottages and soldat $2 a pint.
The vast network of bootleggers havemany ingenious ways of smuggling thehooch into the city past the MahimCheckpost, the entry point into Bombayisland.
Recently, the prohibition squad stoppeda city-bound bus. It was noticed that halfthe women passengers were pregnant.To be exact, the officers counted 18 preg-nant women among the 65 passengers.
Policewomen discovered they had allstrapped bicycle; inner tubes aroundthemselves. The tubes were filled withillicit liquor.
You can hardly guess who would be theunhappiest people if prohibition is scrap-ped or relaxed. Certainly not the moral-ists.
The newspapers estimate that one outdf 40 citizens will lose his livelihood. Thebootleggers are naturally unhappy at thethought that prohibition may end afterall. .t
. -Rukmini Devi
\VORLD'S LARGEST banyan tree, in Ro~al Botannical Garden at Calcutta, is viewed by Kat)'Smiser and Enid Dorton of Ex-CBI Roundup's "Return to India" group. (1964 Roundup photo)
JANUARY, 1965 15
First Station Opened at lahore
elevision Comes to PakistanFrom the Pakistan Embassy
LAHORE DEC. I-Television made itsdebut in P~kistan with the inaugurationof a pilot station here by President AyubKhan on November 26.
The station will telecast its programsdaily from 6:30 to 9:30 in the evenings.
A similar station is planned for Dacca.H will go on the air towards the end ofDecember.
Speaking on the occasion, the P.resi-dent expressed the hope that by stImu-lating the people's interest in. ~ew re-sponsibilities and new opportumtIes, theestablishment of television would furtherthe twin national objectives of integra-tion and development. .
The Central Minister of InformatIOnand Broadcasting, Mr. Abdul WaheedKhan, expressed his Ministry's thanks tothe Nippon Electric Company f?r thetechnical know-how and the eqUIpmentwhich it had provided for the LahoreStation.
Mr. Waheed Khan said the Govern.ment aimed to make television a self.financing industry. A limited amount oftime would be available for commercialprograms and the revenues so earnedwere expected not only to cover theexpenditure on tE;lE;vision but also toyield reasonable dIvIdends.
Earlier, Information Secretary AltafGauhar told a news conference that theobject of starting television in the coun-try with pilot stations was to preparethe ground for a gen~ral p~rpose tele-vision service. The serVIce envIsaged full.fledged television stations at Laho~e,Dacca and Karachi, and three satellItestations at Islamabad, Chittagong andPeshawar. .
Because of the highly complex combI-nation of technology, education. ~ndsalesmanship required by the televIsIOnindustry said Mr. Gauhar, the Govern-ment h~d decided to phase out the pro-ject. This would ensure that TV expan-sion kept pace with the develoPJTl~nt ofsupporting facilities and the provIsIOn oftraning within the country.
"The Government proposes to set up acentral training institute for television.This institute will turn out a complementof 40 engineers and 40 program producersannually," the Information Secretarysaid. . . .
The general purpose teleVISIOn serVicehad also been planned to avoid as far aspossible, the strain on foreign exchangeresources, said Mr. Gauhar.. .
"For this reason, a TelevIsIOn Corpor-ation is proposed to be established with
16
authority to entertain equity ~artici~a-tion by foreign firms engaged m eqUIp-ment manufacture and program produc-tion facilities. Equity participatio~ inforeign currency will enable the PakIst~nTV Corporation to meet a substantIalpart of the requirements in equipmentand programming without involving ex-penditure of foreign exchange," the Sec-retary added. .
The Corporation was expected to attamself-sufficiency through sale of adver-tising time which ~ad been fixed at amaximum of ten mmutes per hour.
The Government's primary object, .c~m-tinued Mr. Gauhar, was that televIsIOnshould serve the interests of the people.Community television sets had beenliberally distributed in Lahore andin Dacca during the pilot stage.As more TV stations came up, andtheir range of coverage increas~d, morecommunity sets should be avaIlable toa larger number of peop.le.
It is estimated that wIth the comple-tion of the first phase, naJ?~ly, that. ofthe general purpose televIsIOn servIc~,nearly ten million people in West Pa~I-stan and an equal number of people .. nEast Pakistan should be able to VIewtelevision, Mr. Gauhar~said.
