Table Of ContentArup K. Chatterjee
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To
Bishakha
Amrita
Asit
‘We are here because you were there.’
— Ambalavaner Sivanandan
(Sri Lankan novelist and activist).
‘As we were nearing Waterloo Station we crossed several bridges, and directing my view
towards the innumerable turrets and high houses, the whole town seemed to be in a blaze, the
cause being attributable to gas-lights with which the streets are lighted, as I afterwards learnt
to be the case. We left our train and engaged cabs, drove through several streets, arriving at
last at the Exeter Hotel, in the Strand. The brilliant lights even surpassed a bright moonlight
night, and the countless people of both sexes talking up and down added fresh impulse to the
spectacle, and realised, to a certain extent, the true meaning of the word Fairyland.’
— Pothum Janakummah Ragaviah
(First Indian woman traveller in Victorian London).1
‘From Regent Street is all easy turn through Oxford Street which crosses it. This street is one
of the most continuous streets of this great city. It is full of shops of all descriptions and
houses suited for persons of all classes. One end of it leads to Notting Hill and the other to
Holborn and the City. The Holborn side of Oxford Street leads to Cheapside at the end of
which are the Royal Exchange, the Bank of England and the Mansion House. From
Cheapside one can easily go into Fleet Street and the Strand, which are· not only full of
shops, but also contain most of the leading publishing houses and newspaper offices. From
Charing Cross to Whitehall is a very easy drive as the rush of carriages is not large enough to
obstruct one’s progress. Here are the various public offices of the Ministry, the Horse Guards,
the Houses of Parliament, and the India Office (called by the policemen and the cabby Indiar
Office). I shall not describe the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Abbey for the present,
but cross Westminster Bridge. A more circuitous trip through Kensington brings the stranger
to Hyde Park, while a second trip leads him to Victoria Station and thence to London Bridge.
Let us go towards Bayswater. I shall not enter Hyde Park now, as I wish to do so on my way
back. I should like to see my Indian friends first. Most of them live in Bayswater, which has
been nick-named Asia Minor, because almost all the Asiatics who visit London patronise the
lodging-houses to be met with in that locality. London streets present the most varying scenes
of excitement. The Metropolitan Railway or the omnibuses are pouring out their thousands,
and the streets are soon full of people. They are well paved, not with sandstone or kanker like
Indian streets, but with wood or asphalt, and they are kept very clean. In the evenings they
are well lighted. I would not care to live there without an income of at least £1,000 a year.
— Lala Baijnath
(Indian traveller in Victorian London).2
1 Pothum Janakummah Ragaviah, Pictures of England: Descriptive of Her Visit to Europe (Madras: Gantz Bros., 1876) p.
46.
2 Lala Baijnath. England and India: Being Impressions of Persons and Things, English and Indian, and Brief Notes of Visits
to France, Switzerland, Italy and Ceylon (Bombay: Jahangir B. Karani, 1893) pp. 27-30.
Key to Map of Indians in London (Characters and their
1
Locations)
Indians & Anglo-Indians Borough Location Grid Location
Ali, Choudhry Rahmat Woolwich F11
Ali, Master Ayub Tower Hamlets D9
Alley, Surat Tower Hamlets E9
Aly, Meer Hasan Westminster D5
Ambedkar, BR Camden C6
Anand, Mulk Raj Camden D7
Aurobindo, Sri Hammersmith & Fulham D3
Baijnath, Lala Westminster D5
Banerjea, Surendranath Camden B7
Bennett, Helene Camden C6
Bengal, Catherine Westminster E7
Bhose, Rev EB Newham E11
Bhownaggree, M Tower Hamlets D9
Bokhari, ZA Westminster C6
Bonnerjee, WC Croydon G9
Bose, Atul Kensington & Chelsea E4
Bose, Subhas Chandra Westminster E7
Cockerell, Estuarta Westminster D5
Dasgupta, KN Camden B6
Deane, Archibald Westminster C5
Desani, GV Richmond F2
Dey, Mukul Kensington & Chelsea E4
Dhingra, Madanlal Kensington & Chelsea D4
Dutt, Rajani Palme Camden A8
Dutt, Romesh Chunder Camden C7
Dutt, Toru Kensington & Chelsea E5
Emin, Joseph Tower Hamlets E9
Ferdoonji, Naoroji Westminster E6
Fyzee, Atiya Merton G4
Gandhi, Mohandas K Kensington & Chelsea D5
Ghose, Lalmohan Lewisham F7
Ghose, Monomohan Hammersmith & Fulham E3
Gokhale, Gopal K Merton G4
Hanumantrao Westminster E7
Rewachand, Hashmatrai Tower Hamlets E10
Hyder, Sheth Ghulam City of London D8
Ihtishamuddin Lambeth F6
Imambachhus Tower Hamlets D9
Indira, Princess Kensington & Chelsea E5
Jinnah, Mohammad Ali Camden A6
Joaleeka Westminster C6
Kamaluddin, Khwaja Woking Town G1
Khan, Jhulee Westminster C6
Khan, Noor Inayat Camden C7
Khan, Sir Syed Ahmed Camden D7
Khan, Umar Hayat Woolwich F11
Krishnamurti, Jiddu Hammersmith & Fulham E4
Krishnavarma, Shyamaji Camden A7
Mahomed, Frederick A Westminster E8
Mahomet, Albert John Tower Hamlets D10
Mahomet, Audrey Ann Tower Hamlets D10
Mahomet, Sake Deen Westminster C5
Malabari, Behramji Kensington & Chelsea D4
Mallik, Manmath Westminster D6
Manning, Miss Westminster C4
