Valerie Britton-Wilson has a trace of Indian ancestry through her mother, Pearl Creed, who was born in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1921 and belonged to the Anglo-Indian community. However, by her own telling, her background has seldom attracted curiosity.
“People never asked me, ‘oh where did you get the Indian blood from’,” she rues.
“When I was at primary school in Melbourne, I used to proudly tell my friends that I had English, Irish, Scottish, French, Italian, and Indian blood. They would be suitably impressed. But they assumed I meant ‘Red Indian’ as in the TV shows and movies we watched in the 1950s, the Cowboys and Indians! They didn’t even think of the subcontinent of India,” she adds with a laugh.
Most profoundly, in a search of her past, Wilson travelled to India 25 years ago with her architect friend Sue McFall. This journey would cohere her life into a book, a business endeavour, and friendships.
‘A Touch of India: Chutney Mary, Charming Irregularities, and an Unlikely Romance” is Wilson’s new book, which intertwines her own experience in India with that of her mother, Pearl, and her remarkable history. It also provides insight into end-of-empire Bombay, the dramatic events surrounding the Partition of India in 1947, the White Australia Policy, and more.
“My mother’s coming of age was around 1941 when the Quit India movement was very active. She got caught up in several somewhat scary incidents at the time, which she describes very vividly in articles she wrote,” says Wilson.
Pearl attended the famous Sir JJ School of Art, got a job in the daring new world of advertising, as a copywriter and illustrator. That led to having her own column to write and illustrate in the Weekly Times of India magazine.
When the war came to India, she was employed by the British in the Censor Office. Their task was to review articles and journals, censoring any content that might aid the enemy, specifically the Japanese.
“She’d been brought up with a British perspective but reading a lot of stuff written by Indians wanting the British out of India made her see things from a different point of view and she began to feel more strongly her own ‘Indianness’,” shares Wilson.
The war brought her father Donald Edward to India. A talented musician, he left his studies at Cambridge to join the Chindits in Burma, fighting the Japanese. He met her mother in Bombay, and after the war, they married and returned to Cambridge for him to resume his studies. Wilson, who was born in Cambridge, was six when the family migrated to Australia.
Wilson also shares aspects of her family history that spans generations. Her ancestors, who served as Directors of the East India Company and fought in the British armies during the Afghan Wars in India, leave behind a noteworthy legacy. Pearl’s grandfather, who married a French vicomtesse, relocated to India to establish a tea plantation. Notably, one of their ten children married an Indian orphan, Wilson’s great-great-grandmother. This exploration forms a significant narrative thread in the book.
Interestingly, Wilson’s mother, in the eyes of the British, was a so-called Chutney Mary—of mixed European and Indian descent (that explains one part of the book’s title). She faced prejudice from the British rulers and was somewhat shunned by Indians, as Anglo-Indians were casteless and Christian, belonging fully to neither community.
As a social researcher, Wilson aimed to uncover the experiences of being Anglo-Indian and why this history is often overlooked in India today. Once numbering around 800,000, possibly around 1947, the community now comprises only about 100,000 individuals, she notes in her book.
Pearl’s experiences mirrored those of her daughter, Wilson, in unexpected ways. In the 1950s, she was denied an assisted passage to Australia due to the White Australia Policy, as she had too much Indian blood. Decades later, when Wilson tried to gain acceptance as a Person of Indian Origin, she was told she didn’t have enough Indian blood.
For over two decades, Wilson and McFall’s annual visits to India led to the establishment of Moti, a textile business. This venture, named in honour of Pearl, became their main focus alongside their careers.
“We began the business to have more reasons to visit India beyond being tourists. Commissioning handwoven Indian cottons, we designed one clothing collection per year, manufactured in Delhi. We hosted pop-up events in Melbourne, gradually expanding our mailing list,” says Wilson.
It was during this time that Wilson gradually conceived the idea of the book. Within her family memorabilia, stored first in a large tin trunk and later in an old vinyl suitcase, she discovered descriptive pieces written by her mother about her life and experiences growing up in end-of-Empire India. Thus, Wilson contemplated intertwining the memorabilia with her own narratives based on her India visits.
Wilson has wound up her India business. But with the book, she hopes to offer readers a deeper understanding of India. “Many people say they would love to go to India, are indeed fascinated by India, but a bit too nervous to actually make the trip. It seems a daunting country. ‘A Touch of India’ is a wonderful introduction or a delightfully safe substitute.”
And while their experiences may differ, Wilson shares her mother Pearl’s deep pride in her Indian heritage. “I am proud of my bit of India. As was my mother. She was very proud of her Indian heritage.”
The Indian Sun acknowledges the support of the Victorian Government.
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