On 7 October 2011 16:00, eric pinto <[email protected]> wrote: > "On" the directory is a first for me, and really so pleasant: one > is now unique, not just another book entry. > Southampton was Ellis Island for over a million Punjabis, both foreskin > varieties, in the 50's and 60's. The Bombay shuttle departed every month, > for the 16 day run; steerage was all of six hundred rupees, hot showers and > all the roti you could want included. > White Star used three steamboats, the Caledonia, the Cilicia and the > Circassia. I can picture my countrymen reverting to: Kaliduniya, Seerkas pe > ayaah ! The names are Keltic/Kaltic, 'duniya' means 'world' to the Turks, > too, and Circassia of myth is Turkish Sarkiss. > Every new arrival had the same destination in mind -Birmingham, > which with the cotton mills was a magnet for our cotton field folk. Most > believed it was a cab-ride away ! > Roland: Armenian born Sarkissians evolve into Sarkiss when they move > West, but the Rev. Sarkiss preferred Circus, perhaps from a penchant for the > language, since he taught us English. > The ocean service to England ended in 1967, a thousand rupee win for the > first person who can tell us why it was scuttled. And Selma wins the new > Music book for unearthing exactdockside arrival numbers. eric. >
COMMENT: You have so much history at your finger tips! I have been to Southampton quite a few times, yes there are a lot of Sikhs there. I guess the ship service terminated because of the Israel - Egypt war, could be wrong. It became easier and more convenient to travel by air. My predecessors by a few years took a ship to Marseilles, from Mombasa and then overland and Ferry Calais to Dover, a few years later I flew by the British made Comet to London; stop over in Benghazi. -- DEV BOREM KORUM Gabe Menezes.
