Their clothes would be taken off them, the bath prepared, fresh clothes laid out, breakfasts, luncheons and dinners all ready at preset times, everything moving as clockwork. The language used by the boss established very clearly that the worker was lesser than he was; the whole tenor of that little book was that the boss was a better person than his employee.

Brian Coxs Jute Journey - video Dailymotion BBC Brian Coxs Jute Journey - video Dailymotion

The budding actor headed to London in the 1960s, and has gone on to forge himself a career that has led to him being regarded as one of the best in the country. A couple of hours spent in these mills made me realise what hard work it was for my parents and all the others who laboured for years in the jute industry,” said Cox. In theatre, he's seen as one of the leading Shakespearean actors, while in film, he has landed prominent parts in big blockbusters. With India’s partition in 1947, the best quality jute-growing areas fell into East Pakistan (later Bangladesh), tantalisingly out of reach for Calcutta’s jute mills.Shortly thereafter, the Indian government issued directives that more and more locals should be employed in positions that were held by Europeans.

BBC Four - Schedules, Sunday 11 June 2023 BBC Four - Schedules, Sunday 11 June 2023

A Jutewallah arriving in Calcutta at 10 in the morning was measured out for trousers and double-pocket half-sleeve shirts by a durzee by lunchtime at noon, and would have his clothes ready by the evening. Dundee began to supply even the American West, where the strong and versatile fibre could be used as tarpaulin for the wagon trains. Following the sad and untimely passing of Matthew Perry, fans of the “Friends” star and actor can tune in to. When they came back, they formed this Calcutta society and they all lived in Dundee speaking Indian. Although this coarse fibre had been grown and used in Northern India for thousands of years, for almost all of that period it could be woven only by hand, a labour-intensive and difficult task.The rumour is that these women went out and were all wiped out very quickly, because their immune systems couldn't cope and it ended pretty horribly for them. We even discovered a mosque and a temple standing side by side in the vicinity of one mill,” said Cox. In the orgy of violence that befell the countries in the wake of that great sundering, the Dundonian Jutewallahs found themselves protected behind their compound walls, defended by stalwart Gurkhas. A multitude of servants waited upon them hand and foot: bearers, cooks, jamadars who did the floors and bathrooms and walked the dog, a coolie who dusted and made the beds, a durwan at the gates, and the driver. Loving brother to late Edwiges, late Joseph/late Anna, late Valente/late Rita, late Martin/Gisha and late Cursino/Millie.

Hollywood star Brian Cox follows the trail of the Dundee jute Hollywood star Brian Cox follows the trail of the Dundee jute

The film also touches on the taboo, as it was at the time, of Anglo-Indian relationships - and Dundee's dual status as the UK's whaling capital as well as having one of the country's biggest populations of females per capita. Several Union Ministers including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu have congratulated the people of Goa on the occasion of Goa Statehood Day… 1m. My parents followed their parents into the mills but the closest I got was as a wee boy, peering through the open doors of the Eagle JuteWorks on a hot summer's day. Calcutta’s first mill opened in 1855; seventy-five years later, the city was producing 70% of the world’s jute products.On one hand, jute gave people a whole new life, but at the same time it also reduced life for many people, and gave them a really tough time," he said.

Brian Cox: Jute Journey (BBC 4 Tuesday 6 June 2023)

The jute barons strove to outdo each other in the grandeur of their mills, playing ‘my chimney is bigger than your chimney’.

Next month, we'll see one of Dundee's most famous sons follow in their footsteps in a voyage of discovery. Still generation followed generation into the mills, entire families occupied in creating wealth for Dundee.