So, where has our lovely Fall season gone to so soon? It seems to me it was only the other day that we talked about "summer swiftly slipping away" and our entering the beautiful season of autumn. Even the ever popular Yuletide season has come and gone much to the disappointment of many and the delight of others.

But, time moves on relentlessly, too quickly for some and too slowly for others. Before we know it another year has passed and we are now into the dawn of a new year - 1997 to be exact - just 3 years short of the 21st century.

Winter is upon us again with all its fury, arriving with depressing regularity, early as usual but departing tardily and not before leaving a legacy of misery and mayhem in its wake. Blizzards, ice-storms and treacherous road conditions are the order of the day for the next couple of months, compounded by the sub-zero temperatures that make us yearn for warmer climes.

How typically Canadian all this is to those of us who have lived here for some years. Outdoor activities such as skating, skiing and snow-mobiling are enjoyed largely by the younger set, while we older ones pass our time away with less strenuous activities like bowling, billiards and badminton. This is also a time of excessive television watching for some, the excuse being that it is too cold and unpleasant for us to do anything outside. We are now well into the coldest month of the year, a time when some of us, according to the media, are supposed to be suffering from the "winter blahs". This malady, according to psychologists, is really an acute attack of depression caused by a lack of sunlight but one that is easily cured by a short holiday in some sunny tropical paradise far from our frigid country. Unfortunately, only a few can avail of this rather costly cure, much to the chagrin of the rest of us who are left behind to suffer the rigours of a Canadian winter.

However, all is not gloom and doom, spring is just around the corner - March 20th to be precise- and just ten days later we celebrate that

most important of all Christian festivals-Easter. After Easter our weather usually takes a sharp turn for the better and before we know it our long-awaited summer is here. So cheer up folks as we have a lot of good things to look forward to again.

Best wishes to you all from all our members.

Editor, AIIT

I take the pleasure and the opportunity to inform you of my progress. I hereby submit my Final Progress Report ’96.

I thank you for the scholarship you have assisted me with, to continue my entire course. Yours sincerely. Stephen Rayneau, 2nd year T.T.C., Mount Herman College, North Point, Darjeeling.

I really don’t know how to begin this first letter of mine to you. I have come to know you through Philomena Eaton. She informed me that you are sponsoring me for my Teachers Training Course. Thank you so much for your kind generosity. I am very grateful for what you have done for me. You will always be in my prayers. May God Bless you.

I am so sorry I forgot to introduce myself to you. My name is Errol Aviet. I come from a Roman Catholic Anglo-Indian family. My family comprises of my mother and sister. I lost my dear father when I was three years old and since then my mother has taken up the challenge to bring us up. My mother is working in the railways; she was appointed on compassionate grounds. She is to retire in the year 1998. My sister is studying. So, this is my small family, just the three of us.

Here is some good news. I have passed my first year and have been promoted to the second year. My College will resume on the 10th March 1997. At present I have one tuition at home in order to build confidence in myself. This not only keeps me busy, but also helps me be close to children who I love.

With much love and grateful thanks. may God bless you and keep you in good health. Gratefully. Errol Aviet.

ASANSOL - St. Vincent’s High and Technical School, Asansol commemorated the beatification of Edmund Rice, founder of the Christian Brothers, by a threefold celebration.

Creation week Oct. 8 -14, a play on the life and work of Edmund Ignatius Rice on Dec. 7th and 8th and sports on Dec. 12th, marked the celebrations. The teachers and students along with Mr. Raymond Wheatley, Principal made the celebrations a great success.

On this occasion St. Vincent’s High and Technical School brought out a souvenir. Many people commented that even though the Christian brothers have been working in Asansol for 70 years, this is the first time a detailed life history of their founder, Edmund Ignatius Rice was staged for the public. Bro. Paul Bela, Superior C.F.C. proposed a vote of thanks.

A special tribute to Blessed Rice and thanks from all our readers who have been educated by the beloved Christian Brothers. And from all the ex-St. Vincent’s boys "Long live St. Vincent’s in famed Asansol"- Glory to SVTS! (extract from the school anthem).

by Jeanne Canning

Back in the mid 30’s when I was born, Toronto was about as WASP as any city you could find and the suburbs where I was raised was even more so. Everyone in my neighbourhood who had not been born in Canada had either an English, Irish or Scottish accent. I was about 9 years old before I ever saw anyone who had a skin colour other than white, with the exception of the Chinese people who owned the local laundry.

