The Melvyn Brown news bulletin 21 june 2015

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Melvyn Brown, The Anglo-Indian Chronicler melvyn-brown.blogspot.co.uk /

Today, Anglo-Indians are struggling in parliament to uphold their Constitutional rights allotting the community two seats in the Lok Sabha. One year has passed since the new government came in – and yet, the decision to give the Anglo-Indian what is rightly his has been kept hanging in midair, and is downright annoying. We need a high-powered delegation to directly tackle our claim and decisively solve the representation issue. Representation is our right. I grew up in Calcutta when Anglo-Indians were basically happy, carefree and could appreciate the need for simple contrition. The risks of shutting out dissent in family and among friends was always a policy to argue and adjust. Life was truly an admirable issue among us. Flurys, Magnolias, Blue Fox, Waldorf, Sky Room and the much talked about Trinca’s brings tears when one thinks about the music, the instinctual cabarets and the “grossly dynamic” addiction everyone had towards caring, sharing and enjoying the silken freedom of walking home with friends after two in the morning. Daybreak after a Saturday-night party was always fun and full of memories. One of the finest AngloIndian bands played at Golden Slippers, a block away from Nizams’ scented tea and kati-rolls. The Grand Hotel was one of the most popular places for dance and dinner. But, Anglo-Indians would splurge in the Rangers Club and the Grail. Everything was dust cheap. From a loaf of bread to a basket of fruits. From movie hall tickets to wine, cigarettes and newspapers. Anglo-Indians were aplenty down most of the street corners and on weekends you would hear music floating out of open windows. Those were the hay-days for tailors and their memsahibs. Unforgettable years, when skirts, blouses, dresses with frills were the correct and proper wear for Anglo-Indian ladies. There is much more to be said if you would want me to talk about the “good old days”…..

YESTERDAY NO MORE – 2 Melvyn Brown

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Sir Stuart Hogg Market, better known as the New Market was not only a landmark but the heart of a vibrant city – the very nerve centre of the Anglo-Indian people, and they visited the market in a dedicated ritual as you would in going to church on Sunday. Balwin’s the pork shop, Nahoums, D’Gama, Wyse were the regular bread and cake shops. Unique and of a metaphorical kind were the little cubicles selling American ice-cream and cold drinks; everyone’s mama from Chinatown to Bow Barracks took their children for dollups of icecream and cold drinks. The establishments were still there in the 50’s and early 60’s. The New Market rode on the crest of laughter and sunshine. We kids would be thoroughly rattled to race in and out of the” cheap-jack” sweet and patties shops lined up at the stern of the butter range. Entally Market has for generations been known for its wonderful spiced sausages and ‘red meat’ pork. Every Anglo-Indian took pride in its special lunch and dinner on holidays with servings brought from the fish and pork range. The rice-women would come in from nearby villages with sacks of the finest quality rice; from basmati to chowalmuni rice, not to forget the ‘gulabsuri’ and the ‘Dehara-Dun’ rice. In those years ‘corruption’ was an unknown word to the common man and you would always get a fistful more after weighing the amount you needed. The network of shops catering to the needs of one and all


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The Melvyn Brown news bulletin 21 june 2015 by Warren Brown - Issuu