Liberal concessions had been offeredby the Government to ena~le TV setsto be available to the publIc at a rea-sonable price. All custom duties andsales tax on TV sets had been waivedand no licensing fee was chargeable .forowning a set. Pakistani nationals commgfrom abroad can bring one TV set as partof their baggage and TV sets. have beenplaced on the open general lIcense.
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EX.CBI ROUNDUP
THE CENTER OF THE WORLD: COMMU.NISi\! AND THE MIND OF CHINA. By Rob.ert S. Elegall!. Doubleday & Co., Garden City,N.Y. 1964. $5.95.
The author, a Chinese scholar and anexperienced news correspondent, ana.lyzes the tortured efforts of Chinese civil.ization to adjust to contacts with theWest from about 1600 on, with backwardglances at Confucius and others. It seeksto show what life in Red China has beenlike, year after year, though critical read-ing of the official press and interviewswith refugees in Hong Kong and For.mo~a. Elegant thinks the, U.S. should con.tinue to block Red Chinese expansion byfOl'ce if ,necessary (as in Laos and VietNa1l1), but he thinks we should also seekways :to give the Red Chinese leaders op.pOi'~l.lnities to "understand the na.ture ofth0 real world."
THE LAND AND PEOPLE OF AFGHANI-STAN. By Mat)' Louis Clifford. J. B. LippincottCo., Philadelphia, Pa. $2.93.
This is one of the books in the Por.traits of the Nations series and was writ.ten by the wife of a CBI veteran, RobertL. Clifford, who has been a Roundupsubscriber for many years. Material forthe book was gathered during the twoyears the author lived in Karachi, Pak-istan, where her husband was with theAmerican embassy. At the time, shetraveled through Pakistan, and much ofAfghanistan and northern India. Thisis an interesting book about a little-known mountain country just north ofWest Pakistan which has been conqueredand reconquered by tribes and nationsseeking a passageway to India, to Persia,and to other parts of Asia.
GALAHAD. By Col. Charles j\'eu-Ion Hunter.The Naylor CompallY. Sa 'I Antonio. Tex. 1963.$5.95.
The story of what happened in 1944when Galahad Force (Merrill's Maraud-ers) invaded North Burma as told by aman who was the original member of theorganization and almost the last, andwho commanded the unit longer thanany other officer. Colonel Hunter blamesmixups in the high command for confu-sion which made the taking of Myitkyinaa costly operation. About 2,000 men, vol.unteers for a hazardous mission, werelost as members of a regiment that hadno official name other than 5307th Com.posite Unit (Provisional).
JANUARY, 1965
COLOSEL AAROS BL'RR. THE AI\IERI-CA1\' PHOENIX. B) Samuel Elly,le Burr. Jr.Expositioll Press. New York. 1964. Sol.0o.
Although this is not a CBI book, it waswritten by a CBI veteran who has fre.quently contributed material to Ex.CBIRoundup. The author, a member of thefaculty of the American University inWashington, D.C. has written this bookto present facts and counteract misinfor.mation about a man who played an im.portant part in American history.
THE SPIRITUAL HERITAGE OF Ii\'DIA.By Swami Prabha/!(walld.l ll'ith Frederick ALII/-chester. Allchor Books (Doubled.lY & Co.), Gdr.dell City, N.Y. NOl'ember. 1964. Paperb"ck,$1.45.
The 1963 Doubleday hardcover editionof this book was reviewed by ChristianCentury as "a comprehensive survey; lit.tIe previous familiarity is necessary onthe reader's part." Swami Prabhavan.anda, leader of the Vedanta Society ofSouthern California and a recognizedauthority on the subject of Indian re-ligion and philosophy, explains in detailthe various schools of thought that havedeveloped in India, quoting from thegreat writings. Books by this author areused as texts at Indian universities.
TRADITIONAL INDIA. Edited by O. L.Chavarria-Aguilar. Spectmm Books Origillal(Prelltice-Hall), Ellglewood Cliffs, N.J. Novem-ber, 1964. Paperback, S1.95; cloth, $4.95.
A collection of excerp'ts and essays byscholars and interpreters of Indian cul-ture making up a readable introductionto a rather specialized era, the EpicPeriod, roughly the six centuries beforeChrist. Most of the book is devoted toreligio.philosophical aspects of the cuI.ture and the main religions, Buddhism,Hinduism and Jainism. There are alsopieces on the geography of the subcon.tinent, the languages, politics, music,trade and currency.
