Thursday, November 27, 2008
London

I awoke to the bloody news of the terrorist attacks in my native Bombay that, to date, have killed over a hundred innocent people, injured several hundred more and taken innumerable foreign tourists hostage. This on the morning of Thanksgiving. Of course, I called my parents and my brother’s homes, respectively, to ascertain that no loved ones are harmed; but their safety does not mean that my heart was not torn out by the scenes of unleashed grief that have unfolded on television. All morning, I was glued to the BBCs Breakfast show and flipped from one channel to the next in an attempt to stay abreast of the continuing story. Then, I had to jump into the shower to get to work as I was teaching today and I had to put myself into American Thanksgiving mode as I was taking my students to the Special Thanksgiving Day Service for Americans in London at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

I cannot believe that I have just one more class next week before the semester ends. It seems as if only yesterday it was September and I was trying to learn the ropes in my new professional environment. Today I was issuing instructions on the final research paper and final exam and making arrangements for the party to be held at my flat after our finals. It will be a lot of fun and I am looking forward to it–though not to all the grading that I will have to complete at that stage.

We arrived at St. Paul’s Cathedral to heavy security checks. All our bags were searched before we were allowed to enter the Cathedral which was already packed at 10. 45 am. It was a marvelous sight to see so many Americans united together in one place on foreign soil and celebrating a holiday which they hold so dear. The clergy walked down the aisle to the altar followed by the US. Ambassador to the UK, Robert Tuttle and his wife. The service was meaningful and very emotional, especially for those of us who are so far away from our nearest and dearest on this most American of holidays that goes completely unnoticed in ole’ Blighty.

Naturally, I missed Llew and Chriselle dearly on this day and since the time difference made it still too early to call them in the States, I had to wait until the evening before I was able to speak to them. In a program that included American music (I belted out ‘America The Beautiful’ with much gusto) and the choir of the Armed services as well as the American Church in London, we were reminded once again about how much we have for which we can be thankful. I was especially thankful about the fact that spending a year in London was only a vision I saw in my mind’s eye until the hand of God made it a reality. The Ambassador invited all of us to visit the American chapel at the back of the altar that is dedicated to the 34,000 American soldiers who gave their lives in the First and Second World Wars to preserve the values that the two countries hold dear–liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

In keeping with his advice, we did walk through the American chapel where we saw the great book that lists the names of all the Americans who died fighting. A page of the book is turned daily so that a different set of them might be exposed. It was turned today to the page that contains the name of Major Glenn Miller, singer-songwriter. The preacher also quoted the famous lyrics of Vera Lynn:

There’ll be bluebirds over
The white cliffs of Dover
Tomorrow just you wait and see…
There’ll be love and laughter
And peace ever after
Tomorrow when the world is free

I also used the visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral as an opportunity to show my students of Anglo-Indian history the memorial monument to the tens of thousands of Indian soldiers (many of whom were Anglo-Indians) who died fighting for British causes during the Raj in India. Apart from a large stone tablet mounted on the wall, there is a memorial embedded in the marble floor to the WAC (I)s–the World Auxiliary Corps (India). It brought a poignant immediacy to the history of the Anglo-Indians which we have been studying in class.

Then, it was back to campus where I taught my afternoon Writing class. After keeping office hours, I got together with my American colleague Karen Karbeiner and her husband Douglas to eat Fish and Chips in a good ‘chippie’ in Covent Garden called the Rock and Sole Plaice–multiple puns there, all obviously intended. The cod and chips were very good indeed, the chips douzed in malt vinegar and the fish bathed in tartar sauce very well flavored with dill. We thought it a bit ironic that instead of eating turkey with cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie, we were eating fish and chips, but then we figured we’d eat something for which the Pilgrims might have felt nostalgia during that first Thanksgiving in New England while they were sharing their meal with their native American friends!

It was still fairly early when I got home which gave me a chance to transcribe another one of my Anglo-Indian interviews and spend some time chatting to Llew.

The day started out miserably with the tragedy that befell my beloved Bombay but it did improve as the day went by. My prayers contained thanks for all the blessings that I enjoy each day and the request for peace in our increasingly troubled world.