DELHI DURBAR FESTIVITIES

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXII, Issue LXII, 20 January 1912, Page 2

DELHI DURBAR FESTIVITIES

'"■ ' ;' 1-' .<By, D.'.',Hebent<m). ' ,';' ' ''■V'^'"S'TATE"EN h TRY. •' . ,Punctually ,$t IQ, a>mi on December 7th, „their *, lirtpeiiial Majesties King I Geiorge y ,an'd }Que'eq, Mary,. looking fatigued 'after, their long, train journey, a lighted at JD[elh,i," from the train, that hacLb'drne ,them,from Bombay. His, Excellency the Viceroy and Lady Hard-, ingo received .them in the specially erected .pavilion, oa the station, platform ana presented, .all the high oificials of India. His Majesty was in the uniform of a,British Field-Marshal, and wore "the blue sash,of the Star of India k The strains of the, National Anthem, Ihe booming . of. the 101 guns of the Royal salute, and the firing >of ,a leude joi by^ the five miles, of troops that li -if i the. streets, . announced „• to ihe anxiously waiting millions of peoyle, thaT their Emperor and Empress had arrived- rin Delhi.-. .-They forgot the weariness,' of the wait, the crampedness of the-seats, and the burning sun, and .began to calculate how long the procession would take to reach them.

As the Emperor descended to inspect the troops what' a sight met his gaze. Ln the hollow were arranged represen* tatives of every regiment in India in .full r,evie\v- order. The red tunics or Tommy Atkins, the gaudy plumed helmets of the officers, the green uniform of the Gurkhas and the Rifle Brigade, the yellow braided uniforms of the artillery, the flowing pennons of dismounted cavalry, and. the many-colored turbans of the Rajputs and Punjabis, filled the hollow with color. Behind these, on rising ground', were massed regiments of cavalry, while on the ramparts which surrounded the parade there were standing a thousand veterans with medals which glistened in the sunlight. Many of these brave warriors had. fought through the Indian Mutiny, and served as a link between the troublous times, of 1857 and . the rejoicings of to-day. No scenic artist could- have devised a better spectacle, and no ground could have lent itself ■.better, to ma-ke such an imposing picture. , After inspecting the troops, Their , Majesties proceeded to the "shamiana" (as a large reception tent is called, in India) and. received the Indian Rajas. THE PROGESION. The procession started off through the crowded)native quarters of Delhi, with its overhanging balconies decked with flying banners bearing inscriptions jof loyalty and welcome —one large one in particular was noticeable, reading "Welcome to George V.; no foreign Emperor, but our own." The route through this paii; of the city was lined on both sides with British troops, with now and again a sprinkling of Gurkhas. The task of these guardians of the route was no light, one, for they had been there since early dawn keeping in check a seething multitude, who were for ever trying to force their way into the street in their eagerness to gain the best possible position to view their Emperor; now it was .nigh on noon, and the efforts of the crowd were more daring, and myriads of flies tiirhed up to still further add to the discomfort of the troops. On marched, the procession through archways and gates that had not been opened since the Mogul Emperors held sway in India. As the procession ascended the historic "ridge," where the British troops that stormed Delhi in 1857 made their' camping ground, one got a magnificent view of the State entry. The Royal procession, comprised a regiment of British cavalry, a battery of Royal Horse Artillery, the escort staff, Indian trumpeters, the bodyguard, of Indian cavalry, the Heralds, lords in waiting, equerries, the King Emperor, riding, and the Queen Empress, in a State carriage, followed by the Imperial Cadet Corps, a body- of troops comprised entirely of Indian princes.PROCESION OF RULING CHIEFS. First came the JNizam of Hyderbad, the premier feudatory chief of India, in a magnificent state coach with a retinue of his own troops. Next the Geakwar of Baroda in splendid state robes and diamond, breast-plate, escorted by a regiment of his state troops; then the Maharaja of Udaipur in brilliant robes, and strings of pearls and. diamonds. So passed Rajah after Rajah, quite a hundred in number, in silver coaches, largely ornamented, with gold mountings and priceless drapings. Caparisoned .chargers, in what looked like silver, chain .armour, were led behind, many of the Rajahs. One striking figure was the Begum of Bhopal, heavily veiled, the only reigning Indian Queen. The

'Opulace cheered her heartily

To the writer it appeared as if he stood and saw,, before him the ' 'Procession of the .Ages." First came the iiower of .'the British army- in review order mounted oil beautiful chargers, ascend-

ing in rank till it reached the King Emperor—the, representative head of; modern civilisation; behind that came the

Indian Rajahs, each one with his attendants, rep resenting, a century or two earlier than the one who preceded him. Here was ; a Rajah, whose troops- were armed with blunderbusses, then the troops of the Rajah of Jaipur in coats of mail, spears and shield, representing

the medieval .times; next came some dressed in uniforms and helmets similai* to those used in the days of Herod; and later, those who were an exact representation of the Biblical pictures in the times of David and Saul. It made one's eyes ache to watch this ever-moving panorama of brilliancy, wjrich took nearly three hours to pass a given point. Here was' represented the wealth of India, and full lavishly had. these Indian potentates prepared ffor tbjis historic occasion. No other country in the world could produce such a picturesque spectacle, or provide the oriental setting that enhanced the magnificence and color of thi£ gorgeous array which no imagination could have anticipated. The mighty procession reached the pavilion I at the top of the ridge where the fifty I heralds in uniforms, which were the envy of all, mounted on white chargers, blew a fanfare of trumpets, anouncing "The Emperor." , Here His Majesty was presented with an address, to which he replied in a short speech that was very distinctly uttered, and showed he possessed the powers of oratory. With the cheers of the crowd, the firing of the Royal Salute, and the playing of the massed bands, the Royal party drove away to their camp in the tented Durbar city. Thus passes into history the first entry in State of any but an oriental chieftain into Delhi, the capital of the great Mogul emperors; yes, the capital of India. since 3000 B.&, till Western civilisation, coming into contact with Eastern ideas, bringing with it new laws, new religion, and new ideals, altered the complexion of things generally. One "fly in the amber" with regard to this great procession, was that the native populace never recognised their Badshah, the native term of emperor. They expected him on an elephant or in a significent state. coach in pomp and splendour, but when the King passed them on horseback, with officials round him making him hardly noticeable, and when they were told that their. Emr>eror had passed, they were naturally disappointed, as many of them had travelled thousands of miles, slept out, and endured all sorts of privations to see their King.