Struggle and the Adjustment, 1965-75

It is long, since I promised to narrate my experiences and observations in some detail. However, there had been few occasions in my life which had left a permanent impact on my mind. Certainly my coming to England brought some changes in my living. The roots of this go back to January 1964, when I was fast asleep at our flat at Chirawa (Rajasthan), India. I heard a big knock at the door at about 4 am. This knock woke me up. I opened the door and found my younger brother standing there with a colleague of mine. While I was pleased to see him, it also surprised me because this was unexpected and I had not been informed about his programme to visit us. We all went to sleep and started to talk in the morning. During our conversation, it emerged that a neighbour in Delhi was going to England in April. He had been granted a work visa by the British government. I became curious and thought, I would also like to go abroad. But I did not have the means. I, therefore, did not think further in this field. In February 1964, we moved to live in Delhi. In April 1965, I made an application for an employment visa at the British High Commission in New Delhi. To my astonishment I received a letter, from the commission in May, that the work voucher, for which I had applied, had been received and that I should bring my passport in order to collect it.

I asked a relative to help me in obtaining a passport because in 1965, the Indian government did not easily issue passports. A number of guarantees were required and some one with an asset of ten thousand rupees should stand a security. My relative asked his employer to assist in this matter. He agreed on condition, that on reaching London, I would send him a new ford car. When we went to the land registry for an ownership certificate, he was furious because the certificate showed that he was insolvent for up to ten thousand rupees. He permeated the view that he was a very rich man and owned a large number of properties and land in north east Delhi. Anyway, I submitted my application form and received my passport within a fortnight.

Some of my relatives were not keen with my decision to go abroad and asked me questions, how shall I pay for my flight, and who will look after my little family? I, however, decided to fly to a country distant across the seas of which I knew little except the language. I could not visualize at that time what was in store for me in England. Although it was my burning desire to go to London, it was never designed the way it happened. I borrowed two thousand rupees for my air ticket and flew to London on 15th of October 1965, leaving my gentle wife and innocent children on their own to face their problems, as I was to struggle and solve my enigma in a strange land. I had left my family at the same flat where I had lived with them in Delhi, but a close relative did not like the idea of them living on their own when we had a large family. They were, therefore, moved to another relative's place where they did not want to live.

They, therefore, went to live with Santosh's (my Wife's) parents for a brief period. I did not know when they went there. A friend (with whom I stayed on my arrival) in London did not like this. He told me that you should know the where- about and welfare of your family. He, therefore, wrote to my relative that he was mature enough and clever enough to tell us that the children had gone to stay with their maternal grandparents. The person in India did not like that, and rather than replying to that friend, he wrote to me that I had prompted this man to write to him and if I was so worried about my children why did I go to London? I let the matter slip and did not care about his views and behaviour.

I had my own problems to solve in London and find a proper place to live and a job to earn some money in order to pay my rent and other bills. We did really face a number of problems in those early years. When my wife returned from her parent's house to Delhi, my relative's family made it difficult for them to live peacefully. My young children and wife had to live in a small kitchen. My father took them to the village but some younger members of the extended family made their life miserable. My wife and children had to come back to Delhi to face the same adversity. One night they had to spend standing under a balcony in order to protect themselves from rain. That was the worst period of our lives. This was like a scene in a Hindi movie displaying poverty and bad days.

It was, however, not to last long. The Almighty had tested us and He provided us with everything in years to come; with a house, good job and other resources to live a comfortable life. My grandchildren would never face what my children had to endure in their childhood. That was my determination. I worked for it and worked hard. Many people helped me in accomplishing my objectives. Despite many hindrances, we were successful in our goals. At these achievements, however, some people were jealous and uncomfortable.

I found England wet and cold. It was a cold country, temperature reaching minus eight or even minus twelve centigrade. It rained almost every day in winter. I did not see sun for many months. I found a small room in West London where many tenants were from India. They came from south, north, west and eastern states of the country. European tenants also lived in that house. It was the responsibility of the landlord to clean the rooms and keep the house tidy. He also maintained a garden and grew flowers. There were some trees. A park was near by. They called it Ealing Common. The main advantage of this house was that it was near a tube station. The metro or London train service is called the tube or London underground because so many trains run under buildings especially in central London. Though there were surface stations and railway track as well.

First, I found a job at a walking distance. From September to December 1966, I worked at Shepherds Bush, West London. Then, I started to work in the Customs & Excise department of the British government. I used to travel by tube to the office. It was an hour long journey from home to office. The train did not stop at many stations. In between Acton Town station and Hammersmith station, there were four small stations. The train used to run fast, yet I used to peep through the window and look at the area. I saw that there was green space, parks and beautiful houses. It looked like a country side but it was the inner city suburb of Chiswick. The Bedford Park area of this district appealed to me most and I thought of living there at some stage. In the early months of my stay in London, I, however, continued to live at Hanger Lane and travelled from the North Ealing station to the city' Tower Hill station. There were some facilities near this house- a barber shop, a newspaper agent, and a launderette. The main shops were at the High Street, about one mile away from the house. This area was known as Ealing Broadway. I was perhaps lucky to live in a room on my own in this big house at Hanger Lane, also known as South Circular Road.

Those who migrated from the Indian sub-continent in 1950s and 1960s told me that up to six people lived in a room or twenty in a house. It was not easy to find accommodation in London. Secondly, people wanted to save money in order to purchase their own houses. Later I learned that in the Bengali community, people even rotated the use of the...