Ibrahiim, thank you so much for posting "Gunga Din" in full by Kipling.
Kipling's work is quintessant in describing the wonderful color and pageantry of the British Raj, its diversity, as well as the dramatic contests between cultures and their challenges.
It was said that the British soldier would never bother gathering souveniers or trophies from an enemy he did not respect and admire. While Gunga Din was of course not an enemy, but ally in the British ranks, and this poem just shows the great respect the British Army learned to hold for so many of these people.
In most cases, the cultures in India were not really subdued by the British, but came to become allied with them in a carefully orchestrated accord, in my opinion of course.
Getting back to the camels, I really am intrigued by knowing more firsthand on their behavior from someone who has actually dealt with them. It seems they are far more phenomenal and perplexing than I imagined.
Good notes on Lawrence, another favorite topic, and it seems there was a recent discovery of a .45 pistol (Lawrence was the only one present with a M1911 Colt at the site of the famed railway ambush). This is said to be proof of Lawrences account of the raid, which had been strongly debated.
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