I can remember Colonel Swami even now, sitting in the snug this raw April morning, listening to Glenn Gould playing the Goldberg Variations -
I first met the Colonel over dinner at Doctor Bagi's - I was feeling very hungry - I was staring at the bowls of curried vegetables with the burning gaze of a starving mariner -
Jane had introduced me to him - Colonel, this is Chris - he'd smiled a shy yet savage smile -
Over shreds of garlicky okra we spoke about military history, Indian politics and society, India's part in the First World War, the new face of India as exemplified by Bangalore -
As the days went by, I found myself drawn to this brisk, clever, portly man - I became increasingly aware of his keen intelligence and wolfish humour -
Why do do you take them to see elephants, he once laughed they can see one here -
Most days, between treatments, I would try my best to speak with the Colonel -
One morning, shutting his USI Journal, he told me about his first posting, to a Kashmiri glacier - it was a terrible zone of ice, unspeakably cold - men died, frost bitten, frozen to death - air dropped supplies were swallowed up by crevasess -
The Colonel smiled his smile -
I saw my father when I returned - we spoke until midnight - in the morning, the driver went to his bungalow - he would not answer - for he had passed in the night -
I first met the Colonel over dinner at Doctor Bagi's - I was feeling very hungry - I was staring at the bowls of curried vegetables with the burning gaze of a starving mariner -
Jane had introduced me to him - Colonel, this is Chris - he'd smiled a shy yet savage smile -
Over shreds of garlicky okra we spoke about military history, Indian politics and society, India's part in the First World War, the new face of India as exemplified by Bangalore -
As the days went by, I found myself drawn to this brisk, clever, portly man - I became increasingly aware of his keen intelligence and wolfish humour -
Why do do you take them to see elephants, he once laughed they can see one here -
Most days, between treatments, I would try my best to speak with the Colonel -
One morning, shutting his USI Journal, he told me about his first posting, to a Kashmiri glacier - it was a terrible zone of ice, unspeakably cold - men died, frost bitten, frozen to death - air dropped supplies were swallowed up by crevasess -
The Colonel smiled his smile -
I saw my father when I returned - we spoke until midnight - in the morning, the driver went to his bungalow - he would not answer - for he had passed in the night -
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