King of the Khyber Rifles

[xl_target]

King of The Khyber RIfles.
This is a novel by Talbot Mundy that I read many years ago. It is set in the NW Frontier of the British Raj.
I recently came across it again.
The ebook can be downloaded HERE

The 1953 version of the movie starring Tyrone Power is viewable on Youtube. It will actually play pretty well when running full screen on my laptop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4xGJ85ovBA

[youtube][/youtube]

[nagarifle]

also Ganga Din based on kipling fame is a good movie to watch as well. brings bucket of waters from ones eyes.

[timmy]

King of the Khyber Rifles is fun. Tyrone Power was in many good movies. Ganga Din is fun for Cary Grant, Victor Maclaglen, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr's clowning. I still don't get Fairbanks dumping Joan Fontaine for the other two, though! Two other old Hollywood/Kipling movies are "Kim" with Errol Flynn, and "The Man Who Would Be King," with Sean Connery and Michael Caine.

[nagarifle]

i think the man who would be king is an awesome movie. watched it few times.
where are they all gone?

Burt Lancaster as the pirate etc

[brihacharan]

Thank you xl_target for rewinding "Old Memories"....
Saw this film during my final year in school
True - Nags - Those were the days - Tyrone Power, Gary Cooper, Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Peter O'Toole & the list goes on..
Among the westerns who can forget, Gunfight at OK Corral, Last Train from Gun Hill, The Big Country starring Gregory Peck & Charleston Heston and Jane Russel's first film "Billy the Kid"
Memories are made of these!!!!
Briha

[caracass77]

Lovely!

Have seen this a few times and it always ends with a sigh. I was recently refreshed because of one of the books I am reading: The Great Game, and I was awestruck once again.

Thanks for this!

Shubir.

[nagarifle]

do any one remember the American serial The sentential? about the opening of the wild west

[timmy]

Naga, that's a mini series called "Centennial" from a novel by James A Michener. I haven't seen it, but you are reminding me that I must.

It is about Colorado. Colorado is called "The Centennial State" because it joined the Union in 1876, when the USA was 100 years old.

[caracass77]

Sir Nagarifle,

Your post reminded me of this, since while reading the aforementioned book (The Great Game, by Peter Hopkirk), I came across it and the book actually has a few pictures, this is not a picture clicked by me:



Apparently used in the late 1800s by the fearful Afghans (the books will always mention them like that, or war-like), the Jezails were most feared by the-then wandering British (looking to protect India from invaders, the irony), who got a better taste of it later when they were fighting there some years later. Described as home-made and improvised weapons in many texts, they were superior in range and accuracy, compared with the British-made muskets, and feared because nearly everyone had one, and for the low recoil system. And because the '-so-called-towelheads; (they were not called that then obviously, the Brits are never crude like the Americans) were so bloody good with it, no matter it was a hard weapon to maintain! Plus, it was apparently fired like a pistol! (weight/length notwithstanding, tucked UNDER the shoulder and fired from a horse!)

That brought a chuckle out of me, but that cannot be entirely untrue, I think. Those/these Afghans! (I knew a few in Delhi )

Of course later wars equipped them for far better, but apparently they never got rid of these wonder weapons. I saw a few of these at an old-uncle-Henry type relative many years ago (wall-mounted and apparently very working condition. The overzealous very old uncle (my grandfather's age) would never let anyone near them; he got them from HIS father. Never got around THAT story, unfortunately. And so for such moments, I hate my kind.

But they were something which a select few of us interested lukkha cousins had a LOT to say about. He died many years ago, and the fate of them I do not claim to know (that was in Indore, the worst part of 80s and 90s too, I am 37), and of course I am not in touch, but I hope they were not sold to junk or worse. I really do. I would be really sad; those were really, really exquisite.

I had (now ex-colleagues, photojournalists), who were in Afghanistan during the first real war people my age were made aware of(early 80s-2000s), and they actually claimed to see some of these in action first-hand, in a by-the-way conversation. And then hauled away by Russians in TRUCKLOADS too. Just piled in a truck and taken away, never mind the history.

So I guess I will probably not get to fire one in my lifetime anymore. Unless I marry a Russian with a long, chequered history, and it is highly unlikely

Extremely sorry for the rant if I did, but the title brought a bit of memories. I realised I might have a lot to say in this forum after all

Much warm regards,

Shubir

[timmy]

(they were not called that then obviously, the Brits are never crude like the Americans)

Hmmm! There's always something to learn!

[caracass77]

Uh Oh,

Sorry sir Timmy, I hope I have not hurt any sensibilities! I was/am only assuming. The Brits are crude in their very own, very wry sense of seemingly-humdrum-but-wow-I-didn't-think-of-that brand of humour, and it does work for me! The Americans on the other hand are more in-your-face-yeehaw at most times, which is not really funny at most times, but it is only me!

I am sorry if I said anything out of turn!

Regards,

Shubir

[ckkalyan]

Thanks for sharing this gem xl_target!