Ram Chander's Story

by Mark Tully

Excerpt from 'No Full Stops in India', 1992.

Genres: India, Nonfiction, Travel

59 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1995

About the author

Sir William Mark Tully was the Chief of Bureau for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in New Delhi for 22 years. Schooled in England, he stayed mostly in India covering all major incidents in South Asia during his tenure. He was made an Officer of The Order of the British Empire in 1985 and was awarded the Padma Shree in 1992, a rare distinction for a non-Indian. He was knighted in the 2002 New Year Honours. In 2005 he received the Padma Bhushan.

Reviews

[Ian Laird · Rating 3 out of 5]

Journalist Mark Tully (now Sir Mark), was born in India and spent his working life there, notably as the long-serving BBC Bureau chief in Delhi. Ram Chander ‘Chandre’ joined the Tully household in 1972 and stayed.

This memoir tells of Chandre’s evolving role in the family, moving from lowly sweeper to cook to ultimately running the household. Although he becomes indispensable and much loved, Chandre remains a taciturn man throughout, revealing little about his life or family back in his remote village.

When Chandre’s daughter is to be married, Mark Tully is invited to the wedding as an honoured guest and the story is thereby turned on its head, as the Britisher is now the one in unfamiliar territory. He is unsure of how to behave and what to do, as he struggles to respond thoughtfully and appropriately to the hospitality extended to him by the people of Chandre’s village. There are many opportunities for misunderstanding and for causing offence, albeit unintentionally. This is the nub of the tale: people from vastly different worlds doing their best to understand and to co-exist despite the differences in their history and culture.

The wedding itself is a huge deal, involving vast numbers of people, huge amounts of food and elaborate preparations. Thankfully the celebrations, which last for many days, are successful. They are however expensive, so much so that Chandre asks Mark Tully of a sizeable loan to pay for it all, which he is happy to do.

Altogether a remarkable insight into Anglo-Indian personal relationships a generation after independence.

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this in one sitting tonight. I went to the barbershop and had a haircut, hair dye and hair spa. I read while those are being done and I finished this book. Too bad the barbed did not massage my back. He was probably thinking that I did not want my reading to be disturbed.

This small Penguin 60s book is about Ram Chandler an Indian house help who belongs to the lowest caste in India. The narrator is a British national, his master. The setting was during the time when India was under the power of England. The plot basically centers on the wedding of Chandler that was witness by his master. The most interesting line for me: "In Britain, you marry the woman you love. Here in India, we love the woman we marry."

I have not seen a traditional Indian wedding. The description in this book is so vivid, the wedding ceremony is full of things symbolizing good things for the couple. The Catholic wedding is something similar but an Indian wedding is more connected with nature rather than symbols related to church or faith.

This is an okay book for me. Nothing special but nothing to be despised about. Just enough for me to be entertained while the barber was doing my hair. I should get the other books in this Penguin 60s.

[Coenraad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Tully was born in India and has stayed and worked there as journalist, first for the BBC, later freelance. In No full stops in India, of which this Penguin 60 volume is an excerpt, he describes his experiences of living there. The excerpt deals with his sweeper, Ram Chander, his background, history and period of working for Tully and his family. Tully is aware of being an outsider, observing a complex, ancient, highly structured society from the point of view of the British. He probably understands and knows it better than most, having lived there so long, yet he is still often in a position where he does not really know how to act or react, whether his involvement or intentions are beneficial to the people around him. This honest stance, which sometimes shows Tully to be slightly critical of or irritated with certain events or encounters, makes his finely observed narrative more believable than something similar from an author who does not realise s/he is out of depth. Tully contributes to the issue of colonial presence, but does not pretend to be a member of a group with messianic effect upon underlings. It is this honesty which makes his account palatable.

Mark Tully gee nie voor om alles omtrent die komplekse Indiese samelewing te begryp nie, al is hy daar gebore en getoë. In hierdie vertelling deel hy die leser heelwat mee omtrent Ram Chandler, 'n veër van 'n lae kaste wat baie jare vir hom gewerk het. Tully se fyn waarneming en sy eerlikheid omtrent sy buitestaanderskap, verder gekompliseer weens sy versigtigheid om nie neerbuigend teenoor sy bediende te wees nie, lei daartoe dat hy 'n interessante bydrae kan lewer tot die post-koloniale diskoers.

[Paul Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Penguin Books] (1995). First Printing. SB. 58 Pages. Purchased from The British Heart Foundation.

An extract from the author’s ten essay collection: “No Full Stops in India” (1992).

Interesting and amusing.

However…

The caste system insights are depressing.

Ditto the references to poverty, corruption and injustice.

[Gregory Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting portion of a much larger book describing helpers, their families and relationship between Indian and Brits during UK occupation.

[Angus]

.

[Sarah Goode · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice quick read and introduction to a new author for me.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story about a British citizen's Indian Servant with most of it being an Indian Wedding.