MODERN CHINA. Edited by Albert Feuer.werker. Spectrum Books Original (Prentice-Hall),Engleu'ood Cliffs, N.j. November, 1964. Paper ..back, '1.95; cloth.. '4.95.
Twelve sections from writing by ex.perts-articles from scholarly journals,complete sections or chapters from books-covering the last 100 years of China'shistory, politics, population control, agoriculture, economics, literature, etc. Thisbook and "Traditional India" launchPrentice-HaIl's new Asian CivilizationSeries.
Changing Your Addr'3ss?Notify Roundup!
17
Tales of CBIBY CLYDE H. COWAN
ME, THE THEATRE SURGEON?
I am not a bonesetter, faith healer, nora country doctor! I have limited my ex-plorations of that standard textbook."Gray's Anatomy," to February 30th ofeach year. Pre.med was not for thisguy. Let the other bloke prescribe bro.mides of potassium, ammonium, and so.dium for some alcoholic drunk with adelightful case of reptiles and pastel.shade elephants.
Only minute traces of 1% of youreaders will recall that Colonel Shawwas Adjutant General of the ChinaTheatre in 1945 A. D. My occupancy ofChungking started in March of that por.tion of time. Being one of the bellhopsin the Headquarters Message Center wasmy act of kindness to intensify the War..Effort. Mimeograph paper and tubes ofblack ink did not enjoy an overflowingmeasure of military glamor like theB-29 bomber or the Gen. Sherman Tank.But, troop movements must be publishedIn black and white, on account of "Men.tal Telepathy" being such a hit and missform of communication. The quaint jar.gon used on these documents is as ab-breviated as a Jr. Miss size Bikini styleswimming garment. For instance, "D. C."means "Dental Corps" and "E. P. T. I."stands for "Existed prior to induction".Of course, this type of Mumbo-Jumbowas readily transposed by the SecondarySchool Graduates in the Adjutant's Of-fice. Throughout the vast empire of theWar Dept. it is common knowledge thatthe I. Q. of these intellectuals runs intothree figures.
Before moving into Chu Cheng Com-pound my "route" was the offices in NewHeadquarters six times a day, plus twotrips to Old Headquarters. Located highon the edge of the deep Yangtze Gorge,the Compound commanded a titanic viewof the river and the cataracts therein.As a courier, my assignment includedthe uelivery of confidential, restricted,secret, and top secret information. Mysachel, being engineered for this exact-ing profession, was listed in uncle Sam'sCatalog as "Diplomatic case, incendiaryequipped". Army green in complexionthis heavy canvas item was reinforcedwith generous amounts of sole leather.The active ingredient of my handbagw~s concealed in a cute little pocketwIth a snap flap. At the presentation
18
ceremony this unique enclosure was ful.ly unmasked. It contained a three inchmetal bracelet affixed to a chain. ShouldI be waylayed by ruffians, who woulddemand the secrets of the bag, my handwould unsnap the cover of this littlecontainer and a bony forefinger wouldslide through the ring, prior to beingrelieved of my burden. As the banditsgrab it from me, the chain is pulled andhidden fire bombs are ignited, reducingmy bit of luggage to ash. The robberswould probably scurry away to the near.est drug store for some burn ointment!My desire to see if the thing worked wasnever realized.
Some of my errands were of majorleague caliber, including a goodwillvisit to The National Military Council.This place was a poor man's version ofthe Pentagon, built on a hill between twovalleys. The Colonel entrusted me witha teeny-weeny sized packet addressed toGeneral "Blank". His Chinese insigniaalso appeared on the label. Before reolinquishing the parcel to this officer,he had to show me an ivory signet car-ved with the identical Oriental charac.ter. This delivery was completed withoutincident .
A professional visit to Pat Hurley'sAmerican Embassy (Mekwa Dossi Kwan)meant an upclimb of more than 200steps, leaving my jeepherder far below,refrigerating himself with his ever-pre.sent fan. And me, without a roll-onapplica tor for personal daintyness!
