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Turban was a definite attention grabber not only with children
but with mothers who would hush their child but could not
resist taking side glances themselves. The general feel amongst
the local students was that Swarn is bound to be rich to be
able to travel overseas (foreign travel was a luxury even
for Americans). Swarn once got a traffic ticket on campus
saying "Maharaja, you parked your elephant in a wrong place".
When traveling outside the University Campus, people were
curios and wanted to meet and befriend him. Newspapers found
the turban newsworthy. Swarn got invited by a nearby town
to inaugurate a Bengali film as they thought he, with a turban,
truly represented India, never mind whether he understood
Bengali or not. In Business Shows, he was a VIP to be met
and photographed with. On taking up a job, he became even
more of a curiosity because, unlike the University, there
were very few foreigners and still less Indians, and no Sikhs.
Newspapers, Church Groups, Schools, and Professional Clubs
wanted him to speak to them about India, Sikhs, and his experiences
in USA. Many of Swarn's talks got coverage in the newspapers
which are what this scrap book is all about. In Wheeling,
W.Va., he was invited on a Sunday to speak on their weekly
TV programme "Downtown Personalities". This was followed by
a repeat appearance next Sunday to answer questions from the
viewers. Americans were generous in asking him to talk of
his country and religion - even the Church Groups. They would
want to pay him for his talks but he refused. They would,
instead, present him with gifts (some are still with him).
It felt good on seeing news headlines such as "Indian Engineer
says India needs time to solve its problems". In retrospect
Swarn is impressed with himself that he could be so statesmen
like at that young age! People's warm hospitality can be gauged
from the fact that before he could order a drink, in a bar,
some one would be offering him the same. There were odd cases
of scary experiences. The one I remember most vividly was
in a night club (bar with dance floor) when he was dancing
close with a lady. This guy, no relation or friend of the
lady, came menacingly to hit him and succeeded in pushing
him. Swarn's host ran to the car to get his revolver to shoot
the guy who had insulted his Indian friend. It took long pleadings
from his wife to cool down the situation. Of course, the offending
person was thrown out of the bar.
This collection is a "Thank You" note to the Americans for
their hospitality and generosity. Swarn has tried to return
these kind gestures through offering help to foreigners he
meets in India. In addition to what is included here, Swarn
has many episodes to share but this compilation focuses on
'scrap book' related stories... |