ABSTRACT
Hodgson’s achievements as a scholar in Nepal and also his diplomatic and political role are treated elsewhere in this volume. Here the focus is on his manner of living and on the personal relationships he established during twenty years of residence in Kathmandu. There is, of course, evidence for these in Hodgson’s own correspondence and in Hunter’s biography but these wellknown sources can be supplemented with oral tradition still preserved in Nepal. Stories handed down through generations are admittedly highly susceptible to exaggeration and distortion, but, used judiciously, they provide a valuable supplement to the view offered by Hodgson and Hunter.
