THE DURBAR

Otago Witness, Issue 3019, 24 January 1912, Page 7

THE DURBAR

By the Rev. Frederick Stubbs

A MAGNIFICENT SPECTACLE.

(Special to the Otago Witness.)

DELHI, December 12. The great event, which has brought the King and Queen from England, and hundreds of thousands of Ins subjects from various parte of hie Empire to greet him ; ie over, and yet another page has been added to the long records of Indian history. The Durbar ceremony, in which all the great princes and chiefs of India and the great officers of the Crown assembled to do homage to their King and Emperor, presented a scene of superlative magnificence such as can never be forgotten by those who were privileged to be present. Never before has the gorgeous East, perhaps not even the world itself, witnessed such a scene of flory and splendour. Lord Curzon s Duiar in 1903. when the Coronation of Edward VII was announced, was admittedly of superlative grandeur, but then tlie great gathering was presided over by a subject only. On the occasion for the first time in British history the Emperor himself was present, along with his illustrious Consort. This fact had for all Indians an immense significance. Presenting himself in ths ancient seat of the Great Moguls, ho appeared to all the ' Indian peoples the legitimate successor of Akbar, Shah Jehan, and Aurungzeb. He was no longer merely a {British King, the ’.representative <pt a foreign race, but their own legitimate Sovereign,- seated on the throne of the great rulers of the past. The morning, as every morning lias done during these ceremonies, rose bright and fair. This is one of the things that add so much to the success of Eastern functions : fine weather with brilliant Sunshine is practically assured. But long before the rising of the sun, the million souls in Delhi had risen to greet the day. Drum taps and bugle calls stirred the sleeping camps: lines of troops were on the march; civil and military officials hurried to their various posts; the streets began to fill with people. By 8 o’clock a scene of the greatest animation was presented ; the loads became thronged with a dense press of carriages and motor cars, with glittering escorts and liveries; a squadron of Lancers dashed along; vehicles of every description appeared waggons drawn by camels, trotting bullock carts, tongas innumerable, ekkas —surely one of the strangest little carriages ever devised by man; fours-in-hand, brakes, barouches; chariots plated with gold or silver, with attendants dressed in all the colours of the rainbow. In the immediate vicinity of the Durbar arena enormous crowds had assembled. They appeared to be villagers for the most part, each with his bundle and brass pot, but with them were a large number who evidently belonged to the city. Others, again, poured into the arena, and took up positions on chairs and benches rising in tiers on the great mound. THE ROYAL PROCESSION. Tlie King and Queen drove from the Royal camp up the broad KLngsway, flanked by the chiefs’ . encampments bright with flags and glowing with colour, under triumphal arches and past high gateways with mottoes of welcome. They were escorted by a large military escort, whilst the long lines of troops that guarded the roads added to the martial effect. Their way had been heralded a little while before by the passing of the Royal household, with whom was the Earl of Crewe as Min-ister-in-Atteiidance; and by the carriage of the Governor-general, with a large escort. Expectation had already been raised to a high pitch by this vivid and exhilarating approach, but upon reaching the immediate scene of the Durbar the full sense of the unapproachable state and brilliancy that was to attend the Imperial spectacle broke for the first time upon the mind. Away to the horizon upon every side a vast plain stretched out with the dim foliage and distant tents against tlie blue haze of the skyline, crowded with multitudes of natives in dresses of wonderful richness of colour. In the centre of this plain rose the immense and graceful structure of the amphitheatre, conspicuous for miles. It is on the same sight as that in which Lord Lytton, and afterwards Lord Curzon, proclaimed the Imperial title. It is horseshoe in shape, running above the plain from an immense artificial embankment, of which the inner slope is lined with tiers of seats accommodating 50.000 persons, of whom 6000 were school children. The seating accommodation in the official amphitheatre is 12.000, whilst, I suppose, another 30,000, of whom 20,000 were soldieiis, were on the floor of the amphitheatre or Its approaches. Properly speaking, in-

