 The Schizophrenia Foundation of
India (SCARF) was started in 1984 by a group of psychiatrists and social workers,
including me and my husband, under the leadership of Dr. Sharda Menon, for helping the
mentally ill. In the early years of Scarf we always suffered from the shortage of funds.
Those days there was a strong stigma against mental illness and people preferred to donate
for other causes than to our cause. Very often we were forced to organise fund raising
events. During 1986, the movie ‘A passage to India’ was just being released in
India. We decided to hold a charity show of the film in Devi theatre, in Madras. We were
wondering whom to invite as the chief guest for the occasion when my husband came up with
the idea that the hero of the film Victor Banerjee should be invited.It looked very farfetched to most of us. While I was still wondering
about where and how to locate Victor Banerjee my husband had managed to get even a reply
for Mr. Banerjee saying that he was not only coming but was also bringing his wife Maya
with him. Mr. Banerjee was delighted about SCARF and the cause of mentally ill and would
stay with us for good two days.
 The response was so heartening that all the committee members decided to go to
the airport to receive him. We had ordered a big banner with ‘Welcome to Victor
Banerjee’ printed on it. The Calcutta flight was on time and within moments he was in
the arrival hall looking around for the organisers. Unfortunately, the administrative
officer of SCARF Mr. Raju did not show on time with the banner. It was very funny –
we were looking at Mr. Banerjee and he was looking at us but we were not willing to
receive him without the banner. As he started getting more worried about the lack of
reception Mr. Raju arrived. We unfurled the banner quickly and rushed towards Mr.
Banerjee. At this every body burst into laughter. After this, we were all great friends
for next two days.
We had arranged for them to stay in the Taj. The reception
committee dominated by psychiatrists had decided that the couple should be allowed to dine
in private and had booked a table for two at Golden Dragon in Taj. In informed him about
this. He said, "we did not come to Madras to dine with each other. We will eat with
all of you but not in a five star hotel, but in ‘Amravati’. I want to take Maya
there. She must taste the real spicy Andhra food".
 Though it gave a real taste of Andhra cuisine, the restaurant itself was in a bit
of mess those days. It had become run down and over crowded. Often it was difficult to get
a place to sit. We were feeling very embarrassed to take him and his wife over there but
he was adamant to go only to Amravati. I urged Bobby Nair (Balchander Nair I.P.S.) a
friend of SCARF, and then Deputy Commissioner of Traffic, (presently Joint Director in
CBI) to contact the traffic police at the signal of Music Academy through wireless, and
rush them to the restaurant to inform them to make some room for the VIP party arriving
there.
Somehow we managed to get places to sit here and there.
Everything was compensated by the courses after courses of ‘chicken amravati’,
‘prawn curries’ and ‘brain masalas’. Our guest being utterly delighted
was urging Maya to try everything. It was a memorable dinner with both guests and
hosts licking their fingers for a long time. Following which we all marched on foot,
joking and laughing to the famous pan shop, opposite Woodlands hotel, to complete the meal
with a Calcutta pan.
Everything was perfect until we reached the hotel and
started telling him about the next day’s programme.
9AM: Attending inaugural function of the charity show with
Dr. Hande, Health Minister, Dr. Sharda Menon, etc.
10AM: Departure for Mahabalipuram with Mrs. Gariyali and
Dr. Vijay Nagaswami
1.30: Lunch at Madras Club with elite of Madras.
 As he heard us mention Madras Club, I saw mischief gleaming in his eyes. He said,
"yes I want to go there in a dhoti and the club people will throw me out and I will
expose them to the whole world". We were aghast as he told us about his being thrown
out of the Ooty club. When the entire cast of film was invited for dinner at Ooty club he
the hero of the movie, and the only Indian in the cast, was not allowed to enter since he
was wearing Indian clothes. He wanted to re-enact the drama in Madras to show that Indians
have not got rid of their slave mentality.
In the midst of it he realising that he has not brought a
dhoti from Calcutta he said, "I will wear Kurta Payjama to go to Madras club".
We were tongue tied. We knew that the club had a dress code and if Victor was not allowed
inside there will be a great scandal and there will be disappointment for those who were
to meet him for lunch.
In the confusion that followed my husband rushed out to
find some solution, through the glass doors of Taj Coromandel and hurt himself (he carried
a bump on his forehead for a month). I stopped him from going out and decided, instead, to
use the phone. We woke up half a dozen committee members of the Madras club like T.T.
Vasu, and begged them to let Victor Banerjee into the club clad in his Kurta Payjama.
Luckily, they agreed and we rushed up to tell Victor that all was well.
At this point Mr. Banerjee realised that he had only one
Kurta Payjama with him which he was wearing since morning and he hadn’t another pair
to wear to the club next day (he had plenty of western clothes in his box but he had
decided to teach the club a lesson by wearing Indian clothes). He needed his
Kurta Payjama to be washed and ironed and made ready for the morning.
No one was answering from hotel laundry at 1 O’clock
in the morning. So I came forward and said, "Mr. Banerjee please give me your
clothes. You will get them back by eight in the morning". In a minute he understood
that I was going to wash them, so he looked at his wife and said, "you do not do this
for me". It retorted, "Mr. Banerjee I do not do this for my husband but I will
do it for you since you are our cherished guest."
At two in the morning my husband found me washing
Victor’s clothes and said "lucky man Victor Banerjee, the District Collector of
South Arcot is washing his clothes". I had not washed clothes since my days in the
National Academy. That was not all. There was no starch in the house so I had to boil rice
and make some starch to apply to his fine muslin clothes. I had to also get up early and
iron and deliver his Indian costume at the hotel by 8AM. Looking back I feel all that to
please a guest and for the cause of mentally ill, was just but a small effort.
Next day, at the inauguration, Victor was superb and spoke
in favour of mentally ill in no uncertain terms. I personally accompanied our guests to
Mahabalipuram and they were delighted at the sight of the shore temple and the cave
architecture and last but not the least our lunch at Madras Club was a great success.
Before departure, Victor made sure to tell the press about what had happened at the Ooty
Club and how glad he was to find the Madras Club to be different.
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