During July's hottest day, a sympath.etic WAC. in the Air Force Messenger
. Center, placed her chilled canteen atmy disposal. An elongated gulp provedit to be that liquid fire sold under thelabel of "Hunter's Gin". If you haveever subjected your esophagus to thiscounter-irritant, you will recall its saw-tooth smoothness. Many gallons of thisfluid sandpaper were consumed by themusketeers of the Chairbourne Infantryin this Capital City of the Celestial Em-pire. Us warriors were indebted to theChungking Soap and Solvent Co. for dis.tilling and marketing this "needless nec-essity" and the many Enchanted Eve-nings of thirst quenching it brought us.
Another memoir is the Milky Way ofStars on the able shoulders of GeneralsWedemeyer, Stratemeyer, Sultan andHurley. My colleagues-in-arms challeng-ed me to meander by this celebratedcluster of taskmasters without makingthe usual toward these Worthy Gentle-men. They saluted Me and this scribblerovercome with frustration, answered withthe welcome gesture of a nervous friendlyIndian, then sought refuge around thenearest 900 corner.
The Top Brass in Chungking weredownright neighborly to this over.aged,
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flatfooted fifth class technician, andprobably conjectured that I was not acivilian, by my own choice. Lt. Gen. Al-bert C. Wedemeyer often remarked, ingood humor, "how burdensome yourpouch must be." This good three-stargeneral called me "Sarg", although myshirt sleeve indicated the sublime de-gree of a T/5. Today, on one of the wallpanels of my Rumpus Room, is an auto-graphed bit of kodakery of this sameTheater Commander, stating his pleasurein receiving the Glad Tidings of the birthof our daughter, Robin. His likeness hasgiven prestige to that part of our homefor more than 16 summers.
The readers of this inkslinging session,numbering several more than a dozen,might be all at sea in an ocean of doubt,as to whether the title of this thriller(Me, Theater Surgeon?) is suitably ap.propriate or not. In the very smolderingJuly of 1945, my delivery route includedthe Chief of Medical Services of theChina Theater of Operations. Civilianwage-earners, employed by the U. S.Army, were awarded a bonus of compli-mentary outpatient treatment in this of.fice. These townspeople were not likelyto neglect the common cold, or the chron-ically sprained lumbar, what with UncleSam picking up the tab. This type ofperson-to-person diplomacy consisted ofonly traces of red tape but yards of ad.hesive tape. One late afternoon while re-clining at the desk of Lt. Col. "Blank",Theater Surgeon, my ear drums werepleasantly massaged by the female voiceof a woman, "Colonel, I am available formy physical examination." My headturned so rapidly, the centrifugal force inmy neck nearly scattered vertebra to thefour winds. Nature blessed me with aluxurious case of 20-20 vision, and therestanding within the scope of my OpticNerves was Miss Alice Wong, clad in animmaculate 'WAC uniform, sans the of.ficial insignia. Although toying with thetop fastener of her shirtwaist, she seem.ed squeami3h about proceeding untilthat action was mandatory. It was withno small portion of sadness and remorsethat I informed the lovely Miss Wongthat I was not the Colonel and, therefore,not qualified for work of such a seriousnature during war-time; and that apply-ing a band-aid represented the sum-totalof my knowledge of surgery, obstetrics,internal medicine and mid-wifery. Shesensed embarrassment and murmured,"You older Americans look so muchalike."
Perhaps this caper was the outstand-ing event of my three-year army career.Me, a stumbling Stumble Bum, beingmistaken for a dignified Colonel of theU. S. Army Medical Corps!
JANUARY, 1965 19
There Is No Black Hole of CalcuttaBy NEIL L. MAURER
The Black Hole of Calcutta no longer~exists.
This may be a surprise to CBlers whovisited the spot during World War II,and who remember it as a site of con.siderable historical interest. Accordingto history it dates back to 1756 when theNawab of Bengal, attacking the BritishEast India Company, threw 146 Britishprisoners into a room less than 20 feetsquare. Only 23 survived overnight. Thefollowing year Lord Clive, with 3,000British troops, defeated the Nawab's forceof 50,000.
During World War II days there wasan area of marble pavement, and aplaque bearing this inscription: "Themarble pavement beneath this spot wasplaced here by Lord Curzon, Viceroy andGovernor General of India, in 1901 tomark the site of the prison of old FortWilliam known as the Black Hole inwhich 146 British inhabitants of Calcuttawere confined on the night of the 20thof June 1756 and from which only 23came out alive.
Hoping to see the plaque again, wementioned it to our guide, a well.edu.cated Hindu trained and employed bythe Government of India Tourist Office.