By the time I started school, the second world war had broken out and my first glimpse of foreigners were on the newsreels at the Saturday matinee in the local movie houses. We saw clips of the various troops in action which of course included all the allies; The British, French, Australians, Ghurkas, Indians and later the Americans. Watching these clips was about as worldly sophisticated as we got until after the war when the waves of immigration started to come in. Then we became exposed to the real culture of other nations as they brought their customs and foods with them.

My first experience with food that was other then the traditional English fare was when I was in my teens and our next door neighbours took me to Chinatown. I was a little hesitant at first but I tried it, liked it, and have never looked back since. Gradually over the years, up to about 15 years ago, I tried everything but Indian food. I couldn’t just get past the strange smell of it. It wasn’t until two of the Anglo-Indian girls I worked with started to explain to me that all curry meant was a combination of spices and not all curries are yellow. One day Toni Houston brought in to work, a little bag of spices for me, and told me how to make chicken curry and how to add the hot pepper to taste so that I could get used to it gradually. Well, let me tell you, she made me a convert and I have been cooking and trying Indian dishes ever since.

I also learned from Toni about her life in India when she was a child and she has introduced me to many of her friends who may be reading this now. I have attended some of your New Years Eve parties and a Canada Day picnic and enjoyed your company and hospitality.

Some day I would like to travel to India and see it for myself (quite a dream for a WASP kid from Scarborough).

From: Reggie Maher

This matter of helping Anglo-Indians on the Indian sub-continent is a matter literally of life and death for there is no "social security" there. There are no pensions such as age, invalid etc. If you do not have a job and these, for Anglo-Indians, are extremely hard to get, you and your family face destitution and even death. I have personal knowledge of Anglo-Indians who have died on the streets of Calcutta. What happens in Calcutta could well be happening in other cities of the sub-continent.

Even those who have so died, cannot expect to be decently buried. I know the case of one man, personally known to me who died in this destitution. His wife, having no money to bury him, placed his dead body on sheet on the road outside their house and begged from passers by, who threw coppers on the street until she had collected enough to give her husband a pauper’s funeral. Otherwise the body could have been removed to some medicinal school for dissection!!

Charitable organisations are doing their best but are severely handicapped by limited resources and the numbers they are being called up to cater for. A person, just back from India tells of Anglo-Indian beggars on the streets!!

Apart from the difficulties mentioned above, charitable organisations face the problem of not actually knowing where the need really lies since the Anglo-Indians are not particularly anxious to expose their poverty. There is also the problem of keeping the aid ongoing. There is no use receiving a large sum of money, say annually and then doing nothing for the rest of the year. The large sum, with the high cost of living rapidly disappears and destitution with its companion is back again!

Pope Pius XII pointed out a defect in organised charities. It is cold and soon takes on the character of a mere job. It lacks the personal touch of a human heart. I am not here criticising these charities for without them the position would be worse, but I am making my appeal to the natural love of human hearts. Out there are very often members of our own families, flesh of our flesh, blood of our blood crying out to us for help. We have life before us; they have death.

I am not suggesting something that cannot be done. There are already five families who are doing what I suggest and that is to send monthly remittances either to their own families or dear friends in dire distress. In doing this on a regular basis, we provide the very necessary feature of ongoing help. Further, we take our loved ones off the breadline and its humiliation. We also relieve the pressure on charitable organisations and give them the chance of helping others who have nobody to turn to.

Your own flesh and blood is your responsibility, a call to your heart and not to the responsibility of any organisation. If for instance, a family of four contribute a mere $5.00 per month, they would be sending out Rs.540 to a needy relative or friend.

As this is an appeal to all migrant Anlgo-Indians, I would be deeply grateful if Anglo-Indian organisations in other parts of the world, publishing newsletters or journals of any sort, would be so kind as to reproduce this article for the benefit of as many Anglo-Indians as possible.

by Jenny Welsh

GOOD NEWS.... The Constitution of the International Federation has now been officially registered. Currently there are four members of the federation under the Constitution.

Anglo Indian Social Club (London), AIIT (Anglo Indians in Touch), and Australia’s Anglo Indian Association (Inc.) Perth are the three founding members. The Anglo Indian Guild (Bangalore) is registered as a member under the criteria of a bona fide organization committed to supporting and pursuing the Anglo Indian cause by way of history, culture and heritage and has been in existence for at least three years.

By this Constitution, AIIT is the only official member of the International Federation for the continent of North America at this time, and therefore, will be the official ticket seller of Reunion IV tickets/delegate badges.

