Die Türme des Schweigens

Anyone who sought recognition in the Bombay English society dutifully accepted the honorable invitation from the Governor of British Bombay to the gala dinner at the Taj Mahal Palace in honor of the Nizam of Hyderabad, the most powerful of the Indian princes, with flattered pride. Continuously, rumbling motorcars or cumbersome Indian horse-drawn carriages rolled up to the hotel entrance, depending on whether an English or local guest arrived. For this celebration in honor of an Indian prince, it was not appropriate to snub the native society. Nevertheless, the English still found ample opportunity that evening to wrap themselves in the familiar frosty atmosphere of their haughty exclusivity, like earthly-removed, cloud-shrouded glacier peaks.