Wightsparker
LE
Yet ne'er a mention of dear old Gunga Din? [/QUOTE
Kipling may have had views now considered racist, but he appreciated a man for what he was. Certainly, "Gunga Din" incorporates ideas and phrases which would bring tears of anguish to the eyes of the snowflake generation.
To my discredit, I had not been really aware of the words of the poem, but had heard the jokey expression "You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din!" without appreciating the meaning.
Then one day in the 1970s I happened to hear a version sung by a folk musician called Peter Bellamy on BBC Radio Solent. It caught my attention because I recognized the tune "Keep Your Feet Still, Geordie Hinny".
The power of the words hit me hard, and when the song finished I had tears in my eyes myself. It's made a bit more poignant by the fact that Peter Bellamy died in 1991.
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