I’m in London, with it’s crazy weather of sunshine and rain and cold and heat all in one day. Right now, it’s raining ( not drizzling) and I’m enjoying the pitter-patter on the window sill.

But the day before it was warm and sunny— in fact, almost hot, and that’s when we made a trip to Hampton Court Palace, which was one of the palaces of the colourful king, Henry V111 and his six wives. Despite having two little ones with us, we managed to do the grounds and some parts of the palace. (Below is a view of the palace. Truly awesome!)

You’d never expect something so English, a Tudor palace, to have anything to do with India. But I was surprised to learn that a contingent of Indian troops actually camped on these palace grounds way back in 1919. They’d travelled all the way from Mumbai to take part in the Peace Celebrations post the First World War. The exhibition about them with photographs, videos, and their oral histories presented by their descendants was truly the highlight of this visit. (Below is a aphotograph taken from the site http://www.hrp.org.uk that shows the Indian troops who had arrived for the occasion)

Lest we forget- about 500,000 Indian soldiers fought this war alongside the British. King George the Vth had this to say:

I HEARTILY THANK ALL MY INDIAN SOLDIERS FOR THEIR LOYAL DEVOTION TO ME AND TO MY EMPIRE, AND FOR THEIR SUFFERINGS CHEERFULLY BORNE IN THE VARIOUS CAMPAIGNS IN WHICH THEY HAVE SERVED IN LANDS AND CLIMATES SO VERY DIFFERENT FROM THEIR OWN.

From King George V’s speech on August 2nd 1919

The part played by  Indian soldiers in this war does not have a happy ending. The promise of freedom or at least some amount of self rule was never kept. It would take many more years of protests and violence and yet another war to ultimately win this freedom. 

On a lighter note, I met some Tudor ladies and had a nice conversation with them. You can see them in the picture below. And the grandkids ended the day with a trip to the Magic Garden, which has all things to delight a child.