UK visitors face hostile crowds in UP

On friday, this young couple visiting India with the Royal Rifle (a regiment of the English army) got engaged in front of the Taj Mahal.

On friday, this young couple visiting India with the Royal Rifle (a regiment of the English army) got engaged in front of the Taj Mahal. “The idea was to feel the romance associated with the monument,” said the bride-to-be.

Four days later, while remembering the “most beautiful moment of her life”, the young woman’s eyes are full of tears, her countenance frightened. “I want to go back,” she said.

Two British teams visiting India — one of historians and the other of retired army officers with wives and children — were practically under “house arrest” in the city of nawabs.

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Their movement has been restricted, that too with armed escorts. The district administration and the travel operator admitted the reason behind taking such extra care was security. “We are avoiding any risk,” said an official.

The two groups got a taste of Lucknow’s tehzeeb last evening when they got off the train and were greeted with plastic bottles, cow dung and mud. “It was disappointing,” said the wife of a retired soldier while talking to The Indian Express on Tuesday morning.

“We were here last year too, and that was such a lovely experience,” said the wife of another army officer, all of them too scared to be even named.

They, however, are busy savouring whatever little experience comes their way. “I am having this for the first time and it is damn good,” said one, pointing at a small glass filled with salted lassi. “I am also learning Hindi these days but when I speak, people cannot make head or tail of it,” she said. Team leader Roy Trustram Eve said a misunderstanding about the purpose of their visit had ignited public sentiment against them. “The visit was not a celebration but a commemoration. 1857 was a terrible incident and such bloodshed should never happen again,” he said.