"There is no Black Hole of Calcutta,"he told us. "Soon after independence itwas discovered that this was all a fig.ment of the imagination. Records provedthat it never actually happened, so theplaque was removed."
Perhaps he is right. The story of theBlack Hole of Calcutta is still in thehistory books; it was still mentioned inthe 1964 edition of The World Almanac.But since there is no one living whowas there in 1756, no man can come for.ward and say, "I know it is true becauseI'm one of the 23 who survived."
In the future you can accept eitherthe British or the Indian version.
Disappearance of the plaque markingthe Black Hole is an indication ofchange. Every country wants to put itsbest foot forward, and certainly this wasnot one of India's best. So it had to go.
Many things British had to go afterindependence, although many others re-main. One that has been the subject ofconsiderable controversy has been Bri.tish statuary. Some insist that the sta.tues belong with history and should reomain; others find them either odious ormerely out of place in the new India.So the official policy is to preserve those
20
that have historical and artistic value,and to remove the others.
One of the most recent to go was thestatue of Lord Hardinge, Viceroy of In.dia from 1910 to 1916, which had beenon a pedestal near the south gate ofRaj Bhavan in Calcutta. It was theeighth to be removed from a public placein accordance with the West BengalGovernment's decision on removal andpreservation of statues of British rulersand administrators in Calcutta. Of thoseremoved earlier, four were placed in theVictoria Memorial Hall and three in agovernment storeyard below the Kidder.pore Bridge. The latter three-and per.haps Lord Hardinge joined them-arenow in a weed-grown area surroundedby planks, oil drums, scrap metal andrusting steam-rollers.
It is rumored that another 14 statuesof British rulers in Calcutta are to beshifted in the near future.
Even the English language is in somedanger. On January 26, 1965, Hindi (inDevanagari script) becomes the officiallanguage of the Indian Union. English,which now has more use in India thanany other language, will be the secondlanguage. It will continue to be usedby the courts and in the universities,unless Parliament again changes thelaw. This could happen, too, becausethere are groups working to cut out En.glish entirely. It will probably be donein some states, but the action will notbe widespread. Educated Indians realizethat English is about the only instru.ment through which modern science andtechnology can be brought into the coun.try's tradition. bound society. If regionallanguages replace English as the me.dium of instruction, the linguistic unityof India will be destroyed.
In New Delhi, the plan is to start keep.ing some records in the secretariat inHindi. An English translation will haveto be appended, however, for the benefitof those who are not proficient in Hindi.In the future, a letter received in Hindiwill be answered in the same language.All this will naturally mean considerableduplication of work. It will slow downan administrative machine that alreadymoves at a snail's pace, and it will takea long time before a complete change.over can be made.
Whether they are willing to admit itor not, the Indians have received a lotthat is good from the country that ruledthem for 90 years. Despite Indian na-tionalism, which tends to reject anythingthat has a flavor of colonial days, theBritish influence can be seen everywhereand will never be entirely erased.
EX-CBI ROUNDUP
.,
SHILLONG-To check the heavy ero-sion caused by the Brahmaputra at Ma-juli, Dibrugarh, Neamatighat and otherplaces, the Assam Flood Control Boardhas recommended selective dredging ofthe river. The board also recommendeda geographical survey of the Brahma-putra and other rivers originating out-side the state.
DACCA-Recent floods in East Pakis-tan submerged 12,000 square miles in 10districts, affecting about nine millionpeople. The worst affected districts wereFaridbur, Comilla, Rangpur, Pabna andDacca. On an average, 9,000 to 10,000square miles out of a total area of 54,000square miles is being submerged everyyear.
RAWALPINDI-Every candidate whosenomination is declared valid to contestthe forthcoming Pakistani Presidentialelection will be entitled to receive a sumof Rs 1,00,000 as election expenses fromthe Chief Election Commissioner, underthe proposed Presidential Election Bill.A retiring candidate would have to re-fund any money he received.
NEW DELHI-The "topless" was in-vented in India, Mrs. Indira Gandhipointed out humorously at a meetingof the Congress Parliamentary Party whenan M.P. mentioned the possible "evil"effects of television. The "topless" wasone of these, according to him, and afashion that should not be imported toIndia. Mrs. Gandhi told him that the"topless" had, indeed, orginated in Mal-abar and the tribual tracts where womenhad walked about bare-bodied not solong ago.
