The British used to ban defeated and
deposed rulers from their colonies to other countries. This way they prevented
them from becoming a martyr who might inspire rebels.
The last king of Burma and the last
emperor of India were exiled to each other's country, and I visited the last
hometown / resting place of both. In both cases following instructions in a
book in which they appear.
Amitav Ghosh - The Glass Palace
The Glass Palace is a beautiful novel
against the historical background of Thebaw, the last king of Burma, and what
became of his staff and acquaintances. The different storylines develop across
India, Burma and Malaysia. I had already visited most of the places where the
book is located: Mandalay, Rangoon, Calcutta, Penang and even the hidden
archaeological excavations of Lembah Bujang.
Thebaw was deposed in 1885. He was
exiled to Ratnagiri, a small town on the west coast of India, some 300 km south
of Bombay - now Mumbai. A small palace was built for him. He died in 1916 and
was buried in a walled part of the Christian cemetery.
So, the reason I visited Ratnagiri was
to visit the king's palace. It was a lot more impressive than I expected:
fairly large, three storeys, verandas and balcony, majestic, on a large compound.
The outbuildings now house an archaeological or educational institute. The main
building was empty. Grass grew through the cracks, roof tiles had snapped,
windows were broken. The doors were locked. For a moment I considered breaking
in, which would surely succeed with some force, but I rejected that.
I walked around the building a couple
of times and found a staircase that took me to the rear balcony. One door there
was not locked. That was a way inside. I wandered through the deserted halls
and rooms, over the large wooden stairs and up to the front balcony, from where
the king looked out over the mouth of the river and the bay. That was an
important element in the book, and it was overwhelming I could enjoy the same
view.
Opposite the palace, a stone staircase
led down the hill. I walked down to a small settlement of shabby huts. I climbed
back up and went looking for the Collector's Bungalow. The collector and his
wife also played an important part in the book. This place was harder to find,
everybody pointed me in a different direction. In the end it turned out to be a
surprisingly simple retreat for what was at the time the district's most
important British civil servant. At the bottom of the garden was indeed a place
where you could sit and look over the river.
Ratnagiri,
November 2004
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