The well-known 1912 photograph of Kipling by
E. O. Hoppé, via Wikimedia Commons.
Joseph Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was a poet and writer with exceptional writing skills but, as the political climate changes, he is sometimes regarded as a controversial figure. Although Kipling was born in India, his schooling was in England. His parents were unable to pay for him to go to university so, as a young man, he returned to India in 1882 and worked in the newspaper industry.
Burmese expansionism into Manipur and Assam led to the First Burma War (1824 - 1826) after which British India also acquired what is now Rakhine State in the north and what is now Mon State in the south, with Mawlamyine as the first capital of British Burma. Following the Second Burma War of 1852, Lower Burma was placed under direct administration from India, after which Rangoon (now Yangon) became capital of British Burma. Kipling's first contact with Burma, as an assistant editor in India, was in dealing with cable reports from Burma. Growing British concerns about French intentions in Upper Burma precipitated the Third Burma War in 1885 and resulted in the dreadful King Theebaw being exiled to India and the remainder of Burma being annexed by Britain. Elements of the former Burmese Army became brigands and harried the British for some time. Kipling's prolific writing included a very well-known poem called 'The Road to Mandalay' first published in 1892 in 'Barrack Room Ballads':-
By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' lazy at the sea,
There's a Burma girl a-settin', and I know she thinks o' me;
For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple-bells they say,
"Come you back, you British Soldier; come you back to Mandalay!"
Come you back to Mandalay,
Where the old Flotilla lay;
Can't you 'ear their paddles clunkin' from Rangoon to Mandalay?
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin'-fishes play,
An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay!
'Er petticoat was yaller an' 'er little cap was green,
An' 'er name was Supi-Yaw-Lat jes' the same as Theebaw's Queen,
An' I seed her first a-smokin' of a whackin' white cheroot,
An' wastin' Christian kisses on an 'eathen idol's foot:
Bloomin' idol made o' mud-- Wot they called the Great Gawd Budd--
Plucky lot she cared for idols when I kissed 'er where she stud!
On the road to Mandalay ...
When the mist was on the rice-fields an' the sun was droppin' slow,
She'd git 'er little banjo an' she'd sing "Kulla-la-lo!"
With 'er arm upon my shoulder an' 'er cheek again my cheek
We useter watch the steamers an' the hathis pilin' teak.
Elephants a-piling teak
In the sludgy, squdgy creek,
Where the silence 'ung that 'eavy you was 'arf afraid to speak!
On the road to Mandalay ...
But that's all shove be'ind me -- long ago and fur away,
An' there ain't no 'buses runnin' from the Bank to Mandalay;
An' I'm learnin' 'ere in London what the ten-year soldier tells:
"If you've 'eard the East a-callin', you won't never 'eed naught else."
No! you won't 'eed nothin' else
But them spicy garlic smells,
An' the sunshine an' the palm-trees an' the tinkly temple-bells;
On the road to Mandalay ...
I am sick 'o wastin' leather on these gritty pavin'-stones,
An' the blasted English drizzle wakes the fever in my bones;
Tho' I walks with fifty 'ousemaids outer Chelsea to the Strand,
An' they talks a lot o' lovin', but wot do they understand?
Beefy face an' grubby 'and--
Law! wot do they understand?
I've a neater, sweeter maiden in a cleaner, greener land!
On the road to Mandalay ...
Ship me somewheres East of Suez, where the best is like the worst,
Where there ain't no Ten Commandments an' a man can raise a thirst;
For the temple-bells are callin', and it's there that I would be--
By the old Moulmein Pagoda, looking lazy at the sea;
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the old Flotilla lay,
With our sick beneath the awnings when we went to Mandalay!
O the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin'-fishes play,
An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay!
In 1908, the American composer Oley Speaks (1874-1948) set the words to music and this is the form in which I and many people knew it - I was unaware until planning my first visit to Burma in 2008 that the words were by Kipling. Apparently, Frank Sinatra used the first and last verses on one of his recordings but Kipling's family disapproved of this interpretation. 'Moulmein', referred to in the poem, is now called Mawlamyine.
In March 1889, following disagreement with his employer and increasing success in the publication of poems and articles, Kipling decided to return to England and become a full-time writer. He took an eastwards route, via Burma, Japan and the United States. During the journey, he supplied a number of letters for publication to his former employer in India, the 'Pioneer'. In one of these letters, Kipling wrote an evocative line which still resonates with visitors to modern Burma:-
"This is Burma and it will be quite unlike any land you know about".
