TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2010
The three sisters from Lahore


Mrs.S.Bhasin
D.O.B. 8th April, 1933




Mrs.V.Nanda
D.O.B. 20th May, 1935
Place of Birth:  Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
Education:
Sacred Heart Convent, Lahore
Queen Marys School, New Delhi
I.P.College, Delhi
Kanya MahaVidalya, Jullander (B.A. Music)


Mrs. M.Choudhrie
D.O.B 12th June, 1942
Education:
Queen Marys School, Delhi
I.P.College, Delhi


Parents:
Father : S.L.Suri
Mother : J. Khanna


Family Life and Early Years:
We lived in Model Town, Lahore. Noor Jehan, a famous actress, lived nearby. Our mother had met her. Our family had a publishing business for educational books. "Ram Lal Suri & Sons"
Our father was a very social man. He had a lot of Muslim Friends. He used to hold garden parties. He had met the Mountbattens.
Our mother was a very gentle lady. She loved to paint.
The three of ous grew up very protected. We 2 older ones  were only allowed to visit certain friends. Only allowed to see English movies. Many of our clothes were from England. We remember we had special dresses with matching bloomers and were the only girls among our friends to have them.
Our Nanaji, maternal grandfather was a Senior official with the British Government, a member of the Masonic Lodge.

When trouble started, our father was appointed a warden. He had to carry a gun. In the summer of 1947 we were sent to Mussouri with our mother and grandparents. Towards the end of August our father sent a letter to the Muslim gentleman who had occupied our house, that he needed to get his papers. He got a reply that the house had been looted and what was not taken was thrown in the garden. Our father went to Lahore in those dangerous days. The same gentleman picked him up from the hotel where he was stying and helped him load a truck with some of the furniture and some of the musical instruments that were still left. An English lady, a neighboor had saved some of our  mothers paintings. Our father along with this gentleman then went to Anarkali area where the shop was. Thats where the mob gathered. The Muslim gentleman faced the mob, saying that our father was his friend and he could not be touched.
They both used to be in touch for many years later, though they never met again His wife in fact sent a gift of clothes for our mother.

Where there was a personal friendship, there was no animosity between the two religions.

We were in Missouri when India became independent.
Mrs. V.Nanda was 13 at that time. She says "Independence tdid not change anything in our lives. But the partition did. We felt unhappy about leaving or home."
Mrs. M.Choudhrie, the youngest was only 5 years old. She recalls a lot of confusion and panic in and around the house.
Mrs.S.Bhasin, the eldest remembers a lady from Delhi also in Mussorie at that time who told them not to worry about moving to Delhi. She had a bungalow in Delhi which was rented out to a Muslim family, who was leaving.
There was a sense of confusion in our minds. The feeling of patriotism clashed with the fact that much of our early years had been spent with our maternal grandparents and our Nanaji was working for the British.


These interviews were conducted individually in the three ladies homes.