NEW DELHI-The Defense Minister,Mr. Y. B. Chavan, has reported that "inthe not too far distant future" Indiawould ,be able to launch a programmefor the construction of destroyers andfrigates. Efforts were being made, hesaid, to replace some of the "over ageships" by modern ones.
NEW DELHI-A three-paisa coin, madeof an aluminum-magnesium compound,is likely to be issued soon. The NationalMetallurgical Laboratory, which is work-ing on coin alloys to save copper andnickel, has suggested that aluminum andits alloys be used for lower denominationcoins as is done in other countries. It isestimated that if the one-paisa coin ismade of an aluminum alloy, it will resultin a saving of 3,000 tonnes of copper.
JANUARY, 1965
BOHPAL-Nearly 65,000 cattle died ir.Mandia district this year before the rainyseason, according to Mr. Arjun Singh,Agriculture Minister. He said the highrate of cattle mortality was due to short-age of pasture and not any particulardisease.
NEW DELHI-Although a formal Cab.inet decision on the subject is still await-ed, television is likely to be introducedin India on a fairly large scale early inthe Fourth Plan period. It is believed thatTV would be suitable for India's needsin the education and entertainmentspheres.
SAT N A-A rare quality of diamondweighing 16.90 carats has been found atthe Panna diamond mine, 45 miles fromhere. The diamond has been depositedin the diamond office at Panna to beauctioned.
NEW DELHI-Remains of Indus andpre-Indus settlements have ,be,en foundat Kalibanga \lillage, near Hanumangarhtown, in Bikaner district, Rajasthan. Thefinds of the Indus settlement, or Harap-pan culture, include plain and printe,dpottery, steatite, seals, weights and bladesof chert, terra cotta figurines, and axes,chi s e I s, spearheads, hairpins, e.tc., ofbronze or copper. The discoveries at Kal-ibanga have revealed a well laid.outtownship which might well have beena provincial capital of the great "IndusEmpire."
NEW DELHI-A new type of kerosenelamp that works on inferior oil has beendesigned by the, Lndian Institute of Pe-troleum. It is expected that the new lampwill eliminate the pressure on refiningprocesse,s and add to the existing supplyof higher grade oils.
SANGLI-S€'Ven people were injured,one fatally, in an explosion which oc-cured when a Ganapati immersion pro-cession was passing through the maLnbazaar area in :i\Iiraj. It is stated thatone of the crackers thrown by the pro-cessionists fell on a bullock cart carryinga Ganapati idol and a tin of gunpowder.
CALCUTTA-A new three paise coinhas been iSSUed, with a metal composi-tion of aluminum with 3.5 to four percent magnesium. This alloy is being in-troduced for the first time in India.
BHUBANESWAR-About 180 coins, be.lieved to ,be of gold, were discovere.d re-cently in a paddy field at Bandhupali, avillage in the Athamallick thana area ofDhenkanal district. It is believed thatthey were issued by the successor of. Tarasingha II of the well-known Gangad\'nasty of Orissa between 1,275 and1~400 ..\.D. The coins will be taken to theOrissa State }Iuseum.
21
Commander's
Messageby
Douglas J. BunkNational CommanderChina-Burma-India
Veterans Assn.
My trip to the board Il}eeting in. Mil.waukee was an outstandmg experIence.To begin-Pat O'Brien had been in Hou-ston for a week doing a show at theShamrock-Hilton's International C I u b.The Houston Basha was with Pat onseveral occasions. One of the occasionswas a CBI party for Pat at the home ofR. C. and Bea Jones. It was a party whichended up with the entire cast of the In-ternational show at the Joneses. At thattime I did not know Pat's itinerary andas I was waiting for boarding time ofmy flight to Chicago, here comes Pat.He entertained the passengers all theway. I know the pilot trimmed that planeseveral times because everyone on boardmoved to the rear compartment to listento the jokes, and the "locker roomspeech." What a time we had! We parte.din Chicago after being wined by the DI-rector of Aviation and his staff at O'Hare.
From there I flew to Milwaukee andwas met by the one and only Joe Cicerel-10. On the way to town we stopped atseveral places on the south side, be~oremeeting Vera Seder for a short meetmg.They presented me with a pair of "red"long handles; they knew I was not pre.pared for the blizzard and eight degreetemperature with three inches of .snow.
