Prompted by the 50th anniversary of the opening of the MRA/IofC centre, ‘Asia Plateau,’ in Panchgani, India, in January 2018, I was inspired to write an account of my time in India during the years 1967 to 1971. It was intended for the enjoyment of a few friends who were in India at the time, but as I wrote it grew into a more general an account of the important place India has had in my life generally.
That story in fact goes back to the 1890’s, when my father’s father took the long journey (at that time, about three months) from England to Jammu to run a CMS (Christian Missionary Society) school there.
Even before I ever stepped foot in India, the country had already been a large element in my life, from the Indian food my mother produced to expressions such as ”achcha”, “kachcha” and “badmash” (the latter mostly directed at me) and Indian bric-à-brac around the house. India was always a pervasive presence in the family.
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