Kishwar Desai | A more desi Diwali in Britain; storm over latest episodes in Crown
Yes, so while we revel in Diwali parties (which are now getting on to the calendar), I am making a pledge to bring more sarees back to London. After all, India has arrived!
When I first came here to set up home, I used to don sarees regularly till I realised that I usually was the only one (which sometimes was rather nice) wearing them. But now I find that it is quite de rigueur — so am pleasantly surprised. Recently at the Indian High Commission, with the charming new high commissioner, Vikram Doraiswami and his wife, Indians were all wearing desi clothes! Among the other changes we saw the high commission beautifully decked up with lamps and flowers, with guests staying on to dance as well to Indian pop, after the classical music. This was a very welcome change from the rather stuffy atmosphere that used to exist earlier. The idea is that at a young 75 we can enjoy our freedom and our identity. And if we want to bring in Indian joie de vivre, why not? And, therefore, when among the other Brits, I met the author Jeffery Archer at the Diwali party who told me how how much he adored India — and could not wait to go back, I knew we must be all on the right track. The new high commissioner comes as a breath of fresh air and is at the right place at the right time.
Has Rishi Sunak, the new Prime Minister also contributed towards this self confidence? Well, one would say that it is a growing phenomena. It was the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who began the whole journey of giving the diaspora its positivity — and now with the Prime Minister of Indian origin in the UK — it is only taking that self belief forward.
But has Rishi’s entry to 10 Downing Street made any kind of real difference, till yet? Not much, some would reply, as he is British, after all. Except that most are hopeful that given his thoughtful steering of the economy during Covid, Rishi will, with Indian determination, carry on in the same way. And so really all eyes are on the finance statement which will tell us whether he has managed to live up to the high expectations that everyone seems to have from him. This is a lot of pressure on the shoulders of one of the youngest Prime Ministers ever! And so we don’t really see him these days in public as he is (like anyone of Indian origin) diligently sitting at home and doing his numbers.
And yes, he has been quite adept at the frightful Prime Minister’s Questions which used to scare many like Tony Blair.
But things are a little wobbly still within the Conservatives. One of his Cabinet ministers has already been forced to quit over a “bullying” row and now another one has been accused of the same misdemeanours. While the home minister of Goan origin, Suella Braverman has been fending off efforts to dislodge her… so it has been a busy few weeks for the new Sunak government.
However, the real issue troubling everyone is concerning the latest episodes of The Crown. I had sworn never to see this serial as there is already so much coverage of the royals in the newspapers and TV that one felt there is little one did not know. But as this covers fairly contemporary affairs, there are deep misgivings as to how closely (or not) the serial seems to be following real life, especially that of King Charles. Though there are denials — and a disclaimer that this is “fiction” — the fact is that the names are real, and the incidents they cover are those we had all read about.
Sadly, King Charles does not come out covered with glory and neither does the Queen Consort, Camilla, because if you watch the serial it does appear that their long term affair was something Diana, then Princess of Wales, simply could not deal with. She is portrayed as a romantic young woman who slowly moulded herself into someone who tried to play the same game as her husband. The tragedy is that it is always easier for a man. Interestingly, there is a sympathetic portrayal of Mohammed Fayed, the man who bought Harrods. Even his son, Dodi, Diana’s last lover, who was often quite critically depicted in the British press, is shown in a much better light than usual.
The upshot appears to be that Meghan Markle was not wrong. And that the “Firm” as it was known under the Queen could be brutal in its rules and regulations. Especially towards those considered “outsiders”.
As always I am astonished at the equanimity by all those depicted in the series. Most importantly, the King (in real life) seemed neither stirred nor shaken.
(Kishwar Desai is an award winning author whose latest book, The Longest Kiss: The Life And Times of Devika Rani, has just won the National Award for the best book on Indian Cinema)
