The Parsi community as seen through the eyes of a 19th century Russian poet
Edited extracts from an article in Scroll reprinted with permission.
In November 1890, Crown Prince Nicholas II set off from St Petersburg on an epic 290-day, 51,000-km journey to Vladivostok and back via southern Europe and Asia. He was accompanied by Prince Esper Ukhtomsky, a poet and close confidant who was passionate about India.
Ukhtomsky knew more about India than most other Russians. His book Travels in the East of Nicholas II When Cesarewitch, 1890-91 is a document of Nicholas II’s "Grand Tour to the East.”
Ukhtomsky was disappointed to find Bombay "too European” on the surface. Nevertheless, the city’s architecture fascinated him,......