As the tradition of marrying Indian women became more
widespread, the lifestyle of British settlers turned completely Indian. They
became accustomed to Indian food and forgot the taste of English cuisine. When
Fanny Parkes visited Col Gardner, she ate only Indian food during her stay.
Similarly, these settlers also adopted the Indian dress. When Bishop Heber met
Ochterlony, he found him dressed in Indian clothing, looking like a Mughal
noble.
Due to the extreme polarisation of wealth, a large section of society was
crushed by poverty. Thus servants were available at very low salary and the
British, like the Indian nobles, employed many servants for their comfort as
well as for status. For example one of the British traders at
It is interesting to learn how the duties of this army of servants were
divided. For example, it was customary for every noble Englishman to keep a
servant whose duty was to maintain the huqqa or hubble bubble ready for him.
The servant accompanied him along with his hubble bubble when the master went
out for a walk or as a guest to someone’s house. After dinner, all servants
brought the huqqas, placed them in front of their masters and silently stood
behind them.
Like the Indian nobles, the British officers also took their servants to the
battlefield. In 1780, a captain had a Steward, a cook, a keeper of his dress,
two servants for his horse, a barber, and a waterman. There were 115 quliis to
carry his baggage which included wine, tea, chickens for food and goats for a
regular supply of milk.
Fanny Parkes writes that in a household of a middle class British family there
were at least 35 servants at a monthly salary from Rs 4 to 12. These servants
included: a khansama, whose duty was to buy household goods, the amber was in
charge of wine, water and ice, while the mash’alchi was in charge of light
during the night; tailor master, water carrier, milkman, coachman, gardener,
carpenter, cooks, ayhas for children, guards, and peons made up the rest of the
retinue.
Analysing the endless supply of cheap labour available to the rich, one can
understand the economic condition of common people who were ready to work on
minimum salary. One can see how the aristocracy enjoyed the pleasures of life
and exploited the poverty of their subordinates. When an Englishman visited
It is interesting to learn the daily routine of an English officer. It was the
duty of a servant to wake up his master. A barber shaved him while he was lying
in bed, cut his nails, and cleaned his ears. By this time his breakfast was
ready which he ate at his leisure. After that his barber arranged his hair.
Then it was time for the huqqa; the servant who was in charge of it served it
after cleaning it and filling fresh tobacco. When the officer went to his
office he was accompanied by up to 12 servants who carried his office files and
other baggage.
Unfortunately, the feudal culture is still thriving in