Regarding the sale of tickets/badges, AIIT has been in close touch with the Indian organizers of Reunion IV. We have tried to get a reduction in the price of the tickets with the only success being in the increased age of youth tickets. The cost of tickets is as follows:

The perceived high cost of the tickets is due to the overhead expenses related to holding the functions and the uncertainty of the total number of delegates. The organizers have advised that once they have a good idea of the numbers by way of firm commitment, there could be a possibility of a reduction in ticket prices, if the projections look good.

Tickets must be purchased (and paid for) by May 31, 1997. As we recognize that purchasing tickets upfront may pose a potential problem, we have decided to handle ticket sales as follows:

- 50% of the purchase price (US$100.00 or $50.00) will be taken initially and a receipt issued for the amount of money received.

This procedure will be helpful in two ways:

(1) The complete ticket price is not required up front.

(2) Should the ticket prices be reduced, purchasers will only be required to pay the balance of the ticket prices in effect.

All tickets/badges must have a valid passport photo that is to be endorsed by AIIT.

For ticket information/purchases, please call Jenny Welsh at (905) 820-4785 or

5-6 p.m. Ecumenical Service

Robin Woodley (A-I Social Club, London) informs us that they are overseeing arrangements for Travel, Package Tours in Bangalore and Southern India, and accommodation for those attending Reunion IV from the UK and Europe. He takes pleasure in advising us that their Agents in Bangalore are Regal Voyages in the Bangalore Palace Gardens, managing director of which is Princess Meenakshi Urs, the daughter of the last Maharaja of Mysore, and the sister of the present Maharaja.

On his recommendation Joss Fernandes and Glen Webber are in touch with her, and with a little luck she has volunteered to try to acquire the Bangalore Palace for some of the functions, with perhaps the patronage and help of the Maharaja, if this fits with Joss and Glen’s requirements.

We understand that the Princess will be providing information on the services her company can offer, which includes a variety of accommodation in two to five star Hotels and Guest Houses etc. They can also arrange reception at Bangalore Airport and transfers to and from Airports and Hotels. They are to provide one to six day package tours to Mysore, Bandipur Game Sanctuary, Ooty, Halebid and Belur temples etc. AIIT will make this information available to subscribers and all concerned parties as soon as it is received. Thank you George Hillier and Robin Woodley.

POST REUNION IN CALCUTTA 1998 Courtesy of :The Anglo Indian

The organising of such an event will surely be most welcome. Melvyn Brown, presentation expert on the community’s heritage had this to say, "the idea is strong, decisive, consistent and laudatory." Keith Sweeney, ex-President, Anglo Indian Association Calcutta branch, added "a truly novel idea, as those from other countries would like to visit our City of Joy; many having relatives or friends still in Calcutta."

The first meeting of the Host Committee was held at the Welland Gouldsmith School under the Convenorship of Ms. D’Costa-Hart. Maybe the best thing about the meet was the mutual agreement - to go ahead, to form the key participants in the event, the core group. On hold were some of the city’s most motivated people, and the high profile supporters gave of their best.

More on the subject when we are updated.

February 11-1997 - Congratulations to Joe and Thelma Williams (nee Down) of Melbourne Australia (formerly of Calcutta) on their 50th anniversary.

April 24-1997 - Congratulations to Robert and Toni Houston (nee Mayers) of Weston, Ont., Canada (formerly of Calcutta), on their 25th anniversary.

Our very own Guyton Martyr has put together a few lines appropriately entitled "Togetherness":

You take your vows TOGETHER

You walk down the aisle TOGETHER

You are now one TOGETHER

You live your lives, you pray, you walk, you hold hands TOGETHER

You laugh, you share your happiness, you share your sorrows, you sleep TOGETHER

You love, you play, you enjoy life, family and friends TOGETHER

If all these qualities are bonded TOGETHER, what do you get? Jewels in your crowns which sparkle with Love, Understanding and Happiness.

May God bless you all and may you enjoy many, many more anniversaries.

I N M E M O R I A M

VERSTRATEN, S.J., Fr. Achille -Of St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta, On January 14 1997. He was 95. A funeral service was held in St. Xavier’s chapel on January 15 1979.

No ex-Xavierians of the last five decades would be unfamiliar with this name. Fr. Verstraten was based at the College from 1935 to his last day. Here he held the posts of Rector from 1936 to 1942 and College Principal from 1959 to 1966.

The chapel, the College library, the Father’s residence and parts of the College department at St. Xavier’s were built by him in the early 1940s. Under his leadership, the academic life at St. Xaviers’s was set on a firm basis. He was the founder of the B. Ed. dept. and a teacher of Physics. In 1995 the Calcutta University conferred on him the Eminent Teacher award. He has a number of publications to his credit, mostly on education and Physics.

