Three great-grandchildren of Lewin Bentham Bowring were in the city to look for the house where their father and grandfather were born.
Lewing Bowring was the Chief Commissioner of Mysore and Bangalore during the Raj.
In India for the first time, they are knocking on the doors of the state archives and Mysore City Corporation, births and deaths cell to know more about their legacy. They plan to visit Bowring Hospital and Bowring Institute on St Mark’s road in Bangalore.
Peter Bowring (71), a retired British military officer, Paul Bowring who retired from the British Transport Department and Philip Bowring (63), a retired engineer, are going all around the city to gather information about their great-grandfather L B Bowring and grandfather Philip Francis Bowring who served as a Deputy Commissioner and a justice.
Their father Philip was also born in Mysore in 1915 and passed away at the age of 52. His wish that all the three children should visit Mysore, the place where he was born and Bangalore, the place they served, has come true 45 years after his death.
“We decided to visit India and unearth our legacy. We will be happy if we can still find our house,” said Peter Bowring.
They said their great-grandfather had served in various capacities and was an avid angler and hunter. “We have pictures of him having caught a 119 pound mahseer at Beemeshwari in Malavalli taluk of Mandya district during the visit of the Prince of Wales. We were also told that they hunted many man-eating tigers to save villagers,” he said.
The family are looking for records relating to their family and meeting people to see whether the house where their father was born still exists. They will leave for Bangalore for a week, on Thursday. They want to stay at Bowring Institute and visit the Bowring Hospital now run by the state government. “We are thankful to the government for providing free healthcare to people who can’t afford it,” they said.
The Bowring family with 17 grandchildren, 15 children and nine senior citizens back home, wanted to know more about their forefathers years in India.
They also plan to write about their family legacy that is still alive in India.
“We love to spend time with people and experience the culture of the country, more than whiling away time in posh hotels. We met women making incense sticks for their livelihood. One cannot walk away when some body is struggling,” the brothers said. The family has requested historians, researchers and the public to mail them if they have any information at pjqbow@gmail.com.