35053668-Empire-of-the-Soul-Paul-William-Roberts

‘EUROPEANS ARE COMING TO MY COUNTRY NOW’
And on November 9, 1905, the Times announced the arrival of the
Prince of Wales with his consort, musing on the changes that had
taken place on the Bunder – the harbour dock area – since King
Edward VII had visited Bombay as Prince of Wales.
There was hardly a building on [the Bunder], whereas today
there stand upon it some of the finest edifices one would come
across on the proverbial ‘day’s march’; for instance the stately Taj
Mahal Hotel, the Yacht Club Chambers, Green’s spacious
restaurant, and the long line of pretty residences contiguous to
the Taj. At all times they make an imposing show, but dressed as
they are now in a wealth of flags and bunting they present a
picture of brightness that does the heart good and makes one
declare that ‘they know how to do these things in India.’
Of course, the British owned and ran the Times in 1905, and here
was something an Indian had conceived and achieved in spite of
them.
The Taj became more and more accepted as a Bombay landmark,
if only because anyone who was anyone visiting the city now stayed
there as a matter of course. On April 11, 1906, according to a Times
headline, there was
A GLOBE TROTTER IN BOMBAY:
Mr. Constantin Statesco, Avocat, Chevalier de la Courdonne de
Roumanie, officer de reserve, and globe trotter, arrived yesterday
in the course of his walking tour around the world . . . [He] was
one of three who started from Bucharest on November 4, 1903,
and he is now the only competitor left. One is dead and the
other fell ill . . . Mr Statesco who is staying at the Taj Mahal Hotel
leaves this city in a few days time for Calcutta, en route for China,
Japan, Australia and America . . . [He’s] in excellent health, and is
confident that he will complete the tour within the time limit.
The Touring Club of Viennato had offered a million-franc prize to
anyone who could tour the world in four years on foot. Since Statesco
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