Kim by Rudyard Kipling

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India, 1893.

Rudyard Kipling’s Kim straddles genres and opinions. Is it dated or relevant? Is it Indian or imperial fiction? Is it a children’s book or is it an adult novel? Is it an adventure story or is it spy fiction or is it a travelogue? Does it reflect India or British colonialism or is it about the clash of cultures? Is it a coming-of-age tale or a narrative of exploitation?

The typical (and correct) answer is that it is all of the above. It is the origin story of a spy (taken forward in Timeri Murari’s ‘The Imperial Agent’ duology). It is an imperial fantasy about protecting the empire through a resourceful young man. Rudyard Kipling is credited with coining the term ‘the great game’ to describe British and Russian one-upmanship in controlling Afghanistan (and thereby the gates of India). Kim is set between the 2nd and 3rd Anglo-Afghan Wars, around 1893. 

Kim is an orphan, tanned and begging on the streets of Lahore; he does odd jobs for miscellaneous merchants in the bazaars, most often for the Pastun horse-trader Mahbub Ali. He is so absorbed in the local culture, traditions, language and customs that there is no visible or audible connection with his deceased Irish parents. It is only when he encounters his father’s regiment that an officer recognizes Kim. Kim is sent to an English school in Lucknow where he formally learns how to spy. 

It is coincidental that Kim was an agent delivering a message to the British Secret Service when he encountered his father’s regiment. At the time he was under the care of Teshoo Lama - a Tibetan on a sacred journey, and whose follower Kim had become. Teacher and disciple were on a spiritual quest when Kim was recruited on the aforementioned task and ended up with an English education in espionage. Kim’s talents are put to the test as he engages the Russians in the Himalayas. 

The book is notable for its engaging portrayal of India - often panoramic and romanticised, sometimes imperial. These are narrated through Kipling’s descriptions of India’s crowded bazaars, myriad religions, portraits of engaging people, its geography of mountains and plains. The premise of Kipling’s ‘great game’ is of course India, which was the jewel in the British crown, and a rich target for the adversarial Russians. 

On the personal side Kim is also a story of innocence and the restlessness of youth, where an Indian born Irish orphan living among Hindus and Muslims finds beauty in a lama’s spiritual pursuit despite their opposing nature. He chooses the belief system of the lama by joining the lama in his practice, and stumbles into adventure. 

As an espionage agent, Kim is a valuable strategic asset to the spymaster. Kim effortlessly and naturally blends in with the people of the land. And this is where Kim finds his calling - with resourceful skills honed in the real world and polished by the British Secret Service. 

The cultural and political impact of Kim cannot be understated. Edward Said has credited Rudyard Kipling of supplying literature with an authentic description of life in the colonies of the British empire. Even today the underlying motives of the book and its author are debated.