In search of grandpa's world
HISTORY: A passage to India – one woman's quest to discover her roots
Alison
Butler, a Labour Party councillor in London, is eagerly planning her
trip to India next year. But her visit will be much more than the usual
sightseeing and sampling of local cuisine. She is excited because she
will soon be seeing the "sites related to her grandfather". Butler is
the granddaughter of Stanley Henry Prater, a legend amongst those
interested in the study of animals in India. Moreover, he was also a
member of India's Constituent Assembly that deliberated upon the
country's Constitution – a fact not many would be aware of.
Prater
was a remarkable figure who, due to family compulsions, shifted to the
UK leaving his "beloved India" in 1948. An orphan, he was born in south
India and was brought up by Jesuit priests, who took charge of his
studies at St Mary's High School in Mumbai. He developed a liking for
nature and went on to join the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).
According
to ornithologist Salim Ali, Prater had joined the BNHS right after he
finished school in 1907. In his early days, Ali himself trained under
Prater and P.F. Gomes, the two assistants of Sir N.B. Kinnear, the then
curator of BNHS. Sir Kinnear had recognised the brilliance of the young
man during his apprenticeship as museum assistant and field collector.
However, his lack of higher education came in the way of his appointment
as a scientific member of the staff. So consequently he was sent to
tutor under Father Blatter at St Xavier's College to fill the lacunae of
a formal degree in biology. Ali, who was studying zoology around the
same time, recalls picking up Prater from his "miniature terrace flat at
Elphinstone circle on the pillion" of his little Douglas.
Prater
went on to become the Curator of BNHS and Prince of Wales Museum.
Paying tribute to the genius of Prater, Ali says in his autobiography
'The Fall of a Sparrow': "He had a retentive memory and gift for
digesting complicated technicalities and reducing pedantic professional
jargon into simple language. Prater's forte was popularisation of
zoological knowledge. Most of his writings bear witness to his mastery
of the art. He wrote in humorous and pleasing style."
'The
Book of Indian Animals' that the naturalist authored in the 1940s
reveals his mastery over the language and attention to detail. No doubt,
it was this book that got Butler interested in finding out more about
her grandfather. "He died when I was just a baby. As a child I knew
little about him except for the 'granddad' things," she says. That
changed when she chanced upon the book. "I was told that it was a
popular book in its time. However, an Internet search revealed it is
still in demand."
It
was not as if Butler was completely unaware of her India connection.
But it mostly centred on the fact that in the 1960s and 1970s she and
her siblings "must have been some of the only children then in our area
that regularly had proper curry and rice every Saturday, cooked by Nan
(grandmother)". When she grew up, Butler naturally got caught up with
work and children and by the time Butler decided to probe her
grandfather's past, her grandmother had passed away.
Butler
continued in her quest to gather more information by connecting with
people looking for roots in the Indian sub-continent. Using the Internet
as a tool she also realised that her grandfather was not just a
prominent leader of the Anglo-Indian community but a member of India's
Constituent Assembly. Moreover, he was a Justice of the Peace as well as
member of the Legislative Assembly for 17 years.
Prater's
achievements are manifold. "I think what really got hold of my
imagination was how a young boy who had been left in an orphanage by his
father went on to achieving so many things," says Butler. As per her
research, Prater's mother died while giving birth to him and his father
left him in an orphanage.
In
his youth, Prater travelled to London, New York and Chicago to train in
taxidermy and other techniques of natural history exhibitions. For more
than two decades he remained Curator of BNHS and Prince of Wales
Museum. An excited Butler also informs us that her grandfather had even
"had tea with Gandhi". When Gandhi was killed Prater had already moved
to the UK. He wrote a letter to his friend Frank Anthony, the famous
Anglo-Indian representative in the Indian Parliament. "Prater was a
typical Anglo-Indian. He wrote me a deeply moving letter. In his words,
he wrote that letter with tears not only in his eyes but in his heart,"
writes Anthony in his book 'Britain's Betrayal in India: The story of
the Anglo-Indian community'.
Prater's
life is perhaps an apt narrative of the existential dilemma of
Anglo-Indians of that time. Those who came to UK and considered it
“home” found they didn't quite belong here, that they were different
–probably the same feelings that had made them leave India. Butler
believes that while Prater was generally happy to be with his family he
probably longed for his very different life in India. Unfortunately, he
lost his job at the Natural History Museum in London due to a cut in
government spending. "Somethings don't change," Butler says, hinting at
the current austerity drive in the country. Later, he developed
Parkinson's disease and passed away in 1960. What is disturbing to
Butler is that her "grandfather never received the recognition (in UK)
he had in India and this saddens me".
As
a Labour worker, who rose to become an elected councillor in Croydon,
Butler was thrilled when she found out only recently that Prater too was
a member of the Labour Party in Streatham. "My two passions are art and
politics and I like to think I inherited them both from my grandfather.
She is
disappointed that where it has been far easier to follow her
grandmother's ancestors, she has drawn a blank with her grandfather's.
Hopefully, she will get more clues upon her arrival in India. (Women's Feature Service)
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