The letters were subsequently published by Macmillan and Company in London in 1900 as a 2-volume publication 'From Sea to Sea and other Sketches - Letters of Travel'. The publication went into innumerable reprints over the years. A 'Pocket Edition' appeared in 1908 (with a smaller page size and printed on thinner paper but similarly in two volumes) and this version was also frequently reprinted.
The line appears in Volume I, the section 'From Sea to Sea', Chapter II where Kipling describes the arrival of the steamer at Rangoon, as the Shwedagon appears:-
"Then, a golden mystery upheaved itself on the horizon - a beautiful winking wonder that blazed in the sun, of a shape that was neither Muslim dome nor Hindu temple-spire. It stood upon a green knoll, and below it were lines of warehouses, sheds and mills. Under what new god, thought I, are we irrepressible English sitting now? ... It explained in the first place why we took Rangoon, and in the second why we pushed on to see what more of rich or rare the land held. Up till that sight my uninstructed eyes could not see that the land differed much in appearance from the Sunderbuns, but the golden dome said: 'This is Burma and it will be quite unlike any land you know about.'"
Kipling goes on to describe his brief time in Rangoon. On his way to Japan, the steamer called at Mawlamyine which Kipling also describes. All told, Kipling was only in Burma about 3 days, yet he's one of the best known writers about Burma and, for me and many other visitors, correctly expresses the sense of wonder the country induces.
The Wikipedia article contains much more information about Kipling. There is also an active Kipling Society. Their website includes the text of an address by George Webb to the Royal Society of Asian Affairs in 1983 titled 'Kipling's Burma' here.
Book References
There are a number of books about Burma written by Englishmen where I have re-prints obtained in Yangon and these may be available elsewhere or as e-books or 'Print on Demand' books. I always try AbeBooks for hard-to-find or second-hand books (where you have the pleasure of dealing, albeit by internet, with real booksellers and real book enthusiasts all over the world).Alternately, try Google Books. The Internet Archive is also a source for digitised books.
[ 1] 'The Land of the White Elephant: Sights and Scenes in South-Eastern Asia' by Frank Vincent Junior, published 1873 by Samson Low, Marston, Low & Searle, London.
[ 2] 'British Burma and its People: being sketches of native manners, customs and religion' by Capt. C. J. F. S. Forbes, F.R.G.S., published 1878 by John Murray, London.
[ 3] 'The Burman: His Life and Notions' by Shway Yoe (Sir James George Scott), first published 1882, re-published by W. W. Norton & Co, Inc. in 1963.
[ 4] 'History of Burma From the Earliest Time to the End of the First War with British India' by lieut.-General Sir Arthur P. Phayre G.C.M.G., K.C.S.I., and C.B., first edition 1883, second edition 1967 by Susil Gupta, London & Santiago de Compostela.
[ 5] 'A Short History of Burma' by S. W. Cocks, M.A., first edition 1912, reprinted 1918, second editions 1919, 1923 by Macmillan & Co., Limited, London.
[ 6] 'The Burman Empire: A Compilation of twelve lectures delivered by W. L. Barretto, O.B.E., B.A., of the Middle Temple, Bar-at-Law', published 1935 by Hein Co & Press, Pyapon.
[ 7] 'Britsh Rule in Burma 1824-1942' by G. E. Harvey Late Indian Civil Service' published 1946 by Faber and Faber Limited, London.
[ 8] 'Political Incidents of the First Burmese War' by Thomas Campbell Robertson, Late of the Bengal Civil Service, published 1853 by Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street.
[ 9] 'Burma, After the Conquest, viewed in its political, social and commercial aspects' by Grattan Geary, published 1886 by Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Revington.
[10] 'A Civil Servant in Burma' by Sir Herbert Thirkell White K.C.I.E., published 1913 by Edward Arnold, London.
[11] 'The Pagoda War, Lord Dufferin and the fall of the Kingdom of Ava 1885-1886' by A.T.Q. Stewart, published 1972 by Faber and Faber (ISBN 0 571 08722 1).
[12] 'Red Moon Rising' by George Rodger, published 1943 by The Cresset Press, London (describing events during World War II).
[Additional book references added: 13-May-2016]
