literature kipling himalayan tibetan lama

The lama realises that he has gone astray. Kim, aided by some porters and villagers, helps to rescue the lama. Mookherjee befriends the Russians undercover, acting as a guide, and ensures that they do not recover the lost items. Kim obtains maps, papers and other important items from the Russians, who are working to undermine British control of the region. Kim rejoins the lama and at the behest of Kim's superior, Hurree Chunder Mookherjee, they make a trip to the Himalayas so Kim can investigate what some Russian intelligence agents are doing. Before this appointment begins, however, he is granted a much-deserved break. Other parts of this training are disguise and the careful study of the Indian population, and the characteristic dress, behaviour and 'even how they spit' in order to go undercover or to discover those in disguise.Īfter three years of schooling, Kim is given a government appointment so that he can begin to participate in the Great Game. As part of his training, Kim looks at a tray full of mixed objects and notes which have been added or taken away, a pastime still called Kim's Game, also called the Jewel Game. Kim also retains contact with his secret service connections and is trained in espionage (to be a surveyor) while on vacation from school by Lurgan Sahib, a sort of benevolent Fagin, at his jewellery shop in Simla. Throughout his years at school, Kim remains in contact with the holy man he has come to love. Kim is divided between his love for his Lama master, his eagerness to become a secret agent and even have a price put on his head, and his natural independence as a free spirit. The lama, a former abbot, funds Kim's education. The lama insists that Kim should comply with the chaplain's plan because he believes it is in Kim's best interests, and the boy is sent to an English school in Lucknow. Kim's trip with the lama along the Grand Trunk Road is the first great adventure in the novel.īy chance, Kim's father's regimental chaplain identifies Kim by his Masonic certificate, which he wears around his neck, and Kim is forcibly separated from the lama. On the way, Kim incidentally learns about parts of the Great Game and is recruited by Mahbub Ali to carry a message to the head of British intelligence in Umballa.

Kim becomes his chela, or disciple, and accompanies him on his journey. Kim befriends an aged Tibetan lama who is on a quest to free himself from the Wheel of Things by finding the legendary ″River of the Arrow″. Kim is so immersed in the local culture that few realise he is a white child, although he carries a packet of documents from his father entrusted to him by an Indian woman who cared for him. He occasionally works for Mahbub Ali, a Pashtun horse trader who is one of the native operatives of the British secret service. Living a vagabond existence in India under British rule in the late 19th century, Kim earns his living by begging and running small errands on the streets of Lahore. Kim (Kimball O'Hara) is the orphaned son of an Irish soldier (Kimball O'Hara Sr., a former colour sergeant and later an employee of an Indian railway company) and a poor Irish mother (a former nanny in a colonel's household) who have both died in poverty. In 2003 the book was listed on the BBC's The Big Read poll of the UK's 'best-loved novel'. 78 on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Kim No. 'The book presents a vivid picture of India, its teeming populations, religions, and superstitions, and the life of the bazaars and the road.' Accolades The novel is notable for its detailed portrait of the people, culture, and varied religions of India. It is set after the Second Afghan War (which ended in 1881), but before the Third (fought in 1919), probably in the period 1893 to 1898. The novel popularized the phrase and idea of the Great Game.

The story unfolds against the backdrop of the Great Game, the political conflict between Russia and Britain in Central Asia. It was first published serially in McClure's Magazine from December 1900 to October 1901 as well as in Cassell's Magazine from January to November 1901, and first published in book form by Macmillan & Co. Kim is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning English author Rudyard Kipling.

Literature kipling himalayan tibetan lama