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By Bridget White Kumar - Author of the awesome recipe books found here on Pepperwater.com
I was born and brought up in Kolar Gold Fields, a small mining town in the erstwhile Mysore State now known as Karnataka. KGF as everyone knows had a very sizable Anglo-Indian Population who lived and worked there for generations. It was well known for its colonial ambience with elegant bungalows replete with huge lawns and gardens and many clubs with tennis and badminton courts, golf courses etc. This place, which was known as “Little England” was unique for its secular and egalitarian society not found anywhere else in the world. Even though gold was being surface extracted by the natives earlier, KGF actually came into existence in the year 1880,
when a small British Trading Company called JOHN TAYLOR AND SONS established the first shaft for systematic gold extraction. They continued to be the owners till 1950, when Mr. Arthur Taylor, the last of the Taylors handed over the company to the Government of Mysore. Since then KGF has been owned first by the state Government then later by the Government of India and now it is totally defunct. The mines were closed a few years ago and with it one of the most famous Gold Mines in the world came to an end. It is the end of an era.
Many generations of Anglo-Indians worked in the different mines in K G F in different capacities. Everyone was happy and contented. Since it was such a small mining town, everyone knew everyone else and for weddings, funerals, dances and other functions all the Anglo-Indians in K G F would more or less be present. Life in KGF was glorious and almost every family had a retinue of Domestic Helpers i.e. “Ayahs, Malis (Gardeners), Chokaras, Thais, Sweepers, Tea-Boys, etc. who were part of the family.
The A I boys studied at the K G F School in Nandidroog Mine, where my Aunts Pansy White and Beryl Morris were strict disciplinarians. The Pinto sisters, Mrs. Monnisse, Mrs. Smith etc were all famous and well loved teachers. The A I girls studied at St Joseph’s Convent in Champion Reefs, where the nuns Mother Margurite, Mother Miriam, Mother Mary, Mother Magdalene, Mother Regina, Mother Immaculata, etc were equally strict. My aunt Luda Bertie, Miss Sharma, Mrs Johnson, the Steven sisters, etc are loved and remembered even today.
Childhood in K G F was blissful. No luxuries like the present generation but never the less happy with simple pleasures and games like Butch, Football, Throw ball, Spinning Tops, playing Rounders, and Seven Stones, “ L O N D O N “, flying kites (after coating the sting with “Manga” which is a mixture of glass pieces, paste etc so as to cut the other persons kite midair), I Spy and many other simple games. No T V then just a very old radio which would be tuned and switched on by the parents only, at times designated by them. Programes would be mostly news and songs from All India Radio and Radio Ceylon with Vijay Correra doing the honours. We would send in requests for favourite songs and wait eagerly for our names to be announced.
Now in a lighter vein, I would like to share a small childhood memory of the bathrooms/ Toilets in KGF. The houses in K G F were colonial style homes. Earlier, there was no underground drainage system, septic tank etc. As a matter of fact the modern W Cs were introduced only in the late 60s. . Just aluminum Chamber Pots on Commode stands lined up in a row in the Toilets one for each member of the family, The Stands would be painted blue, green or brown with a matching wooden cover for each. Every morning the night soil sweeper would come with her bucket to “Collect” the contents in the chamber pots and clean them with a mixture of soap solution and powdered Charcoal, which would make the pots literally shine like silver. This was quite a ritual and they would be inspected closely to see whether they were washed well without any residues left behind The pots would then be left in the sun to dry for some time while the sweeper lady washed the floors of the bathroom, then once again they would be replaced on their respective stands, ready for the day.
As children, we took this for granted as a way of life. Now looking back we cannot imagine asking present day children with their very luxurious bathrooms, which are now “Glamour Rooms” to use a Chamber Pot. The very occupation of the Night Soil Sweeper is now abolished and the old Chamber Pots have since vanished forever.
Likewise, KGF too is just a distant memory for all KGFites. The K G F of today makes us weep for its bygone glory. Long live K G F in the hearts of its erstwhile inhabitants wherever they may be.
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You know if you are an Anglo?
Written by andrea on 2008-05-14 14:40:25
| KGF Bygone
Written by Bryan Ryder on 2007-12-10 22:44:51
I to remember the good old times of KGF, playing on the cyanide dumps (yes! cyanide!). My family lived with the Woolgar family for some time, my mother's sister. I too recall the Monissee family. The time was a very distant 1952/54, before my parents moved North to a town called Burnpur in West Bengal till the mid 60's. Keep in touch!! | Interesting indeed
Written by Browneyedgirl on 2006-08-23 09:55:24
Ive actually been to KGF a couple of times I have family there (Dingle's)..so when we were kids...my sister and i used spend our summer's in b'lore..and always visit KGF, I always remember the night i experienced a couple of bad tremors, due to a blast in the mines...It scared me to death. Any ive had couple of good memories there too. | Fantastic
Written by cards on 2006-07-15 07:46:03
Wow! What a beautiful and informative article. I did not realise the power of the Internet that an article written thousands of miles away made me want to throw up, and I am referring to the toilet story. The very descriptive and graphic nature brought back similar experiences for me growing up in KGF. Bridget was fortunate to have one commode per family member we had a very large family and anyway we liked to share everything.
An inquisitive young boy would watch with fascination the soil sweeper going about their business and no matter how hard you tried to look away your eyes would lock on to the contents of the commode. When ever somebody describes a culinary event like baking a cake or brewing up some fresh coffee, ones mind conjures up these wonderful aromas, well I have got these vivid aromas of quinine a dettol style disinfectant that the cleaners used to clean the toilets with and slowly the commode incidents which was wipe from my hard disk along time ago are flooding back. It was also possible to encounter a wide variety of wildlife depending on the time of your visit, a sure cure for constipation. My friends may disagree but it's not every day you get the opportunity to talk s**t.
It's very obvious that Bridgets article is very sincere and spoken from the heart with great detail of bygone days, thanks very much for the memories please let us have some more. | Amazingly wonderful !
Written by monique on 2006-07-15 04:22:18
Hey Bridget, that was truly an amazing piece of literature. It makes one feel proud about being an Anglo-Indian and yes Long live KGF and Anglo-Indian tradition. | Lovely
Written by Raoul on 2006-07-14 22:48:54
Hey Bridget,
Nice , very nice Indeed , I remember hearing about KGF as a young boy , some of my mums family were there for a short time , do the names Parker or Turnbull ring a bell ?
Keep the posts coming Bridget , reviving memories of our unique past is so crucial in helping the present day Anglo Kids ( Especially those born out of India ) to understand the glorious traditions that are theirs to claim and be proud off.
Once again thank you very much. | How Nice
Written by Alison on 2006-07-14 10:32:15
That was a lovely piece written by my wonderful Aunty. Is there any end to her talent? |
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