Friday evening was open house m myroom, which was attended by many ofthe Milwaukee Basha. To be honest, theweather was so bad I did not expectanyone to attend, but they put on theirtop coats and boots and trudged to thehotel. My thanks to Joe and Ida Pohorskyfor the preparation of the f?o~ served a.ndto Joe Cicerello for furmshmg the m.gredients that made Milwaukee famous.
Thi! 
-----------------------To TheEditors
NATIVE boys hired by army personnel at Jorhat, India, todo the daily wash. Photo by C. J. loanaker.
CARVINGS in ffi:li'ble and stone, inside theDelhi, India. Photo by Dushyant V. Patel.Southeastern U.S.A.• Where are all the CBIersin the southeastern part ofthe co u n try? We shouldhave a CBI Veterans Associ.ation basha in this area.Anyone interested is invitoed to contact me.
DOM MESSINEO,P. O. Box 4081,St. Petersburg, Fla.
Another CBler• We school teachers havea built-Ln audience. Some-thing came up in my in.dustl1ial arts class recen.tlyregarding hand grenades,and this was my key to teUone of my experiences inBurma. The next day one ofmy boys said, "Mr. Hess, myfather was in the CBI, too.He was with the Flying Ti.
JANUARY, 1965
Red Fort at New
gers under Gene.ral Chen.nault." I had to explainthat my outfit, the 843rdAA Battalion, was no suchglamour outfit as far asworldwide recognition wasconcerned. But that is howI learned the name of an-other CBI veteran-in thiscase, Richard Trzaskos ofBaldwinsville, N.Y. I amalways a m a zed that soman y men I meet h a v enever h E.' a r d of Ex-CBIRoundup or the annual reounion of CBI folks. Wearin.gthe pin and di playing thedecal on- my car windowhas given me several con.tacts. In fact, one day a fel.low waited a half hour forme to come out of a SUPE.1fmarket Ln order to learn forsure that ,the CBI is still agoing concern.
GLENN C. HESS,Clay, N.Y.
Welcome Evento Your magazine is a God.send and certainly is a weI.come post.WW2 event. Keepup the good work.
ALFRED J. LEONE,Middletown, N. Y.
..373rd Bomb Squadron• Keep up thE' good work.I look every month for anyB.24 fliers, China, who werem e m b e r s of the 373rdSquadron of 430th Group atLuliang.
ROBERT C. SMITH,Caro, Mich.
23
Fly to Amsterdam fir.lt. The city's 50 canals and 500 photogenic bridges put YOIl ill the proper holiday maud.
11>.+••
Reliable KLM presents 6 goodreasons why you should begin and end
your European trip in Amsterdam1. Amsterdam eases you gently into Europe.It's excitingly foreign, but almost every-body there can speak English.
2. Amsterdam is the perfect place to start aEuropean tour by car. Reason: car rentalrates are lower in Amsterdam than in mostother cities in Europe.
3. Amsterdam has the only airport in theworld where you can buy a car tax-tree anddrive off within an hour. You can save from$300 to $1,200 on u. S. list prices. Youmay even save enough to pay for yourwhole European trip.
4. Amsterdam has superb air connectionsto 40 European cities. You have a choiceof about 12 flights every day to London, 5to Paris, 4 to Hamburg.
5. KLM's amazing "bonus city"'bargains let you visit up to 25extra cities for no extra air tare.
6. Amsterdam Airport has oneof the biggest tax-free shoppingcenters in Europe. You can buy
Swiss watches, French perfumes and 150brands of liquor - often at less than haltU.S. prices. Stop off here on your way home.
3,000 careful, punctual DutchmenMany experienced travelers say the care-ful, punctual Dutch have made KLM themost reliable of all airlines.
At Amsterdam Airport alone, 3,000technicians look after KLM jets. KLMwas the first European airline to be author-ized by the Federal Aviation Agency tooverhaul planes for U. S. airlines withoutfurther inspection.
Now 30 percent of KLM's maintenancework is done for other airlines. A nice voteof confidence in KLM reliability.
If you're planning a trip toEurope soon, tell your travelagent you want to fly to Amster-dam first-with reliable KLM.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines,609 Fifth Avenue, New York17, N.Y. Phone: PLaza 9-3600.
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