by K.P.Joseph

During the 1950s, I worked as a junior auditor in the Indian High Commission in London.  The High Commissioner was, of course, Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Pandit. She was a spendthrift, always in financial trouble.I remember, once she picked some very expensive sarees that were on display at the High Commision and presented them as a wedding gift to the bride of her secretary, a former prince, without paying for them. When we came acros this in audit, we wrote to her. She was furious and wanted to eat me alive. But later she realized that what she did was wrong and took back all the sarees from the poor bride and returned them to the High Commission. 

It may be of interest to note that during the closing years of her time in London, Rajiv Gandhi was staying with her and attending school.  Once, in a TV programme, he was shown boarding a London city bus to go to school. But in truth, he normally used the HighCommissioner's official car on all the other days. Now that you get a sense of  the culture of Indian High Commision and our environment at that time, I have to admit I did not want to set the Thames on fire or anything of the sort. Instead, all I could do was stand and stare. 

I had a colleague by the name of P.N.Jain who was very different from me. He was a go-getter and liked to be in the limelight all the time. He  always used to carry a copy of Dale Carnegie’s book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People" in his pocket. I was the guinea pig for Jain’s experiments in applying Dale Carnegie’s ideas. I used to trot behind him through the highways and
byways of London, like Mary’s little lamb in the nursery rhyme.

Both Jain and I were great admirers of Winston Churchill who was at that time finishing his second spell as Prime Minister. Out of our admiration for him, we once visited the Blenheim Palace, saw the room where he was born, his cradle and the long line of toy soldiers he played with as a
child. We went to see Churchill leaving 10 Downing Street for the Parliament on his last day as Prime Minister. There was a small crowd of about thirty people in front of 10 Downing Street. We were the only two Indians there. We did not have to wait long. The door slowly opened and
Churchill walked to the waiting car, showing the famous V-sign and left amid loud cheers of "Winnie,Winnie!"

Next year, Jain and I attended the annual garden party in Buckingham Palace that Queen Elizabeth gave foreign diplomats stationed in London. Several thousands of diplomats used to be invited to the party. Jain and I travelled in style with our wives, in a chauffeur-driven car provided
by the High Commission. The star attraction for everyone was Princess Margaret who had not yet found a husband at the time. 

As the party was in progress there was a sudden and sharp shower. It was fun watching the
distinguished crowd running to take shelter in the pavilions on the lawn. The Queen herself escaped from the rain, almost running. As there was no sign of the weather clearing up, the party was abandoned. The guests had to wait long for their cars to arrive, after the numbers were
announced on the loudspeaker. Mrs. Jain and my wife were sitting on a  sofa in a room near the front of the Palace, and  Mr. Jain and I were standing near them waiting for our car, when we saw a very old  man, looking frail, propped up by a walking stick, advancing slowly and with
difficulty, looking for a place to sit. 

It was the great Churchill himself. The two ladies shot up and offered their place to him.  He sat down with apparent relief and thanked the ladies. 

He looked at them with a smile and said:  "Ladies, this must remind you of the monsoon rains back home, eh?" 

I do not remember what they answered or if they said anything at all. 

Soon some Palace officials came and helped Churchill to  get on his feet  and took him to his car which had arrived by then.  We will be ever grateful for that unexpected rain that brought
us face to face with  one of the greatest men of modern times.
 

Mr. K.P. Joseph is a retired Accountant General of Kerala. Also see his favorite books