: This anthology of verse by British authors of the Raj is a caustic commentary on colonial India #IndiaNEWS Idle hours make light verse, or at least they did for the British in India: the soldier in

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This anthology of verse by British authors of the Raj is a caustic commentary on colonial India #IndiaNEWS
Idle hours make light verse, or at least they did for the British in India: the soldier in his barracks, the planter on his verandah, the government servant in his bungalow. If it has often been stated that the reading of light verse relieved the boredom of a routine life and a sense of isolation, then clearly the writing of it fulfilled much the same purpose: an antidote to the fact and feeling of tedium and loneliness. For a subaltern in the British Army proper, as opposed to the East India Company’s three Presidency forces, the very prospect itself of being sent to India was to be dreaded. The expatriate’s daily routine – between the obligatory morning and evening rides – left many hours outside one’s official duties requiring an antidote to boredom. They might be filled with carousing and gambling, or less riotous sports and pastimes, or more sober rounds of social calls, but the constrictions of expatriate society were keenly felt.Subaltern Squibs and Sentimental Rhymes is the first anthology to be devoted exclusively to light verse composed by British authors in undivided India, plus a few items illustrating parallel experiences in Sri Lanka and Myanmar. Written overwhelmingly by the junior ranks...Read more

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