Viva Brighton Issue #50 April 2017

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Photos by Chloë King ....90....
HISTORY .................................... The Chattri ‘Spiritual and physical protection’ The Chattri memorial, situated high on the Downs near Patcham, is usually accessible only on foot. In the company of the Chair of the Chattri Memorial Group Davinder Dhillon, however, I am permitted to drive here over open farmland, and as the white dome appears modestly in the distance, I’m moved by the view. This unique memorial, named for the Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi word for ‘umbrella’, was unveiled by the Prince of Wales, Edward VIII, in 1921. Today, it is adorned with saffron and blue cloths, representing the Hindu and Sikh soldiers cremated here. Three raised slabs, bordered by weathered poppy wreaths, mark the cremation sites. “Looking at it,” says Davinder, “the Chattri represents shelter from the elements. It offers spiritual and physical protection.” Some 12,000 soldiers from India were treated in Brighton during the First World War, and in many ways, the Chattri is a partner to the Gateway to the Royal Pavilion, erected the same year as a gift from India in gratitude for the work of ‘Doctor Brighton’. On this remote hill off Standean Lane, 53 Indian soldiers were cremated in traditional ceremonies. “They would have been sad but practical affairs,” Davinder tells me. The mourners had responsibility for gathering wood and building a pyre on which they laid the body, covered with clean white sheets. Prayers would be given and then the pyre would be set alight. Afterwards, the ashes would be gathered, taken to the sea, and scattered over moving water. The 1902 Cremation Act made it illegal to hold funerals to these rites, but it is thought that the King made an exception in respect of these soldiers. The inscription on the Chattri acknowledges it as the site where soldiers “passed through the fire”, in poetic reference to their reincarnation. The inscription, however, may be open to different interpretations, says Davinder. “It’s a creative phrase, and a good phrase, in my view, but sadly, you can interpret it as referring to all Indians, or just the Sikhs and the Hindus.” India at the time was pre-partition, and 19 Muslim soldiers, who also died in Brighton and were buried near Woking, should also be considered. The Chattri honours all the Indian soldiers, and also the Nepalese Gurkhas. Each year, on the second Sunday in June, a pilgrimage is made to the Chattri to honour them. Davinder took responsibility for this commemoration quite by accident. In 2000, he saw an article saying that the Royal British Legion was struggling to continue the service they had performed there since 1950. He offered to help make the teas, only to find himself tasked with the whole event. Davinder has since grown what was a dwindling gathering, to a meeting of over 500. People from across the UK come for a wreath-laying service and an exhibition, and each year, Davinder grows our connection to the Chattri, meeting people and learning new aspects of its story. It’s important and gratifying work. “It’s conceivable that the First World War, the Western Front at least, would have been lost without the Indians,” he says, “and yet it’s just a footnote in history. Part of my motivation, if you like, is to correct that imbalance.” Chloë King chattri.org ....91....
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COLUMN ............................
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Page 43 and 44: COMEDY ............................
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Page 49 and 50: CIRCUS ............................
Page 51: ART ...............................
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Page 95 and 96: Illustration by Mark Greco WILDLIFE
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Viva Brighton Issue #50 April 2017

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