Hill tales from the Raj

A study of Munnar8217;s colonial past throws up some little-known sidelights that make interesting 8212; and amusing 8212; reading.Press...

A study of Munnar8217;s colonial past throws up some little-known sidelights that make interesting 8212; and amusing 8212; reading.

Pressurised by the local Scottish tea company, the government reluctantly opened the first post office in the wilderness that was Munnar way back in 1892. Fearing the facility would be withdrawn if there wasn8217;t sufficient stamping registration, the planters colluded to send several postcards to each other as often as possible 8212; even though there was precious little to communicate. The ruse worked and the post office became a permanent feature.

In the absence of banks, the post office also delivered funds to distant estates. To prevent theft en route, the Scotsmen came up with a unique solution. Currency notes were cut in half; one half was sent to the estate concerned and, on receipt, the other half was despatched. When government officials objected to this practice, the planters somehow convinced them that the ends did justify the means!

Deserters were a major problem in the early 1900s. Unable to withstand the cold and the hardships of an isolated life, the coolies 8212; recruited from Tamil Nadu 8212; often bolted back home the day they received their monthly wages, disrupting work in the tea estates.

Frustrated, the Scottish tea company countered this with a brainwave: it introduced its own coinage for all financial transactions relating to the workforce 8212; negotiable, of course, only within the company. Soon enough the exodus stopped. The two gold coins issued by the company to mark the occasion are on display in the local tea museum.

Frequent litigation was also a problem. Once, at the peak of the monsoon, a British planter and three labourers were summoned to a distant court as witnesses. They duly attended the hearing but what nettled the Brit more than the drenching, was that the court paid him the same batta as the coolies!

Immorality was taboo. A venerable Scottish pastor discovered that the church watchman was living with a woman to whom he was not married. Outraged, he confronted the offender 8212; only to be nonchalantly told: 8220;The girl you mention is only 12 years old and is my sister8217;s daughter, whom I propose to marry later on.8221;

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A blood sport popular then was the chase. A pack of hounds would track down a sambar which would be knifed to death by hunters following on foot. Once a novice was being blooded. Hunting knife raised, he panted up to the grounded stag.8221;Quick! Where do I stab him?8221; he gasped. 8220;Here!8221; cried a veteran, pointing to the animal8217;s shoulder 8212; only to have the knife promptly plunged through his fist!