Railway Food & More that made Cliff Richard
Without the Indian Railways and its opulent railway lodgings and trains, there would be no Cliff Richard, to be sure!
As a sign of respect for Gandhi Ji on his birthday, the Indian Railway was even criticized for only providing vegetarian fare. The truth is, however, that the food offered on Indian trains is always a topic of contention.
The dining cars were a crucial component of the experience during the British Raj era because they offered exquisite meals, all presented on pristine table linens, and served by trained and smartly attired individuals. However, the sole restriction was that Indians were not allowed on trains.
Lal Bahadur Shastri wanted to eliminate such prejudice in independent India and instead established the Annapoorna dining car for the disadvantaged passengers, but the food was not as good as it had been before, and Shastri Ji was made fun of for it.
Later, the concept of serving tea in little clay pots (known as ‘kulhard’) to highlight Indian culture was initiated by Lalu Prasad Yadav, the Railway Minister at the time.
Later, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu made an effort to improve the quality of the meals offered on trains. However, large meals served on trains have not been as well received.
According to the Railways’ annual report for 1935, the tourist trains are, in fact, houses on wheels because they include all the amenities one could want, including bedrooms, reading rooms, kitchens, and bathrooms.
The railways owned its own cookware, utensils, glassware, and, of course, pots and pans. Maharani Gayatri Devi mentions a number of similar memoirs of the Raj as well.
Passengers traveling first class on trains that lacked dining car amenities were required to order their meals via telegraph, which was read at the next station. By the time the train arrived at the station, the employees had the tiffin boxes ready to serve the travelers in the railway china. The meals consisted of rice and lentils, a few unusual curries, pickles, chutneys, and beverages. Kellner’s name was printed on all the railway plates and utensils.
Spencer’s provided food for the Madras and Southern Railways, Kellner’s catered to the East India Railway, Brandon’s catered to the Great Indian Peninsular Railway, Bombay, Baroda, and Central India, and the Bengal Nagpur Railway handled its own catering. Numerous caterers served the Railways.
Prior to independence, mail trains stopped at main stations every hour and a half for seven minutes. The carriers would take lunch orders as well as serve tea and snacks. Fish and chips, chicken cutlets, cold meats, and lamb curry were the most popular dishes in railway fare.
In Lucknow in 1940, the well-known British pop artist Sir Cliff Richard was born under the name Harry Rodger Webb. His railway connections are not widely known, but many people are familiar with his link to India. Rodger Oscar Webb, Cliff Richard’s father, was born in Rangoon, Burma, in 1904. After remaining in Burma until 1914, the family relocated to the railway communities of Allahabad (now Prayagraj), Howrah, and Lucknow. Rodger first worked as a steward on the restaurant cars of trains traveling between Calcutta and Dehradun after a short stint in a chocolate factory and a return to Burma. He then joined G. F. Kellner & Co. ‘s Calcutta services in the year 1920. He met his future wife, Dorothy Marie Dazely, on one of these trips.
At the time of Cliff Richard’s birth in Lucknow and subsequent baptism in St. Thomas Church in Dehradun, Webb was in charge of a railway restaurant in Dehradun. Webb quickly rose through the ranks, first from a husband to a father, and then to a management position at Kellner & Co. During this term, he brought jazz music to the railways.
The family resided for a few years at Dobson Road, which is now called Maulana Abdul Kalam Road and is located close to Howrah. Cliff became a chorister at the St. Thomas School in 1945.
Without Webb as a member of the Indian Railways, railway communities, or the opulent train tours offered by G. F. Kellner & Co. , there would have been no Cliff Richard. Should we give thanks to the British for the Railway or to the Railway for the tale?