aeea, tr.eve Were two amphitheatres facing one another, with a space between, thus forming a circle that would be decidedly over a mile in circumference. Taking the smaller one first, its simplicity of white colouring, with the small minarets tipped with gold points, was very effective in the bright sunlight. At the back, perforated screens guarded the purdah ladies, whilst in front was a low balustrade bn which fretted woodwork was pierced to resemble marble. At the inner base of the horseshoe, projecting slightly into the arena and facing the ceremonial entrance and the great mound of spectators, stood the Royal pavilion with its two golden thrones raised high, so that all might see them, and its gilded dome glittering in the sun. Nearer to the smaller amphitheatre was another raised platform, with considerable floorspace and fretted balustrade. This was the Durbar Shamiana, a study in crimson and gold, with its golden poles, its rich canopy overhead, its golden thrones standing on a dais covered with cloth of gold; its lower platform carpeted with white and gold. Facing the shamiana to right and left were ranged the vassals of the Indian Crown, from the Nizam, first in sovereignty, down to chiefs from the wild mountains of the Hindu Kush and the forests of Burma. Farther away the tiers of red cloth were full of minor chiefs and notables, including the invited guests and representatives of the press, amongst whom the present writer had his scat. The jewelled splendour of these princely or distinguished persons reduces language to despair. The lower and central tiers were ablaze with the brilliancy of the jewels and robes worn by the chiefs grouped in readiness to do homage to their Sovereign. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls, etc., sparkled with every movement of their wearers. Some of the rajahs seemed to be literally covered with jewels. Great ropes of pearls, aigrettes of diamonds, necklaces of every conceivable stone, lovely earrings, and finger rings, and precious stones worked into the fabric of their dress—the ransom of not one King but of many Kings—gleamed before us. And then the robes of lustrous silks and brocades, the gold embroideries on stuffs of exquisite shades, the flowing vests, the turbans of gold and green, blue and orange, amethyst and violet—all together made a picture indescribably rich and beautiful, upon which the eye feasted with delight. Near to the princes and chiefs were the great officers of the Crown, civil and military, in uniforms that were almost covered with gold lace; ladies also, in lovely hats and gowns. And then, on the other side, in the greater amphitheatre, were the people, 50,000 of them, massed on tiers of seats. From where I eat one could see thousands upon thousands of snow-white turbans, then parterres of colour formed by the head dresses of the children being placed together in sections, one section yellow, another green, a third blue, and so on, the scenic effect being singularly beautiful. Then, between the two amphitheatres. with their 62.000 spectators, were massed 20,000 troops in their bright uniforms and accoutrements, whilst all the time that we were waiting massed bands were playing beautiful music. No wonder we waited well content, gazing upon such a wonderful scene. Then, suddenly, the music changed from its soft harmonies to “ See, the conquering hero comes,” and loud cheers broke out, and we soon knew what they meant, for immediately in front of us we saw the scarred veterans of the Mutiny being conducted to thei- places. Thoughts of Lucknow and of Delhi flashed into the mind. They marched in irregular ranks now, but we remembered that in days gone by they had stood in serried ranks to meet the storm of war, and that through the heroism of such men our In dian Empire had been saved. THE KING’S ARRIVAL. Shortly after 11.30 (many of us had been waiting since 9), the Governor-gene-ral and his wife arrived, and took their seats upon the platform, their pages, beautifully dressed, having already gathered there. Then, a few minutes before noon, the first gun of the salute of 101 was fired, indicating that their Majesties had reached the entrance to the amphitheatre, and their cavalry escort was seen filing rapidly off to make way for the Royal carriage, which soon appeared in full state and drew up at the shamiana. Its progress had been marked by loud cheers, and these continued as everyone rose in a spontaneous outburst of loyal feeling, and the Royal Standard flew out from its high mast. The guards of honour and all the troops saluted, and the bands played the National Anthem. On this occasion the King and Queen rode together in the Royal carriage, and, to the great delight of us all, both wore their Coronation robes and crowns, with the Order of the Garter and the Star of India. The King’s Imperial crown was

