Kipling’s ‘The Eyes of Asia’

Join historian, broadcaster and author, Charles Allen, for a talk on Rudyard Kipling’s final fictional work on India. To mark the release of a new centennial edition of ‘The Eyes of Asia’, Charles Allen will explore Kipling’s fascinating collection of ‘letters’ telling the story of four Indian soldiers - a veteran Rajput, a convalescing Sikh, a Muslim Pathan sharpshooter and a Punjabi Muslim cavalryman - as they confronted the horrors of the First World War. Through unofficial access to translations of scores of intercepted Indian Army letters, Kipling gained an intimate understanding of the plight of men long neglected in Western literature. To Kipling, they were unsung heroes whose sacrifices had made a decisive impact on the British war effort. Delicious Indian refreshments will be provided.