Gurkha Tales

Gurkha Tales PDF Author: J.P. Cross
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1783378492
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 325

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Book Description
J. P. CROSS has spent 67 years among the Gurkhas, first as a serving officer and then as a resident of Nepal, being the only foreigner in the history of the country to be allowed to be both a house- and land-owner. His language ability is such that, even after 90 minutes of being interviewed on the radio, only those who recognized his voice knew he was not a Nepali. With this unparalleled knowledge and experience, the author has produced a unique series of articles, written over the past fifty years. These cover events in his own career, including the time he found himself in command of a Japanese battalion fighting nationalist guerrillas in Indo-China in 1945, and jungle warfare in Malaya during the Emergency, as well as descriptions of the nature of the Gurkha soldier and his relationship with the British, first as part of the army of the Raj, and later in the modern British Army. Informative, amusing and often moving, this anthology gives an insight into one of the most enduring cross-cultural relationships in British military history, one of the few surviving from the age of Empire.

Gurkha Tales

Gurkha Tales PDF Author: J.P. Cross
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1783378492
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 325

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Book Description
J. P. CROSS has spent 67 years among the Gurkhas, first as a serving officer and then as a resident of Nepal, being the only foreigner in the history of the country to be allowed to be both a house- and land-owner. His language ability is such that, even after 90 minutes of being interviewed on the radio, only those who recognized his voice knew he was not a Nepali. With this unparalleled knowledge and experience, the author has produced a unique series of articles, written over the past fifty years. These cover events in his own career, including the time he found himself in command of a Japanese battalion fighting nationalist guerrillas in Indo-China in 1945, and jungle warfare in Malaya during the Emergency, as well as descriptions of the nature of the Gurkha soldier and his relationship with the British, first as part of the army of the Raj, and later in the modern British Army. Informative, amusing and often moving, this anthology gives an insight into one of the most enduring cross-cultural relationships in British military history, one of the few surviving from the age of Empire.

The Gurkha's Daughter

The Gurkha's Daughter PDF Author: Prajwal Parajuly
Publisher: Quercus
ISBN: 1623651468
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
A number one bestseller in India and a shortlisted nomination for the Dylan Thomas Prize, The Gurkha's Daughter is a distinctive debut from a rising star in South Asian literature. This collection of stories captures the textures and sounds of the Nepalese diaspora through eight intimate, nuanced portraits, taking us from the hillside city of Darjeeling, India to a tucked away Nepalese restaurant in New York City. The daily struggles of Parajuly's characters reveal histories of war, colonial occupation, religious division, systemized oppression, and dispossession in the diverse geographical intersection of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, and China. In a cruel remark by a wealthy doctor to her tenant shopkeeper, we hear the persistent injustice of the caste system; in the contentious relationship between a wealthy widow and her sister-in-law, we glimpse the restricted lives and submissive social roles of Nepalese women; and in a daughter's relationship with her father, we find a dissonance between modernity and tradition that has echoed through the generations in unexpected ways. Across different ethnicities, religions, and other social distinctions, the characters in these share a universal yearning, not just for survival but for a better life; one with love, dignity, and community. In The Gurkha's Daughter, Parajuly reveals the small acts of bravery--the sustaining, driving hope--that bind together the human experience.

Valour

Valour PDF Author: E D Smith
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750981679
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
Since the short and bloody war between Nepal and Britain in 1814-15, Gurkha volunteers, ever mindful of the their motto, 'It is better to die than be a coward', have fought and died for Britain, including in recent years in the Falklands, Afghanistan and Iraq. In the Second World War an astonishing quarter of a million Gurkhas fought aginst Germany and Japan. They have been awarded thirteen Victoria Crosses. Includes detailed appendices include all regimental changes and battle honours.

