june-2010

Mysore, dated April 21, 1921. “His Highness has turned one of his numerous Rolls-Royce
cars into a shooting-break to enable his guests to shoot game from the most comfortable
vantage point imaginable,” Mountbatten had written. “This car is an unadulterated marvel.
It crosses watercourses, goes up and down the steepest banks without ever requiring a change
of gear, goes through jungle, making light work of any obstacles. Oh, if only a Rolls-Royce
representative had been with us. How proud he would have been!”
That description made me inordinately happy. It was a salutary lesson for the undertakers
in the London store. I photocopied that unforgettable page and placed it carefully
in my briefcase.
Next time I travelled to the English capital, I rushed to the Rolls-Royce showroom. My
Corniche was still in the same place in the display window. The salesman in the stiff collar
recognised me instantly. I asked him to call the export t manager. ma mana ma m na nage na n ge ger ge g r. When Whe W he hen he h n the th t th the e latter la latt la l tt tter tt t er arrived, arr a
arr rr rriv rr r iv ived iv ived ed e , I
gave him the photocopy of the extract from the diary oof
of f th tthe e Qu QQueen ee e n of Eng E EEngland’s
ng ngla la land nd nd’s ’s unc u uuncle.
nc n le le. .
“These words, sir, were written by one of your most st t il illu illustrious lu lust st s ri riou ou ous s co ccountrymen,” un u tr trym ym y en en,” ,” I I
d
d ddec
declared, ec ecla la l re red, d,
pleased to have my revenge. “Allow me to present them m to you y yyou.
ou ou. . Re RRead ad
them. They explain without any shadow of doubt why y you ou o didn’t d
d ddid
id idn’ n’ n’t t
consider it prudent to sell me one of your motor cars. I am a aam
m af afra afraid ra raid id
today’s Rolls-Royces are not as good as yesterday’s.”
My unpleasant experience with the Rolls-Royce yyce
ce c
representatives scandalised Mountbatten who had been en
one oone
o ne n of o oof
f th the
e
most fervent Rolls-Royce users throughout his life.
“If they are not sure enough of their new cars to allow lo low
w th them
em
to go to India, buy an old model,” he advised me. “A good go oo ood d ol oold d Si Silv Silver lv lver er e
Cloud, for instance. Go to Frank Dale and Stepsons, on
n SSlo
S SSloane
lo loan an a e Sq Squa Square. ua u re re. .
They’re the biggest dealers in second-hand Rolls-Royces ce cees
s in the t tthe
he h wor w wworld.
or o ld l . Yo You’ You’ll u’ u ll l fi nnd
n nnd
d so some something me m th t in ing g
to suit you there.”
Bless you, dear Lord Louis, for this magical advice! Three months later, I was to receive in a
crate in the port of Bombay the beautiful four-door, grey and black Silver Cloud I had bought
on your advice at Frank Dale.
I had her spend her fi rst Indian night in one of the majestic garages of the Royal Bombay
Yacht Club that had formerly housed the
Silver Phantoms and Silver Ghosts of the
empire’s high dignitaries. The next day, to
the awestruck gazes and applause of passersby,
children and street peddlers, in the great
square in front of the Gateway of India, I
took the road to New Delhi where I was to
begin research for my book Freedom at Midnight. At every stop, I was surrounded, submerged,
engulfed by an enthusiastic crowd. India was sharing in my pleasure. On the road, some
drivers seemed to be overtaken by a fi t of madness when they saw the car. They would let go of
their steering wheels to clap their hands, blow their horns, resort to dangerous acrobatics.
In a few months, I covered almost 20,000 kilometres throughout the former British
Empire, often on terrible roads, under the pouring rains of the monsoon as well as in the
blazing heat of summer. In spite of the fi lthy petrol with which I quenched her thirst, my
Rolls-Royce never complained. She proudly sailed everywhere like her ancestors had in the
times of the viceroys and the maharajas. I couldn’t resist sending an enthusiastic postcard
ADVENTURE STORY
To the applause of passers-by,
I took the road to New Delhi
“
”
TOGETHER Holland Herald 47