Men of letters: Okil Chunder Sen

A note at the bottom of the page says: ‘The original of this letter dated 2.7.1909 is in the file in D.T.S’s office, Sahebgunge.’

A photocopy of this letter was given to me many years ago by an English girl whose mother had been born and brought up in India. When they returned to England, her family brought back various trophies, of which Sen’s letter was one. Another was a nursery rhyme (Note 9) which, the girl told me, had been taught to her mother by a syce or groom.

The letter is so delicious that one can hardly believe it isn’t a fake, which is why the copyist offers corroboration.

According to the The Times of India, “Mr Sen deserves pride of place in the history of Indian railways for being the man whose ordeal moved the British enough to introduce toilets. In all coaches prior to 1891, the passengers were left to their own ingenuity…”