For about 17 years he was a highly respected member of the Senate and Syndicate of Calcutta University. In patient and courteous discussions with the government, he contributed much to the safeguard of the minority rights of Christian schools and Colleges. The foundation of St. Xavier’s College in Ranchi owed much to his guidance and support.

Great are his achievements but a man is not summed up on achievements alone. A man is how he stands before God and this Fr. Verstraten understood well. May he rest in eternal peace.

PEACOCK, Douglas Colin Mervyn - Passed away peacefully at his home in Bombay on Jan. 17-1997. He was 76 years of age. Douglas was married to the late Cathlen Bartlett in Calcutta in 1943. He is sadly missed by children Edward, Heather and Shirley, grandchildren and all his loved ones.

Douglas was educated at St. Xavier’s College Calcutta and went onto St. James’ to do his BOAT. He was accepted at the prestigious Bengal Engineering College, Shibpur from where he graduated and joined the Bengal Nagpur Railway as a bridge engineer, following in the footsteps of his father Edwin Peacock.

Douglas was accredited to have helped build the first aluminium bridge for the British army at Puna, not forgetting his service in W.W.II. After a few years service on the railway he left and moved to Bombay where he started his own engineering business. He attended the Anglican church, who assisted in a colony of poor and underprivileged people. Douglas helped these people by teaching them a trade - he called them his extended family. They are saddened by his demise and are joined by family and friends in the hope and joy that the good Lord has accepted him into his heavenly home.

PARNHAM, Cecelia (nee Chapman) - Peacefully at Women’s College Hospital on January 24, 1997. Loving mother of Lynda, Ian, Sabrina Carina and grandmother to Andrea, Tarnya, Caitlin and Amy. Sister of Margaret Meyers and Irene Hart. Will be sadly missed by family and friends.

THURLEY, Tom - Peacefully at the Sue Ryder home, UK. On Feb. 2-1997 after a sudden unexpected deterioration of his health. Will be sadly missed by his wife Rachel and the many friends and charities Tom was involved with through the Anglo-Indian Concern.

PROWSE, Juliet - Anglo-Indian born Hollywood actress and skilful dancer, Juliet Prowse, 59, who parlayed dancing, sultry good looks and the best legs in stardom in the 60’s movies and TV specials passed away peacefully.

The inside-out approach says if you want to have a happy marriage, be the kind of person who generates positive energy and sidesteps negative energy rather than empowering it. If you want to have a more pleasant, cooperative teenager, be a more understanding, emphatic, consistent, loving parent. If you want to have more freedom, more latitude in your job, be a more responsible, a more helpful, a more contributing employee. If you want to be trusted, be trustworthy. If you want the secondary greatness of recognized talent, focus first on the primary greatness of character.

The Anglo-Indian Oral History Project will consist of a collection of audio-taped histories of individual Anglo-Indians around the world, capturing their recollections, thoughts and traditions in a vibrant, colourful format that will personalize and add a rich dimension to the history of the Anglo-Indian community. We are defining "Anglo-Indian" for the purposes of the Project as individuals of mixed heritage, born in India or Burma, and descended from persons of British, European or other non-Indian origin. This project is especially timely and urgent due to the continuing dissemination of Anglo-Indians around the world and their rapid assimilation into the cultures and traditions of their adopted countries. If this rich source of Anglo-Indian folklore and history is not preserved, the community’s history will be incomplete in many critical aspects.

The value of this Project lies in the unique history of this small multi-ethnic community that has spread out from its homeland and is now represented in many countries throughout the world. The community came into being because of dramatic historical events that brought British and European men to India and its very existence and survival has been tied to and impacted by many significant historical events. Its members have experienced tumultuous highs and lows - from their respected status as members of the governing arm of the British in India to their later marginal existence shunned by both British and Indians alike. Nevertheless, the Anglo-Indian community has made significant contributions in many different fields, producing statesmen, scholars, actors, artists, musicians, athletes and authors of worldwide repute. This Project will probe the recollections of members of the community who lived through some of the most defining moments in Indian history, capturing their anecdotal evidence of traditions, attitudes and lifestyles as they struggled to survive in India while straddling two often diametrically opposing cultures. The Project will also analyze the impact of this struggle on individual Anglo-Indians as they began new lives outside the land of their birth. It will serve as a unique and essential companion to any analysis of the history of British colonization of India.

