Precious Cargo: Immigrating to England by ship
My older brother, Inder, and sister, Parvin, immigrated to England with mum on a Polish cargo ship from India in 1958. Dad was already in England. I cannot imagine how mum coped with the journey with two young children and not knowing what the future would hold. At the age of 6 and 7, Inder and Parvin had never left Delhi, let alone travelled on a humongous ship. Although Parvin and Inder tell me much of it is a blur, they have some vivid memories…
Going through the Suez Canal, the ship almost touched the edges. The ship made a very loud groaning sound. It is a memory imprinted in Parvin’s mind. When there was a storm the waves were so high. And as they moved, it looked like there was a ship in the distance. All the children called it the ghost ship.
When the ship docks near Egypt, the traders come in their boats to sell their wares. The boats looked tiny in comparison to the ship. Parvin remembers them looking down from the deck at the tiny boats and some of the passengers going to shore. Parvin remembers mum buying her a toy camel, which she absolutely loved. And Inder was given a red toy car made of tin, which he adored. I can imagine how happy these toys must have made them feel. The toys must have gotten lost in the many moves after they finally arrived in England. I feel as though I had seen them, but I am not sure, when I was a little girl.
Parvin remembers a woman who practically never left the cabin because she was sea sick. Mum helped her as much as she could. Everything must have been so alien, including the food. Both Parvin and Inder remember eating lots of cornflakes, without the milk. Inder remembers the cook became desperate because they wouldn’t eat anything. She made them scrumptious french toast with bread and eggs and lashings of sugar, and they devoured it.
Parvin and Inder saw some children eating something, and seemed to love it! They wondered what it was? They really wanted to try it. Although mum didn’t have much, she gave them some money to buy some. As soon as they got some they ripped off the paper very excitedly and bit off a chunk… And immediately spat it out. It was the worst thing they had ever tasted and they could not understand why anyone would want to eat it! To this day, they both detest chocolate… More for me, I say!
Roshin
Great insights, thanks for sharing
Jeeti
Glad you enjoyed it x
Karine Waldron
What a great story! Looking forward to the next instalment. I used to work at Villiers High for 13 years, I loved working within your community. This would be a wonderful project for students to start blogs of their personal family histories to share. It would be a fine way to document their generational legacy..
Julieo Conlan
Thankyou for sharing. What an adventure for your brother and sister. Xx
Jeeti
A massive adventure Julieo. Also the anticipation of being able to see their dad. As children they say so much just went over their head. Thank you for reading it and commenting. I am so happy it sparked and interest.
Caroline Allen
Such a wonderful insight. Just love these snippets of the past from individuals viewpoints and the photos The personalisation is crucial to bringing the past to life so vividly. Laughing about the chocolate- they must have eaten bitter dark choc as that isn’t always to children’s taste. Hope you write more snippets and look forward to reading them
Jeeti
Thank you Caroline, yes it may well have been dark chocolate which does have a bitter taste. They tell me it was the texture too. All I know is that I always had all the chocolates as mum and dad didn’t like it either! I love the stuff…
Emma
Brilliant, vivid storytelling! Looking forward to the next chapter. X
Jeeti
Thank you Emma. When you have such a wealth of memories and stories its hard to pin point where to start next. I think people enjoyed the photos so I will look through my parents photos and see what feels right. Thank you for your encouragement Emma.
Ranmi Joshi
Thanks for sharing this fascinating life story. I really enjoyed reading it!
Jeeti
Thank you Ranmi I am so glad you enjoyed it. I hope to write more !
Tony Bennison
Thanks so much for posting! Looking forward to each installment! I am a Southall boy myself (Golf Links Estate and Dormers Wells) and so many friends and colleagues also had parents who did the same journey. Their bravery and determination makes me feel very humble now – as kids we simply had no idea… All best wishes.
Jeeti
Oh thank you Tony! I am so pleased you enjoyed it. Southall is a unique place for sure. I hope you will enjoy the other stories…
Charanjit Kondral
Nice article, makes me nostalgia, heared many stories from pal aunty. She is a super lady. I remember Parvin and Inder doing gardening on one of their visit. Love you share more
Jeeti
Thank you for telling me about Inder and Parvin doing the gardening. Actually they are both now fanatical gardeners! She loved you very much. Love you too and will share many more stories. If you have any you want to share tell me. lots of love Jeeti xxx
Dins Youngs
What a charming story. I never knew how parents came to be here. Sadly both ours are passed, and wishing more and more I’d sat down and asked their stories of Partition, Independence, Villages, poverty, travelling abroad, and settling. Unlike yours mine were not University or school finishers.
Jeeti
Dear Dins, it is because these stories would be lost that I have started to write this. I wish I had had the time when mum and dad were alive to ask more questions. As it is they both suffered with ill health towards the end so we got to talk about some of their memories.I am sorry both your parents have now passed. I have stories about the partition to which I will get too. Thank you again for your comment.
Batra Shabnam
Loved reading this. That woman who never left her cabin because of sea sickness could have been my mum ! (Although it wasn’t because she came later!!) but she took the same route as many others probably did too !!
PS. I’ll share chocolate with you any time xx
Jeeti
Ah yes I remember you telling me that story! I am sure your right ….
Happy to share my chocolate with you lovely xxx
Beeta Bharj
My aunt was the reason I left India. She was the most cool and an amazing aunt. She was the first woman I met who has so much confidence.
Jeeti
Beeta, I know you are an amazing woman too, and that she adored you. She was as you say an incredibly strong and capable woman. Very clever and I always think very brave. But then she had dad who worshiped the ground she walked on and supported her in everything xx love you Beeta
Mark and Sarah
Such an interesting read, must’ve been quite a journey! Such a lovely way to keep your family’s history stories alive for generations to come! Thanks for sharing it with us Xx
Jeeti
You are welcome and thank you both. I am so pleased you enjoyed reading it. I now have to think of more stories… no pressure! xx
Raj Bhamm
Baljeet
Excellent effort in capturing the past. Life moves on with its own demands and sometimes the experience and emotion of the past is lost. We all are sum of all our experiences, thoughts and upbringing. Our parents definitely had the grit to deal with such challenges of life and gave us that quality as a gift. Thank god for that!!
Jeeti
Thank you Raj. I am glad you enjoyed it. Absolutely need that grit ! You are right the experiences of the past can be and often are lost. Thats what this is all about for me! xxx
Diego
I’m really enjoying the images, the light heartedness and the genuine feel.
Thank you for sharing.
Jeeti
Hello ! I am glad the light hearted feel comes out. It really was my intention. Also I had started with such a sad time after mums passing. On a mission to find Joy ! xx