Lear in Darjeeling

Kanchenjunga from Darjeeling, painting by Edward Lear

The Five Treasures of Snow (Mount Kangchenjunga), the third tallest peak in the world, is, as the author has related in previous posts, a mere fifty or so miles from Darjeeling and stands with awesome and imposing majesty upon the northern horizon. As it happens, the days have been exceptionally clear over the last week and so the mountain and its many companions in this eastern end of the Himalayas has been highly visible every morning and throughout the day. Not surprisingly, both locals and of course tourists have been taking the opportunity to photograph the mountain, while others just stand pondering from the various vantage points in the town that afford excellent views. There is, as far as this author is aware, no other major town - Darjeeling, the Queen of the British hill stations, boasts a population of about 100,000 - in such an immediate proximity to such a substantial mountain. It is what makes Darjeeling so remarkable. The British came here to escape the heat and more especially the mosquitoes (and so malaria) of the Indian plains, but they soon came to value the location just for its extraordinary natural beauty. 

Among the notable Englishmen who have resided here (leaving aside the notorious Aleister Crowley, who has been mentioned in a previous post) is none other than Mr. Edward Lear, the reputed father of the limerick and master of English nonsense. Readers may or may not be aware that the present author is a great enthusiast for the work of Mr. Lear and indeed has modelled some aspects of his own poetry and fiction upon his. Indeed, the author - writing under yet another assumed identity - has a website where he keeps his works of fiction, principally short stories, by the Leariferous name of Runcible Highway. See here. The word "runcible", need it be said, is possibly Mr. Lear's most enduring contribution to the English language, an all-purpose neologism adaptable to all adjectival occasions. He excelled at neologisms and other nonsense and brought a much-needed sense of the silly to otherwise sombre Victorian literature. The present author's own "stranded adjective technique", so-called, owes a direct debt to Mr. Lear. This was a man who was known to introduce himself as Mr Abebika Kratoponoko Prizzikalo Kattefello Ablegorabalus Ableborinto Phashyph. 

What is less well known is that Edward Lear was also a (serious) painter of some note, and in particular he painted scenes from his various travels. At the top of this page readers will find a reproduction of  a painting he made of Mount Kanchenjunga as seen from Darjeeling during his time in the town. It is difficult to ascertain exactly from where the view was taken. The vantage point of Observation Hill has long been occupied by the Mahakal Mandir (Temple) and no temple is to be seen in Lear's painting, unless that is the standing object around which people are gathered in the left foreground. The path that leads into the distance would then be what is now called Mall Road, leading to the so-called 'Hermitage' near the Raj Bhavan. Certainly, the vegetation has changed, but the broad outlines of the topography are unfamiliar. All the same, the imposing presence of the mountain has not changed at all. 

Yours,

Harper McAlpine Black