The Lynsdale Raj

India is a magnet. Its allure has reached, across time and space, into the genes of the British royal family: the infant Prince George had an Indian ancestress.

This should have been expected. India’s legendary riches, culture and mystique drew people from all over Europe, all walks of life. Some came, made their fortunes, and returned to their cold lands, nursing their gout and their memories of the days when they were Nabobs in the cosseting warmth of India.

Those were the Exploiters. Others came, fell in love with our country and its people, and made India their home. Many, like the Skinners and the Herseys, were born leaders and the regiments they created are a proud part of our Army’s great martial heritage today. Then were those trail-blazing adventurers like ‘Pahari’ Wilson of Harsil and ‘sumuru’ of Sardhana who carved out their own little kingdoms as the Rajputs and other warriors had before them. All of them added their genes and their mores to the evolving mosaic of our land.

They are theEnrichers. This is the story of the loves and lives, the tragedies and triumphs, of such an iconic family and its vicious royal relatives. The similarity between the Indian Armenian connection of the Royal Windsors of London’s Windsor Castle and that of the Lynsdales of the Himalayan Lynsdale Raj, is striking.

John Lynsdale was born to be the King of England. Deprived of his birthright by a weak father and a scheming women, John follows his repetitive dream to India, a land of opportunity riven by little men squabbling for power. In Britain, too, the restless Scots want their own king, the common people are miserable and the hostile kingdoms of Europe are a looming threat across the narrow English Channel.

John Lynsdale’s world, 300 years ago, was much like ours today.

This is the story of his adventures, the intrigues he faced in the multinational East India Company, his many loves and mystical awakening. In Fort St. George, Madras, he encounters the cold, ruthless, Norbert kline and, together, they are besieged in a monsoon-drenched fortress and emerge victorious. But when he falls in love with the beautiful Armenian woman, Ann Hawkenian, the petty-minded expatriates in the Fort spurn him for choosing a ‘country-born’ wife.

Lured to Calcutta by a suave mercenary agent, John Lynsdale and Ann then set off find their dream kingdom in the Himalayas.

This is John Lynsdale’s swashbuckling story, but is his story History?

Perhaps. Sometimes fact and fiction converge curiously.

India’s pioneering travel writers.

The sub-continent enriched them with a wide spectrum of cultural influences adding to their Anglo-Indian heritage and their varied experiences as an Indian Naval family for many years.

As a team they have won many awards for their work in bringing the world to India and India to the world. In February 2014 they were given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Government of India.

When they are not travelling, the Gantzers live in a Victorian cottage in the oak woods of the Himalayas. Like the questing bear in the old song, they still want to see what lies on the other side of the mountain.