A Gurkha's Story

A Gurkha's Story PDF Author: Johnny Gurkha
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780957552005
Category : Gurkha soldiers
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
This is the first ever autobiography of a Gurkha soldier. The author was also the first Gurkha to win acceptance into the elite ranks of the SAS. Within these pages is a thrilling and inspiring story, which will be relished and enjoyed by military and non-military enthusiasts alike. Detailed and fascinating descriptions of early life and culture in Nepal, of the incredibly tough selection for both the Gurkhas and the SAS and dramatic, nail-biting deployments in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan experiencing danger, and death at close hand, and where the author served directly alongside Prince Harry, combine with 24 stunning original photographs to create this very handsome and collectible landmark hardback volume. In the depictions of Nepalese family life and customs, of the author's cherished dream of honouring his father's name and military prowess in World War Two, the rivalries and bonds of friendship and camaraderie among fellow soldiers, as well as some of the experiences of Gurkhas coming to Britain for the first time, the story is a personal and often moving one, told with honesty, sensitivity and good humour.As well as being a remarkable true-life adventure and a unique military memoir this is a multi-layered book, revealing among other things some of the conflicts and hidden tensions at work within the British Army and the Brigade of Gurkhas, including the veiled influence of the caste system. 'A Gurkha's Story' makes for truly inspiring reading, showing how with belief and determination, loyalty, hard work and courage the most difficult of challenges can be overcome, the most impossible seeming dreams realised. The author pays tribute to the opportunities given him by the British Army, offers gratitude to the people of Britain for their support for all of the Gurkhas in past and recent times, and expresses the hope that the special relationship forged over some 200 years between Britain and the people of Nepal will continue to flourish in peace as it has done in war. Most importantly of all, this book is dedicated to the author's friends and comrades, Nepalese and British, who gave their lives while serving in Afghanistan.

Gurkha Warriors - The Inside Story of The World's Toughest Regiment

Gurkha Warriors - The Inside Story of The World's Toughest Regiment PDF Author: Robert Crew
Publisher: Metro Publishing
ISBN: 1786069881
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Throughout our recent and not-so-recent history, the understated, fearless and hearty Gurkhas have served the British loyally and without complaint. For more than a hundred years, this bloodthirsty regiment has followed the British Army around the globe - from Gallipoli to the jungles of Burma in World War II, from Palestine to the Falklands and the Gulf War. This text tells the story of this regiment. It tells of the Gurkha blood running through the veins of British military conquests for more than two centuries, from the founding of the brigade by the terrifying, extraordinary Johnny Gurkha through to the amazing feats that put Gurkhas in the same distinguished company as the British Paras, the Commandos, the Guards and the Black Watch.

The Gurkhas

The Gurkhas PDF Author: John Parker
Publisher: Bounty Books
ISBN: 9780753712931
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
The author has travelled in Nepal and met many Gurkhas to investigate the background to their traditional service to Britain and the threat that this is now under. He recounts famous battles when they collected VC's and earned admiration.

Gurkha Odyssey

Gurkha Odyssey PDF Author: Peter Duffell
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1526730588
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 405

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Book Description
A British general’s memoir of serving with these famed Nepalese warriors: “An inspiring journey, delightfully related.” —Times Literary Supplement It is 1814 and the Bengal Army of the Honourable East India Company is at war with a marauding Nepal. It is here that the British first encounter the martial spirit of their indomitable foe—the Gurkha hill men from that mountainous independent land. Impressed by their fighting qualities and with the end of hostilities in sight, the Company begins to recruit them into their own ranks. Since then these lighthearted and gallant soldiers have successfully campaigned wherever the British Army has served—from the North West Frontier of India through two World Wars to the contemporary battlefields of the Falklands and Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, with well over one hundred battle honors to their name and at a cost of 20,000 casualties. Here, Peter Duffell separates fact and myth and recounts something of the history, character, and spirit of these loyal and dedicated soldiers—seen through the prism of his service and campaigning as a regular officer in the 2nd King Edward VII’s Own Gurkha Rifles, as the Brigade of Gurkhas Major General and as Regimental Colonel of the Royal Gurkha Rifles.

