The First World War Adventures of Nariman Karkaria

The First World War Adventures Of Nariman Karkaria : A Memoir by Nariman Karkaria


The artistic style of the cover reminds one a Tintin comic.
This is an extraordinary travelogue of an inveterate wanderer. His meanderings from Navsari to London via Bombay, Hong Kong, Peking, Manchuria, frozen Siberia, Petrogard, Finland, and the Scandinavian countries way back at the beginning of the twentieth century are inconceivable today. He is quite an engaging raconteur narrating his adventures in a chatty humorous style. He was an astute observer of his surroundings and the people he encountered while satisfying his wanderlust.
He mentions his harrowing experiences in the muddy trenches of Somme, the sandy wastes of Egypt, and the horrors of the Balkan war with equal elan as his awe of the Caucasian mountains, the beauty and spirituality of churches and mosques in Jerusalem and what was then known as Constantinople and the women he encounters.
His persistence in getting drafted into the British Army rather than the native Indian Army shows his feelings of superiority as a Parsi. This was most evident when he entered Jerusalem and gloated over the exploits of Persian invaders in the past.

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