"Gunga Din" (/ˌɡʌŋɡə ˈdiːn/) is an 1890 poem by Rudyard Kipling set in British India.The poem was published alongside "Mandalay" and "Danny Deever" in the collection "Barrack-Room Ballads".
The poem is much remembered for its final line "You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din".
Joseph Rudyard Kipling (/ˈrʌdjərd/ RUD-yərd; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936) was an English journalist, novelist, poet and short-story writer. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
Kipling's works of fiction include the Jungle Book duology (The Jungle Book, 1894; The Second Jungle Book, 1895), Kim (1901), the Just So Stories (1902) and many short stories, including "The Man Who Would Be King" (1888). His poems include "Mandalay" (1890), "Gunga Din" (1890), "The Gods of the Copybook Headings" (1919), "The White Man's Burden" (1899) and "If—" (1910). He is seen as an innovator in the art of the short story. His children's books are classics; one critic noted "a versatile and luminous narrative gift".