resplendent with diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires; the Queen wore, in addition, a magnificent necklace and brooch to match. The Imperial pair alighted and proceeded hand in hand to their thrones, the train-bearers being young Indian pages in light dresses shining with gold. It was a most impressive and exhiliarating moment. For the first time in history the King of England and hig Con sort appeared to their Indian subjects in all the glory attaching td their persons as Emperor and Empress. Facing them were 12.000 princes, chiefs, officers, and other distinguished and privileged persons, all handsomely attired, the brilliancy of Oriental robes mingling with the blaze of military uniforms and the dainty grace and fashion of European * toilettes. Around them on the arena were the 20,000 troops in scarlet and blue; behind them, 50.000 of the general public seated on the great mound, and as many others as could find any point of vantage to view the splendid sight. THE DURBAR OPENED. Then, as the echo of the last shot died away, the Master of the Ceremonies advanced and obtained permission to open the Durbar. The flourish of trumpets and roll of drums followed, whereupon the Viceroy delivered a scroll to the King, who stood up and read his speech. As soon as this was finished the ceremony of doing homage began, the Governorgeneral, advancing first, followed by, I suppose, 200 great personages. The homage of the princes and chiefs, of course, formed the most interesting sight. As each one advanced alone —magnificently attired, loaded with gold and jewels, the cynosure of all eyes —he halted in front of the throne, making obeisance according to the manner of hie country, sometimes simply bowing repeatedly and salaaming in Oriental fashion; at other times prostrating .himself, forehead to earth, before the King. Some before their obeisance laid their jewelled swords at the King’s feet; others, costly presents of siik. Then, having made their homage, they retreated backwards whilst another approached. To me there was something touching and pathetic in these proud princes of the Orient prostrating themselves before a European monarch, and thus acknowledging their own inferiority and his overlordship. The yoke is made as comfortable as possible, still there is no getting away from the fact that they have to wear it, and to obey where required the dictates of the paramount Power. At the same time, 1 am convinced that almost all accept the situation cheerfully, recognising its necessity for all parties, and are thoroughly loyal to the British Crown, Now came another stage in this remarkable ceremony. Their Imperial Majesties rose to their feet and descended from their thrones, the golden umbrellas held over their heads. The pages in their glittering apparel ranged themselves behind, and raised the long trains. Their Majesties then turned outwards, the King to the right, the Queen to the left, and descending met at the other side of the shamiana. The whole multitude rose to its feet, and remained standing. Preceded by two gentlemen ushers carrying wands, who walked backwards, the Emperor and Empress walked to the Royal Pavilion, ascended the lofty steps to the golden thrones, and faced the vaster audience, representing the people of India. On these exalted seats they were clearly visible, and presented a splendid spectacle. Then, with a roll of drums, the bands struck up the summons to the heralds, who forthwith rode into the arena followed by their 24 trumpeters. 12 Euro, poan and 12 native, their crimson coats almost covered with cloth of gold, and bearing the Royal cypher, G.R. I. The two heralds, one British, the other Indian, wore rich tabards of satin, emblazoned with the Royal arms back and front. They sounded another flourish, advanced towards the dais, halted, another flourish rang out sharp and crisp, like the herald’s challenge in “ Lohcn grin”; then they saluted and received the King’s command to read the Proclamation. They wheeled their chargers sharply round, and, facing the vastpopu lar assemblage, the Proclamation was read first by the British herald in Englash. and then by the Indian in Hindustanee. both subsequently returning and saluting the King. Each in turn then called in stentorian tones for three cheers for the Emperor, to which we all enthusiastically responded. Then the trumpets once more rang out; the 20,000 rifles clicked in the royal salute; the massed hands struck up “God Save the King”; the people cheered again; the rattle of a feu-de-joie swept up and down the long lines of rifles; the batteries without again boomed forth their 101 guns—and the Great Durbar was over.

It had been a wonderful sight, and I have not met a single spectator who did not confess that words failed him to describe the impression it produced. Over whebninj* emotions must have filled the

heart of every Englishman as he beheld the glorious scene. The fervour _ and loyalty of the people was unmistakable, and there is no doubt whatever that the great functions culminating in the Durbar have profoundly affected the imagination of India, and impressed upon its princes and peoples the greatness of the Imperial idea. The terms of the Proclamation and of the Royal Announcement, too, have given immense satisfaction, especially those relating to the reunion of Bengal and the adoption of Delhi as the capital.