tan Brush was destined to live a childhood different from most American kids. His 1925 birth during the final decades of the British Raj near Calcutta, India began a lifelong romance with the cultures of the Indian subcontinent; the people, their languages, culture and history.

Unlike most Americans, Stan was raised under the watchful eyes of Indian household servants - nannies (ayahs), cooks (khansamas), gardeners (malis), washermen (dhobis) and more. From the beginning, he learned Hindustani as well as the English of his Baptist household. He was an American, to be sure, but experienced life — as do many cross-cultural Anglo Indians — as a participant in two cultures - feeling not entirely a part of either American or Indian.

Stan managed to survive the social constraints of his parents' Baptist missionary life and lengthy school year separations from home, while attending Woodstock, a distant Himalayan boarding school.

After graduation from Woodstock School, he traveled "home" to the states for college. This dangerous 1942 ocean journey through Uboat-infested waters, accompanied by his sweetheart and many classmates, is compelling reading. These evocative chapters contrast wartime perils with the irrepressible optimism and enthusiasm of youth.

Stan Brush's love for the peoples and cultures of India and Pakistan infuse his memoir, "Farewell the Winterline, Memories of a Boyhood in India". And it is appreciation of those cultures that inspires the continual development of this web site.

Before reading "Farewell the Winterline", we invite you to browse the chapter excerpts, subscribe to our "Winterline Journal" newsletter, and download our Indian Recipes Cookbook as our free gifts to you.

We have also begun to post the entire text of Farewell the Winterline as an online reader...click here.