Burns Night - Indian Style

Normally Burns night cheers up a very quiet, damp cold night January 25th and we always look forward to ours. Many a happy night has been had in the past celebrating the life and works of the famous Scottish Poet - Robert Burns.

We were going to attend a formal dinner in Madras/Chennai but it was cancelled at the last minute and not to spoil a party I rashly claimed that it would be no problem to throw a dinner party for 20 in my house!!! What was I thinking!

So all hands on deck, everyone contributed something or other (no time to organise caterers) and we managed to have an extremely pleasant evening of Cock-a-leekie Soup, followed by Haggis, Neeps and Tatties, then Cranachan and Atholl Brose for dessert then a cheese course, finished off with homemade tablet and shortbread. It is quite amazing what you can do with Amul cream.

We even managed to get our hands on some Scottish Haggis and flew in the neeps, Whisky, oatcakes. (Thank you my Brit friends for sending these out!)

To top it all our friends Alaisdair and Lynne managed to secure some pipers from the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles Regiment to pipe in our haggis.

The Scottish Saltire Cross Flag a la Robinson Crusoe being flown on a bamboo pole!

Pipers from the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles Regiment

The table set for 20 -looking resplendent

Our Madras Scottish contingency from left

Frazer, Bob, Alasdair and Mr Maddog

People made a big effort to dress for the occasion!

My cook Josephine carrying in the Haggis while being piped in

Many speeches were given and Mr Maddog didn't let us down with his address to the Haggis which he recited all verses without reading.

Oops....is that almost an empty decanter of Whisky I see before Ian and I?

Then it all got very silly with other poems Burn's style but very funny and laughed the night away. Finishing off with a Celidh and having a visit from the local Policeman to see what all the noise was about! (Very funny - considering I think India is one of the most noisiest countries I have ever been in!)

Burns wouldn't have wanted it any other way.