Under the Deodars (Hesperus Modern Voices) by Rudyard Kipling

Under the Deodars (Hesperus Modern Voices) Reviews

• 
  Amrendra

  Another Kipling Classic, this book has 8 stories of British Life in India. 4 stories focus on the life and romance in the hills (Shimla), the short-lived dalliances and tragedies. Mrs Hawksbee, a prominent character of Kipling is seen in some of these stories.
  
  The last 3 are more on military life in India. Disease in the camp, a wayward murderous soldier and an old hand who gives enlightenment to Pagett, MP who has all romantic notions of India and the newly formed Congress. He is befittingly given quite an education by Orde, the Deputy Commissioner of Amara.
• 
  Venky

  Personally, reading Kipling has always been an implicit and difficult exercise in reconciliation. An uncomfortable and reluctant compromise between an apologist for the colonial reign and ramifications in India and an enchanting teller of stories that have spontaneity for a spine and subtlety as their heads. Hence “Under The Deodars” was no exception to this peculiar norm.
  
  “Under The Deodars” is a set of short stories having the quaint and tranquil mountain setting of Shimla as the backdrop. The towering ice capped mountains bear mute witness to the deceit, debauchery and dedication of the protagonists and antagonists alike. The book begins with the story titled, “The Education of Otis Yeere”. An egregious and enterprising Mrs. Hauksbee proposes establishing a salon in Simla, but is dissuaded from putting her plan into practice by Mrs. Mallowe. The latter then alleges that Mrs. Hauksbee is experiencing a mid-life crisis and the clearest way to overpower such a situation is by becoming an ‘Influence’ in the life of a young man (a path resorted to by Mrs. Mallowe herself). Taking such an advice to heart, Mrs. Hauksbee chooses a young man named Otis Yeere. But things fall apart and take a dreary turn when the smitten Yeere kisses his self-anointed friend, philosopher and guide.
  
  “At the Pit’s Mouth” has at its epicenter the spouse of a ‘honest man stewing in the Plains on two hundred rupees a month (for he allowed his wife eight hundred and fifty), and in a silk banian and cotton trousers’ enter into an extra-marital affair with a ‘Tertium Quid.’ When things get to a head, the lovers decide to elope to Tibet. While navigating a tricky and slippery path on the mountain slopes, the Tertium Quid’s mare gets spooked, develops the jitters and……
  
  Extra marital affairs seem to rule the roost in Kipling’s collection. In “A Wayside Comedy”, Major and Mrs. Vansuythen are posted to the desolate and isolated station of Kashima. Mrs & Mr. Boulte residing in Kashima give the new arrivals a whole hearted welcome. However, all camaraderie and companionship prove to be a mere charade as Mrs. Boulte suspects that her husband has fallen head over heels in love with Mrs. Vansuythen. This while she herself has been carrying on a surreptitious affair with Captain Kurrell.
  
  My favourite story in the book and one that is far removed from illicit attachments and illegitimate co-habitations is “Only A Subaltern”. In this moving tale, an enthusiastic Bobby Wick is made a subaltern in a regiment called the Tyneside Tail Twisters. Wick’s cheerful disposition and steely temperament make him a regimental favourite. When one of the soldiers, Dormer, a man of potent ill-temper and an affection towards the bottle runs the risk of causing damage to the regiment, Wick takes him fishing and ushers in a transformation in his behaviour. Wick goes on leave to Simla, but his reverie is cut short by an urgent summons from his regiment. A raging cholera epidemic has run rampant through the regiment laying to waste many soldiers. Wick rallies his men and just when the regiment seems to be back on its toes, the evil disease strikes Wick himself.
  
  Kipling, however, blows the imperial trumpet with vigour and vengeance keeping his allegiance to the Crown undisguised in a lengthy story with the lengthiest title – “The Enlightenment of Pagett, M.P Pagett, a Member of the British Parliament renews acquaintance in India with Orde, an old school friend now vested with administrative responsibilities in India. Pagett in lengthy conversations with people of various ilk ranging from landholders to indigenous craftsmen concludes that a movement for democracy in India stands in direct conflict with the realities imbued in its people. Examining this story, Alan Sandison, observes, “...in beating the imperial drum, Kipling wrote stories of a directly propagandist sort; but even then the number which had this as their raison d’être is very small. Of these, one of the clearest is “The Enlightenments of Pagett, M.P. where the Anglo-Indian case is carefully argued and, implicitly, the British presence justified.”
  
