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A railway resthouse and a train of thoughtR. V. Smith
[image: down memory lane 11]
down memory lane 11
The death of Aubrey Ceastan recently was a reminder of the contribution of
the Armenian community to the country's history
After Faridabad, the Tughlakabad railway resthouse holds a special place of
interest for those nostalgic about times past. One may doubt the story of
the Bhawal Sanyasi having visited it in the course of his wanderings for
justice, which he eventually got when Sir Dingle Foot, Q.C. (Queen's
Counsel) proved before the Privy Council in London that he was indeed the
Kumar of Bhawal State (now in Bangladesh). He had been poisoned by his rani
(the wife of his elder brother, whom he had married as per custom after the
former's death). But as fate would have it, his funeral pyre was doused by
a sudden thunderstorm and a group of sadhus passing by, seeing signs of
life in him, rescued the Kumar. The grateful prince accompanied the sadhus
through jungles and towns for 12 years, until he was in a position to stake
his claim in the Calcutta High Court and provide proof of his royal
identity at the Privy Council.
Why he came to Tughlakabad is not known but, according to the grapevine, he
had come to seek the blessings of an Armenian seer in his quest for
justice. The holy man had once been a railway employee, but a dream and a
meeting with a wizard made him adopt monastic life. But why did this
Armenian sadhu decide to make his home in that suburb of Delhi? There are
no clear-cut answers available, though it was once believed that some
Armenians had settled down in that place after the massacre of Armenians in
1739 during the invasion of Nadir Shah.
Kishanganj, between Old Delhi and Sarai Rohila stations, has a cemetery
where some Armenians and Dutch, who at one time were notable members of the
royal court at the Red Fort, are buried. Like the Bourbons, these Armenians
also bade goodbye to Delhi in the reign of Mohammad Shah Rangila. The
Bourbons were worried about their women being forced by the pleasure-loving
emperor to join his harem.
They found refuge with the Raja of Narwar, where one night several of them
were murdered by the raja's men for some unknown reason in 1778. The rest
escaped to Bhopal where they earned the patronage of the Nawab, who made
them his courtiers and one of them (Salvadore) even became Prime Minister
and his wife came to be known as Madame Dulhan. The Armenians did not find
a godfather after their ouster from Delhi. Whether you believe the story of
the Armenian seer and the Bhawal Sanyasi is a moot point. He may have
travelled this far, certainly not on foot but by train, for Tughlakabad has
always been an important railway link.
One had to make a night halt there a long time ago when a passenger train
to Delhi from Agra Cantt was stalled for several hours because of
disruption on the track. A friendly off-duty train driver, who was to stay
at the Tughlakabad resthouse before getting charge of a down train, took
one to the resthouse, and the remainder of the night was spent in drinking
endless cups of tea and listening to yarns, like the one about the Bhawal
Sanyasi and the Armenian connection.
The Armenians came to India during the reign of Akbar and settled down
mostly in Delhi and Agra. They held high posts at the court, and one of
them, Abdul Hayee, even became Chief Justice. Notwithstanding their names,
they were all Christians, some prefixing them with the honorific Khwaja or
Khoja. In course of time the Armenian community dwindled in North India.
Many of them found a new home in Kolkata, where the Armenian Church and
Armenian Street are famous landmarks. The Armenians merged with the
Anglo-Indians and became big names like the enterprising Arathoons. Mrs
Gandhi during her first term as Prime Minister visited Yeravan, in Armenia,
to review old links.
One such link in India was the Ceastan family. The name was derived from
Siestan, a region of Armenia. The death of Aubrey Ceastan recently opened
the floodgates of memory. His father was a big, burly mustached man, who
resembled Dr. Watson of Sherlock Holmes stories and retired as driver of
Mail and Express trains.
His uncle was an absented-minded, soft-spoken man, who looked like Robinson
Crusoe and could speak impeccable Urdu with the grace actor Tom Alter does
now. Aubrey, a fine athlete and good boxer, also joined the Railways (as a
guard) and retired 18 years ago. His major achievement was volunteering to
take an essential supplies train for the Army to the northern border during
the second conflict with Pakistan, necessitated by the Bangladesh War.
Imagine the train moving on endangered tracks with bomber planes flying
around and Ceastan holding his nerve, as in the boxing ring. One heard a
graphic account of his odyssey while once travelling with him to Delhi.
One's last meeting with him was two years ago. He had come up from
Tughlakabad and was waiting for a bus at Shankar Road en route to R.K.