Ayo Gorkhali

Ayo Gorkhali PDF Author: Tim I Gurung
Publisher: Penguin Random House India Private Limited
ISBN: 9354929907
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
Nepal, 1767. The tiny kingdom of Gorkha is on the ascendant under its ruler Prithvi Narayan Shah. Over the next few decades, his Gorkhali army establishes a mighty kingdom, the borders of which extend from Kangra in the west to the Teesta river in the east. The territory encompasses a large part of present-day Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and almost all of present-day Nepal and Sikkim. When they are eventually reined in by the mighty British army in 1815, it sparks off a new engagement between the imperial power and Nepal. Impressed by the fighting abilities on display, the British army begins recruiting them. The Gurkhas (the prevalent spelling today) go on to serve with distinction in many theatres of war over the next hundred-odd years, their exploits in World War I and II earning them a number of bravery medals. With Indian independence in 1947 comes further change: the Gurkhas are now split across three armies: the British, Indian and the Nepalese. Ayo Gorkhali by Tim I. Gurung, a former British Gurkha, is the first work of history by a member of the community and brings alive the story of a people who have served flags other than their own with honour, even as they have attempted to keep their native warrior traditions alive in letter and spirit. The history of the Gurkha serviceman is one that goes beyond soldiering and bravery-it is in equal measure a story of the resilient human spirit, and of a tiny community that carved for itself a niche in world history.

The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday

The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday PDF Author: Saad Z. Hossain
Publisher: Tordotcom
ISBN: 1250209102
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 103

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Book Description
A LOCUS AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST NOVELLA "Saad Z. Hossain continues to blow through the flimsy walls of genre like a whirlwind with The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday, sweeping science-fiction, fantasy, myth, and satire into the wildly imaginative vortex of his ever-expanding fictional universe of alternate djinn-history and futures. Hossain's wit and wry compassion create a vision of humanity's hurtling path through time and space as both farcical and epic, leaving a blazing trail of casualties and wonders."—Indra Das When the djinn king Melek Ahmar wakes up after millennia of imprisoned slumber, he finds a world vastly different from what he remembers. Arrogant and bombastic, he comes down the mountain expecting an easy conquest: the wealthy, spectacular city state of Kathmandu, ruled by the all-knowing, all-seeing tyrant AI Karma. To his surprise, he finds that Kathmandu is a cut-price paradise, where citizens want for nothing and even the dregs of society are distinctly unwilling to revolt. Everyone seems happy, except for the old Gurkha soldier Bhan Gurung. Knife saint, recidivist, and mass murderer, he is an exile from Kathmandu, pursuing a forty-year-old vendetta that leads to the very heart of Karma. Pushed and prodded by Gurung, Melek Ahmer finds himself in ever deeper conflicts, until they finally face off against Karma and her forces. In the upheaval that follows, old crimes will come to light and the city itself will be forced to change. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Gurkha

Gurkha PDF Author: Kailash Limbu
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
ISBN: 1408705370
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
In this Sunday Times Top Ten bestselling memoir that 'reads like a thriller', (Joanna Lumley) Colour-Sargent Kailash Limbu shares a riveting account of his life as a Gurkha soldier-marking the first time in its two-hundred-year history that a soldier of the Brigade of Gurkhas has been given permission to tell his story in his own words. In the summer of 2006, Colour-Sargeant Kailash Limbu's platoon was sent to relieve and occupy a police compound in the town of Now Zad in Helmand. He was told to prepare for a forty-eight hour operation. In the end, he and his men were under siege for thirty-one days - one of the longest such sieges in the whole of the Afghan campaign. Kailash Limbu recalls the terrifying and exciting details of those thirty-one days - in which they killed an estimated one hundred Taliban fighters - and intersperses them with the story of his own life as a villager from the Himalayas. He grew up in a place without roads or electricity and didn't see a car until he was fifteen. Kailash's descriptions of Gurkha training and rituals - including how to use the lethal Kukri knife - are eye-opening and fascinating. They combine with the story of his time in Helmand to create a unique account of one man's life as a Gurkha. 'I was completely bowled over by Kailash's book and read it with a beating heart and dry mouth. I felt as though I was at his side, hearing the shells and bullets, enjoying the jokes and listening in the scary dead of night. The skill with which he has included his childhood and training is immense, always discovered with ease in the narrative: it actually felt as though I was watching, was IN a film with him. It brought me nearer than I have ever been not only to the mind of the universal soldier but to a hill boy of Nepal and a hugely impressive Gurkha. I raced through it and couldn't put it down: it reads like a thriller. If you want to know anything about the Gurkhas, read this book, and be prepared for a thrilling and dangerous trip' Joanna Lumley