  Kipling’s unabashed endorsement of the iron fisted British Rule in India also attracts the attention of many other writers as well. For example, Jan Montefiore, in a thought provoking and detailed review of Kipling’s “Kim” draws the attention of her readers to “The Enlightenment of Pagett, M.P - “Kim’s representation of the English rule of India as harmonious, benevolent and uncontested (except by the ineffective Russian spies) is seductive because it is articulated, not by Anglo-Indian spokesmesmen as in the early propagandist story “The Enlightenments of Pagett, M. P.) but by Indians themselves. Yet it is unrealistic because it suppresses any acknowledgement of the serious Indian opposition to English rule that in reality existed, and was gathering strength during Kipling’s own years in India.”
  
  “Under The Deodars” – an engrossing set of vivid stories and one abominable Panglossian paean to an even more abominable atrocity committed by a marauding and pillaging nation upon another.
• 
  Perry Whitford

  This early collection from Kipling doesn't pull any punches about the behaviour of the British Empire's representatives in India, and has a decidedly unsympathetic, even misanthropic tone to it.
  
  In the first story, 'The Education of Otis Yeere' we get a glimpse into how the smart, bored wives of government officials in India dealt with their ennui - by cultivating the fortunes of hapless men from the rank and file.
  Later on in 'A Second-rate Woman', these two are at it again, this time casting their less than benevolent eyes on a sad pair they call The Dowd and The Dancing Master, but again their aim is slightly off.
  
  'At the Pit's Mouth' is a tragic warning against conducting adulteries in a cemetery, 'A Wayside Comedy' is similar warning against conducting adulteries in a secluded little community, and 'The Hill of Illusion' rounds off a loose trilogy with an unsatisfactory dialogue between irresolute adulterers.
  
  The next two stories are based in the barracks, both ending in death. 'Only a Subalten' features an inspiring young officer who goes beyond the call of duty for his men, then 'In the Matter of a Private' is a case of bullying (with the aid of a parrot!) where the worm turns.
  
  The final story, 'The Enlightenments of Pagett, M. P.', is the only one to look at the India question as a whole, and is basically an exercise in informing the good people back home that they don't understand a thing about the country.
  
  At least there were few Indian characters in these stories so there was little of Kipling's condescension towards them. He more than made up for it with the dose he dished out to his British ones. I can't believe that there were many chroniclers of the Empire as scornful as this in 1888. Nor as truthful.
  
  The young Kipling must have been a prematurely sour chap.
• 
  Thomas Rau

  Big Kipling fan here, but I did not much care for this collection of eight stories. The last one, "The Enlightenments of Pagett, M. P." is not much of a story at all, more a series of didactic monologues against the beginnings of home-rule (by Indians) for India. "The Hill of Illusion" is told entirely in dialogue, unusual for Kipling, and so at least the form is interesting. Similarly, the other stories have interesting aspects, but seem unfinished or, in one case, overly sentimental. Good for Kipling aficionados.
• 
  Old Man and the Read

  A good collection of short stories including a couple of his better known stories, "The Man Who Would Be King" and "Wee Willie Winkie". These are stories about the British in colonial India and illustrated their disturbing treatment of the Indians whom they considered inferior. It's difficult to rate books like this because I never know where to separate the writing quality from the thoughts that are expressed or, even, if they should be separated.
  
• 
  Andrew

  Some interesting stories of Anglo-Indian life under the Raj. Some difficulty with vocabulary - words, customs, and slang phrases that are difficult to find defined. "Enlightenment of Pagett" was rather dull.
• 
  Kilian Metcalf

  I know he's not PC, and I know he's unfashionable. But I still like Kipling. He was a keen observer of people, and he captures the lives of his subjects and places them on display for the reader. This collection of delightful tales of life in India under the Raj stand the test of time.
• 
  Trounin

  В целом, если рассматривать рассказы Киплинга по существу, нужно сделать единственный вывод, согласно которому получалось, что Редьярд рассказывал о происходящем в Индии. Проще говоря, Киплинг не ограничивался сухим изложением фактов, он старался сделать больше — раскрыть для читателя детали. И делал это так, чтобы читатель становился не сторонним наблюдателем, а словно оказывался рядом с местом происшествия. Благодаря художественной форме повествования этого получалось добиться лучше всего. Иного и быть не могло, когда перед читателем разворачивались истории, сообщаемые пусть и без лишних подробностей, зато в меру подробно.
  
  
  (c) Trounin
• 
  Gene Georgelis

  Liked some of the stories. Certainly a different time and place.
• 
  Gary Miller

  This book was published early in Kipling's career, in India. Well worth the read, but not his finest work. I was happy to find this copy of it.
• 
  Tarun Surya

  I have never read much of Kipling though I've heard about how he wasn't a typical colonialist. This collection of short stories reflects that idea very well. He offers a glimpse into the life of the English saheb during the heydays of the Raj and helps us understand India so much better.