Whimsical Travel: Remains of the British Raj

We had tried to get a reservation for dinner at the fossilized remains of the British Raj in Munnar, the High Range Club. This was the private club of the British (mostly Scottish) tea planters and continues today as a hotel... with quirks; the bar is reserved for gentlemen - no ladies allowed - and on Saturdays, gentlemen wear formal dinner jackets for dinner.

Bar of the High Range Club in Munnar

The objects above the bar are hats, which have been put there by members after they have been a member for thirty years. They refused to admit us for dinner - perhaps we did not meet their social criteria!

Cricket in Mumbai

Apart from cricket, where the Indians manage to generate immense enthusiasm even in a match that lasts five days, there are three other facets of the British Raj that are noticeably present: red post boxes, bureaucracy and school uniforms.

Post Box in Jaipur

Red Post Box in Mumbai

Bureaucracy is taken to quite extraordinary lengths in an "Alice in Wonderland" fashion. A couple of examples will suffice.

A boat trip on the lake at the Periyar Nature Reserve in Kerala is a very popular activity for thousands of people each week. Obviously everything would be set up to welcome these tourists, most of whom are Indian...wrong!! Each person needs to have three tickets - one for the boat ride, one to enter the park and one to use a camera. It would be too much to expect these to be sold at the same place - three different places not at all well indicated with different opening times.

To visit the City Palace in Udaipur (an absolute "must"), one requires four different tickets, one of which is in three different parts. Here fortunately, one can get the tickets at one place, but of course not all at the same ticket window. They all need to be officiously stamped.

While Britain may have advanced to somewhat more user-friendly officialdom, India seems to strive to maintain the full weight of Victorian-era paperwork.

To those of us that abhor the sight of scruffy children in jeans and tee shirts on their way to school, India preserves correct school attire, although the inevitably over-stuffed backpack has crept in to replace the proper school satchel.