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Hundreds of young Englishmen and women like Pamela Stuart left India in 1947 but could not come back for various reasons. Did they also suffer the loss of belonging and identity like us who resettled as a nation was reborn? Seema Chopra meets the woman who spent the best years of her life in India
Pamela (80) is not of Indian origin. Yet India was part of her life as much as she was a part of India. Pamela Laing (now Stuart) was born, brought up and married in India. After India’s Independence, she had to move back to England. Pre-1947 Pamela lived in India like an Indian and consequently fell in love with her country of birth. Cooking the perfect Indian curry and speaking just the right Urdu diction reflect her Indianness. Till one met Pamela one had thought that only Indians went through the turmoil of Partition. This story of Pamela’s extraordinary, interesting life is set against the colourful background of India in the early 20th century. Born in July, 1926, in Agra to the Governor of Prisons, Stuart Laing, she has affectionate memories of India. Pamela’s father was often transferred to Allahabad, Lucknow and Bareilly. She recalls Gandhi and Nehru as highly educated gentlemen who were respected even by the British for their qualities. As children she and her friends often passed rallies and morchas on the roads but she recalls that neither did anyone ever stop them nor look at them — even though they were English. Such was the character of true freedom fighters. Pamela’s father sometimes said: "This is their country. We have to leave it one day." Born and brought up in India, she could not grasp the meaning of her father’s statement. At the age of 10, when Pamela’s father’s was in charge of the Lucknow prison, Pamela got a chance to meet Gandhi. Her father too had a secret admiration for him and so he was allotted the best room in the prison. Once Stuart Laing unofficially invited Gandhi for tea to his home near the prison. There was a lot of excitement in the household because everyone was looking forward to meeting the dynamic man who led India’s freedom movement. Pamela remembers Gandhi as an intelligent conversationalist who spoke ‘beautiful English’. The personality of the soft-spoken leader, his mannerisms and his clear speech are embedded in Pamela’s heart.
After a few days, Pamela heard that Nehru, too, had been arrested under the Civil Disobedience Movement. Her father invited Nehru home. Nehru spoke with great affection to the little Pamela. He spoke to her gently though she could not reply much due to shyness. Pamela says: "No wonder, his birthday is celebrated as Children’s Day till today". Even at 80 Pamela can clearly recollect the meeting with the leader with an eclectic taste. After studying from a convent in Dehradun, Pamela completed her school education at the Saint Mary’s School after the family moved to Allahabad. Looking back, her favourite city was Allahabad where she spent her teenage years. Life was beautiful, carefree and colourful during those years. Laughingly, she says she never got bored in her childhood unlike the children of today. She enjoyed the time spent with her parents, brothers and sisters inside their large home with its huge garden. Leisure time was spent going to festivals, parties, dancing and movies. Pamela was never afraid of prisoners who were fond of her parents and respected them. She often questioned them about their families. Pamela’s friends were Parsis, Muslims and Jews. They respected each other’s religion and visited each other’s homes and celebrated their festivals. Pamela fondly remembers Christmas celebrations with elephants, candles and a crowd of friends from across religions. In Bareilly, members of the royal family of Afghanistan lived opposite their home. Pamela became friends with their teenage children and even wore a burqa while going to watch a movie with them. At 19 Pamela started working at the Royal Military School in Sanawar as the secretary to the principal. She paused to mention that she had to make do with a Remington typewriter as computers were unheard of at that time. This was where she met her would-be husband who visited his old school on various occasions as he was with the Royal Artillery. Soon they were married in Meerut and then transferred to Dehradun. In the August of 1947, when India gained Independence and the British had to leave, the seven-month pregnant Pamela started the journey back to England. After the three-day long journey, which included sleeping on train benches in the oppressing heat, Pamela reached Bombay with her group. There were riots and bridges and railway lines were being blown up. From Bombay, a troop-ship took them to England. The tiresome sea journey was six weeks long. Coming to England was a ‘rude awakening’. There was fog and the freezing winters to contend with. Rationing was in force. Pamela had no friends or relatives and remorsefully longed for the sunny days, the huge home, fruit-laden trees and her friends back in India. It used to get so cold at night that she slept with her new-born son wearing her outdoor overcoat. They were called ‘white Indians’ by the locals though officially classified as Domicile Europeans. Pamela wants to remember the India where people celebrated festivals together and there was no difference on the basis of religion. Whenever she hears news contrary to this, she does not like it. There is a request on her behalf: If her friends Rohini Mulla and Shyama Hukku (maiden names) read this article, they should contact the writer.
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