India is a fine country after all, as Brits found

Wild Woodbine, a cigarette that used to be made by W.D. & H.O. Wills, once issued a handbook with guidelines for British soldiers arriving in India.

- Karan Thapar

Wild Woodbine, a cigarette that used to be made by W.D. & H.O. Wills, once issued a handbook with guidelines for British soldiers arriving in India. It was intended to ease their sojourn in our land. Last week, I found it in an antique shop on London's Portobello Road. It's a delightful read.

It begins with how large India is. "Great Britain would fit into India twenty times". Then, there are instructions about the local currency. 1 Anna equals 1 Penny, 11 Annas is 1 Shilling, (on the basis there are 16 Annas to the rupee) 1 rupee equals 1 Shilling and 5 Pence and 13 Rupees 6 Annas makes 1 Pound.

Much of the handbook is a collection of important words a soldier would need to know and how to pronounce them. For instance, mouse is Chew-ha, road is Rust-er, sea is Some-under, shirt is Come-ease, sugar is Chee-knee, water is Par-knee and woman is Awe-rut.

There are also a few short sentences for everyday use when he has to speak to the natives.