1936 - 1937 Mission Diary

The official diary of the Gould mission to Lhasa sent by the British government. Read more about the mission diary.

Halt Yatung.

see photographs below

A day's halt was fully occupied in sorting baggage arranging transport dealing with cipher telegrams and other business of the Mission.

Nepean and Dagg with their wireless got in touch with several stations in India (Poona, Rawalpindi). Neame inspected the detachment of 2/7 Rajput Regt. stationed at Yatung (1 platoon under an Indian Officer, a Subedar) and the barracks and stores.

A number of local village headmen came in to pay their respects to Gould.

After dinner in the evening we all went to see a dramatic performance by the 2/7th Rajputs in their lines. They had a well arranged stage, with excellent scenery, drop scenes, curtains, etc., and marvellous costumes worn by King Ministers, princess maids. The dialogue was in Urdu too high flown and rapidly spoken for some of us. After several dramatic scenes, a comic knock about turn was put on which caused much laughter. At the back of the hall was collected a considerable audience from Yatung bazar. One doubts if they understood much of it.

There was so much action and colour about this performance that we arranged to have the performers out in the open next morning and take a colour cine film of it.

The weather has been kinder than we expected in spite of the prognostications of the Abbott of Kargyu Gompa, who on being asked his opinion of the probable weather foretold three days rain for the abstruse reason that "the holy pig was just due to rise out of Mansorawar Lake (near the holy mountain of Kailas) and that three days rain usually fell on it. as this rain water was necessary to consecrate the pig."

Author: Philip Neame [see handwritten annotations in Diary by Hugh Richardson in MS. Or. Richardson 2, Bodleian Libary, Department of Oriental Collections, University of Oxford]

Page Reference: Pt II p.1