"Gunga Din" by Rudyard Kipling (read by Tom O'Bedlam)

In Hindi, Gunga Din means "Spirit of the Ganges". British Tommies are not noted for pronouncing foreign words correctly. In fact deliberate mispronunciation seems to amuse them more: they pronounced "Ypres" as "Wipers", and "India" as "Injia". Nevertheless I am grateful to those who have provided the correct native pronunciations for the Hindi words. It seems superfluous these days for the poet to say that some of the people of India were brave and noble as any white man. This might seem condescending now but it was bold in its time. Gunga Din was only a water carrier, but he played his part as bravely as any soldier, saved lives and earned their respect.