In order to accomplish a project of such vast dimension and scope with very scarce resources, volunteers are being recruited from within the community to conduct oral history interviews with their fellow Anglo-Indians. Thus, the Anglo-Indian community itself will be implementing the Project and the success of the Anglo-Indian Oral History Project will depend entirely on the efforts and commitment of members of the community. This element will add a unique dimension to the Project so that when completed it will truly represent a testimonial to the ingenuity, survival and vast accomplishments of the Anglo-Indian people throughout history and today.

The Project has expanded from the United States to Canada, England and Australia. It is represented on the Internet as part of the Anglo-Indian Home Page created by Adrian Gilbert in Melbourne, Australia and can be accessed at http://elecpress.monash.edu.au/ijais.

Please join us in this very worthwhile effort. Help us create a piece of living history!

To volunteer to be interviewed, conduct oral history interviews or assist in any way, please contact:

Cheryl Perreira at (714) 974-3227 or e-mail at cperreira@fullerton.edu

Lou Welsh at (905) 820-4785 or e-mail at lwelsh@erico.com

Sharon Saunders at (416) 932-0654 or e-mail at 102720.435@CompuServe.com

Roger Beckett at (905) 427-2076 or e-mail at rbeckett@ican.net

B I T S A N D P I E C E S

BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA: The Anglo-Indian Social Club of BC is considering becoming an Association. They are also considering a bid for Reunion V in 2001, if numbers warrant it.

You may purchase their newsletter by writing to Geoff Hayes, 11042 Upper Canyon, North delta, BC V4E 2M5 Canada.

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Courtesy of : The Statesman

NEW DELHI, Nov. 19 - When the 11th Lok Sabha meets for it’s second regular session tomorrow, it will continue to be an "incomplete" House. The two seats for representatives of the Anglo-Indian community remain vacant.

Despite pleas from the various sections of the community, the government has yet to decide on the two persons to be nominated to the Lok Sabha by the President. At their meetings with Government leaders, the community’s representatives have been assured of action. It has not yielded any results.

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LONDON, Nov. 29 - India was billed the "software superpower" as its services dominated a two day international software exhibition that concluded here yesterday.

The Indian Software Pavilion at Softdev ’96 presented a range of services that few could match.

The exhibition focused on the development of corporate systems applications and intranets - two areas where the Indian software industry is particularly strong. Intranet is a sort of computer intercom for organizations. Many of the leading software companies from across the world made in-depth product presentations at Softdev.

But the bulk of inquiries and the most evident signs of interest were at the India pavilion that had been sponsored by the Financial Times.

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CALCUTTA, Dec. 19 - Mother Teresa returned home from the B.M. Birla Heart Research Centre this morning, three weeks after she was admitted. At 11.55 a.m., the frail but smiling Mother, with her hands folded in a namaste, was helped out of a lift into the car, a distance of at least 20 yards, by a sister of the Missionaries of Charity and her doctors.

Mother Teresa’s stable condition, "at least for the past 48 hours" prompted the decision to release her this morning, said Dr. Patricia Aubanel, the Mother’s cardiologist.

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CALCUTTA, Jan. 9 - It was all-too-brief a visit- but the city had been gearing up for these two days with a zeal not seen since Khrushchev and Bulganin had dropped by decades ago. As Calcutta prettied and preened herself for the benefit of the British Prime Minister Mr. John Major, he returned the compliment in ample measure. He impressed with his charm, smiling and waving and reaching out to industrialists and slum-dwellers alike with suave and cordiality.

John Major saw a Calcutta that is perhaps not the Calcutta residents have known for a long time. For weeks they have woken up wide-eyed to clean roads, unencumbered pavements and water sprinklers. Critics might scoff at what they label a colonial hangover. Sceptics might predict a return of the old days of screaming hawkers and open garbage vats. But for a while at least, Calcutta had learnt to feel good. And if the excuse happened to be the visit of the British Prime Minister, they were not complaining. At least, most of them weren’t.

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KUTTAK, Jan 13. - A wooden box containing Mahatma Ghandi’s ashes, which lay in a safe deposit locker of the State Bank of India here for 47 years, was opened today. The box was opened in the presence of the Mahatma’s great grandson Mr. Tushar Arun Gandhi, as hundreds of people, including freedom fighters, chanted hymns and ramdhoon.

Mr. Gandhi wants to seek Supreme Court’s permission to take the urn contained in the box, on a 14-day yatra around the country, before the ashes are immersed at the Triveni Sangam at Allahabad.

According to the Orissa high court’s interpretation of the judgement made by the Supreme Court, the ashes should go directly to Allahabad for immersion, instead of moving around the country to enable people to pay their homage.

by Maurice J. Miranda

Retirement by Cynthia Powell