Puram. Ceastan was proud that his son had become a teacher in the same
school where he and his father had studied. It too had once been an
Armenian institution, and thus an old link survives.
http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article3509275.ece
[image: down memory lane 11]
down memory lane 11
The death of Aubrey Ceastan recently was a reminder of the contribution of
the Armenian community to the country's history
After Faridabad, the Tughlakabad railway resthouse holds a special place of
interest for those nostalgic about times past. One may doubt the story of
the Bhawal Sanyasi having visited it in the course of his wanderings for
justice, which he eventually got when Sir Dingle Foot, Q.C. (Queen's
Counsel) proved before the Privy Council in London that he was indeed the
Kumar of Bhawal State (now in Bangladesh). He had been poisoned by his rani
(the wife of his elder brother, whom he had married as per custom after the
former's death). But as fate would have it, his funeral pyre was doused by
a sudden thunderstorm and a group of sadhus passing by, seeing signs of
life in him, rescued the Kumar. The grateful prince accompanied the sadhus
through jungles and towns for 12 years, until he was in a position to stake
his claim in the Calcutta High Court and provide proof of his royal
identity at the Privy Council.
Why he came to Tughlakabad is not known but, according to the grapevine, he
had come to seek the blessings of an Armenian seer in his quest for
justice. The holy man had once been a railway employee, but a dream and a
meeting with a wizard made him adopt monastic life. But why did this
Armenian sadhu decide to make his home in that suburb of Delhi? There are
no clear-cut answers available, though it was once believed that some
Armenians had settled down in that place after the massacre of Armenians in
1739 during the invasion of Nadir Shah.
Kishanganj, between Old Delhi and Sarai Rohila stations, has a cemetery
where some Armenians and Dutch, who at one time were notable members of the
royal court at the Red Fort, are buried. Like the Bourbons, these Armenians
also bade goodbye to Delhi in the reign of Mohammad Shah Rangila. The
Bourbons were worried about their women being forced by the pleasure-loving
emperor to join his harem.
They found refuge with the Raja of Narwar, where one night several of them
were murdered by the raja's men for some unknown reason in 1778. The rest
escaped to Bhopal where they earned the patronage of the Nawab, who made
them his courtiers and one of them (Salvadore) even became Prime Minister
and his wife came to be known as Madame Dulhan. The Armenians did not find
a godfather after their ouster from Delhi. Whether you believe the story of
the Armenian seer and the Bhawal Sanyasi is a moot point. He may have
travelled this far, certainly not on foot but by train, for Tughlakabad has
always been an important railway link.
One had to make a night halt there a long time ago when a passenger train
to Delhi from Agra Cantt was stalled for several hours because of
disruption on the track. A friendly off-duty train driver, who was to stay
at the Tughlakabad resthouse before getting charge of a down train, took
one to the resthouse, and the remainder of the night was spent in drinking
endless cups of tea and listening to yarns, like the one about the Bhawal
Sanyasi and the Armenian connection.
The Armenians came to India during the reign of Akbar and settled down
mostly in Delhi and Agra. They held high posts at the court, and one of
them, Abdul Hayee, even became Chief Justice. Notwithstanding their names,
they were all Christians, some prefixing them with the honorific Khwaja or
Khoja. In course of time the Armenian community dwindled in North India.
Many of them found a new home in Kolkata, where the Armenian Church and
Armenian Street are famous landmarks. The Armenians merged with the
Anglo-Indians and became big names like the enterprising Arathoons. Mrs
Gandhi during her first term as Prime Minister visited Yeravan, in Armenia,
to review old links.
One such link in India was the Ceastan family. The name was derived from
Siestan, a region of Armenia. The death of Aubrey Ceastan recently opened
the floodgates of memory. His father was a big, burly mustached man, who
resembled Dr. Watson of Sherlock Holmes stories and retired as driver of
Mail and Express trains.
His uncle was an absented-minded, soft-spoken man, who looked like Robinson
Crusoe and could speak impeccable Urdu with the grace actor Tom Alter does
now. Aubrey, a fine athlete and good boxer, also joined the Railways (as a
guard) and retired 18 years ago. His major achievement was volunteering to
take an essential supplies train for the Army to the northern border during
the second conflict with Pakistan, necessitated by the Bangladesh War.
Imagine the train moving on endangered tracks with bomber planes flying
around and Ceastan holding his nerve, as in the boxing ring. One heard a
graphic account of his odyssey while once travelling with him to Delhi.
One's last meeting with him was two years ago. He had come up from
Tughlakabad and was waiting for a bus at Shankar Road en route to R.K.
Puram. Ceastan was proud that his son had become a teacher in the same
school where he and his father had studied. It too had once been an
Armenian institution, and thus an old link survives.
http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article3509275.ece