INDIA: Dahlias & Diamonds

As famine and revolution closed in on India, a Briton and an Indian made gestures:

¶ Across the magnificent prospects of New Delhi’s viceregal gardens, Lord Wavell watched a team of bullocks draw a wooden plow through 70 acres of lawn. Maize, wheat and vegetables would grow there—too little and too late to relieve the famine that had already begun. Noting that few Delhi Britons followed the Viceroy’s example, the Hindustan Times bitterly suggested: “Perhaps if the effect is heightened by alternating red tomatoes with green grass, New Delhi may be able to preserve its esthetic soul intact and appease the hunger of the masses. As for tampering with private rosebuds and dahlias, how can one expect New Delhi to be so rash?”

¶ The fabulously rich, famously rotund Aga Khan came to Bombay to be publicly weighed, like any of his jockeys. Unlike any jockey, the Aga Khan tipped the scale at 243½ lbs. While the spiritual leader of Ismailite Mohammedans sat in a gold-brocaded chair bestowing blessings on the throng, bearers piled glittering diamonds on the other side of the scale. Their value was about $2,200,000. Fifty thousand Ismaili, crowded into Bombay for the occasion, were humbly grateful when the Aga Khan gave the money back to them, in trust.

Meanwhile, the dull ache of hunger gripped more & more Indian bellies.