Be that as it may. Every time we enter the portals of Victoria Terminus (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus), we are aware that while we may change names in a spirit of petty petulance, the grand legacy of the Indian railways and so much else that the Raj did to make us what we are still endures. On the sixtieth anniversary of its passing we can shed a tear for a human achievement which, even while falling short of its best ideals (think of Burke, think of Ripon), inspires in us a sense of awe and inadequacy as we contemplate the sheer scale and marvellous nature of its achievement. A Requiem Mass in the Viceregal Palace (now Rashtrapati Bhavan) would be in order.

The writer is chairman, Mphasis