My First English Friend

In the 1950s, in England, it was common to read on Notice Boards: Room To Let…No Irish please. No Italian please. No African/Negro please. But “No Indian please.” was rare. Yet, as I knocked at the door, the house lady – seeing an Indian face – with typical English politeness, would say, “Oh, just gone “. If I persisted: ” But I phoned you that I was coming.” She would say: “ Yes, Yes, so sorry, young man! But my husband had already let the room...”

One Friday evening as I knocked and the house-lady opened the door: “You have an attic room to let, Mrs.?” “Oh, yes, but only for girls, we don’t let to man ”, she said matter-of-factly.

“ This is really another way to say that you don’t want to let to an Indian. Your notice does not say ‘girls only’. You are racist…” I rebuked.

“ I did mention ‘girls only’, but you accused me to be a racist! Just wait here…” and she rushed back leaving the front door wide open.
Within a few minutes she returned and invited me to her kitchen and introduced me to her husband: “ We are socialist, and our labour party had supported your Freedom Movement. We are not racist, you are welcome in our house…” And I was reminded that it was an Englishman who founded the All Indian National Congress in 1884.

The working class English husband lectured me on Independent India’s future:

“ You young Indians come here to study and never go back. I want you to learn things here in England, promise me, you would return to serve the Indian people. India needs help…” Thus spoke my first English landlord in 1954. I was truthfully their first male tenant and Christine their daughter was my first English friend.