Nigel Bathurst Hankin (1920-2007) was brought up by his grandmother in

Bexhill, Sussex Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish situated in the county of East Sussex in South East England. An ancient town and part of the Non-metropolitan district, local government district of Rother District ...

. He was sent to Burma during late

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

but the war ended around the time he reached Bombay, India (now

Mumbai, India Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

). He liked the bustle of the

Indian Subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

(

Delhi, India Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

in particular) and consequently he lived there for the rest of his life. One of his early formative experiences was watching the crowds at the funeral for

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure ...

while he still wore the uniform of the newly defunct

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

just after the formal

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

. His subsequent eclectic activities in India included running a mobile cinema. Later he worked for the

British High Commission A British High Commission is a British diplomatic mission, equivalent to an embassy, found in countries that are members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Their general purpose is to provide diplomatic relationships as well as travel information, ...

and during his tenure there he helped newcomers to India interpret the local mores and lingo. In 1992 he formally compiled his know-how into the book ""

Hanklyn-Janklin ''Hanklyn-Janklin'' is a 1992 glossary of Indian English terms and Indian-derived words in mainstream English by Nigel Hankin, named as a tribute to its 1886 forebear ''Hobson-Jobson ''Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words ...

"" which became well known to locals and foreigners to the

Subcontinent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...

alike. This cross cultural dictionary is what he is most well known for and many critics compare it to the 19th Century book

Hobson-Jobson ''Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, and of Kindred Terms, Etymological, Historical, Geographical and Discursive'' is a historical dictionary of Anglo-Indian words and terms from Indian languages which came in ...

. Hankin never married, had no children and kept English traits such as eating an "English Breakfast" that included cornflakes. He also gave tours of Delhi which were highly sought after but hard to book. They featured sights such as hidden bazaars and Hankin's walk and talk through Coronation Park. His brother and other relatives occasionally visited him in India before his death at age 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hankin, Nigel 1920 births 2007 deaths English lexicographers Businesspeople from Delhi Cinema pioneers Tour guides 20th-century lexicographers British emigrants to India