“A Retainer fron Rajgarh” by Mortimer Menpes, R. I.

A Retainer fron Rajgarh

Mortimer Menpes

1903

Watercolor

Source: The Durbar, facing p. 8

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“Every one was only too anxious to sit to me at Rajgarh. Some arranged themselves against a tawdry temporary erection, and tried to elbow one another out in order to get good positions. I moved them all about as I chose, pushing some back and pulling others forward. I found out afterwards that these were all great men, and that I had been pushing about Commanders-in-Chief and Rajas. They all wore differently-coloured dresses. There were two venerable men with very white beards in light blue with orange turbans and pink sashes. Others were in black with coloured pompons. Some had old-rose and silver dresses ; others sported butter colour with pink turbans. All carried flaming banners. It was superb a marvellous collection. There were the dogs and the falconers a magnificent group. One of the falconers carried a bird on his gloved hand. He was dressed in vivid colours, and was a splendid type. Then, the hounds, a whole pack of them, had bright yellow jackets edged with red and brilliant grass-green ; so on, and so on. They seemed to be building up in beauty of colouring, these camps of the native Chiefs : each seemed more brilliant than the last” (170-71).

Bibliography

Menpes, Mortimer. The Durbar. Text by Dorothy Menpes. London: Adam & Charles Black, 1903. Internet Archive version of a copy in the University of California at Los Angeles Library. Web. 27 May 2017.

Last modified 27 May 2017