Monday, Nov. 24, 1930 Indian Conference Scene: The Royal Gallery Of The House Of Lords in which His Majesty George V opened last winter the London Naval Conference (TIME. Jan. 20). Time: Twelve noon when His Majesty opened last week the Indian Round Table Conference to determine the future status of one-fifth of the population of the globe. Properties: the King-Emperor's spectacles (in his breast pocket), his speech (borne by his private secretary Baron Stamford-ham), his Throne (portable), the Chair (portable), and the Round Table consisting of two U-shaped tables, one within the other, both facing the Throne, seating together 86 delegates. (As the splendorons scene opened the ruling Princes and Maharajas of the Native States moved about greeting one another with low salaams. Each placed his hands crossed upon his breast as he bowed. All manifested proud hauteur to ward the mere civilian delegates of British India. Scorned by these in turn, two miserable delegates of India's untouchables [lowest class] scuttled to their places. All the Princes and Maharajas were gorgeously pugreed [turbaned], but all except a few were somberly, impressively clad in long ajkans [tightly- buttoned, turtlenecked black frock coats]. Overawed, Correspondent Raymond Gram Swing of the New York Evening Post cabled of the princes: "In color, costume and bearing, in the lines of some of their ascetic, sensitive faces they were the ones who seemed to be the superior race. Beside them the pallid little Englishmen dressed in the dull sobriety of bank clerks were like subordinate assistants. Even King George in morning coat minus the accustomed white carnation in his buttonhole, was more like a company director than a monarch.") The Emperor of India (Entering accompanied by Prime Minister James Ramsay MacDonald, taking his stance in front of the gilded Throne, glancing deliberately about while the assemblage bowed, dipping for his spectacles and putting them on, receiving his manuscript speech from Lord Stamfordham, facing his special gold & silver microphone, holding up his speech with hands that trembled slightly): [snip] Full text at http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,740756,00.html ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India