"Through Sick and Sin" was originally the title of
the book I once thought I would write about my father. That never materialised
but I must give a brief background about him as much of the writing
in this blog will revolve around his amazing experiences and his
humour
Victor Egan (my father), was born on Oct 5th 1910
and grew up on a country estate in Dunaharaszti,, thirty kilometers from
Budapest in Hungary. His mother Blanca had one sister Marie Antoinette who
married Sardar Umrao Singh Shergil, whom she met while travelling as a
companion to Princess Bamba of Patiala. They had two daughters Amrita
and Indu.
Victor and Amrita grew up together and were always the best
of friends.He was studying medicine and she, the ever eccentric
artist claimed he was the only one who kept her grounded and
understood her. She was the one who proposed they get married much against
the wishes of her parents. Her mother Marie Antoinette hated the idea, as apart
from the fact that Victor and Amrita were first cousins, Amrita was much sought
after socially and Marie Antoinette thought she could have done better
than marry her first cousin who was a young inexperienced doctor with no money.
Victor and Amrita married in July of 1938 and a year later
journeyed to India where Amrita wanted to travel and paint. They lived for a
while in Shimla with Amrita's parents but things got more and
more unpleasant so when Amrita's uncle Sardar Kirpal Singh Majithia
invited them to stay on his estate in Saraya in Gorakhpur,Uttar Pradesh, they
leapt at the chance to get away. They set up house, though neither was very
happy with the prospects in a small village so finally decided to move to
Lahore in September 1941.
Shockingly, on December 5th 1941 Amrita passed away after a
brief illness. Much has been written and speculated about the circumstances of
her tragic death. Her mother held Victor responsible and accused him of murder,
sending vicious letters to everyone accusing him of killing her.
WWII had broken out and Victor was declared an enemy subject
in the British Raj. Kirpal Singh knew people in the right places and
took guarantee for him, so instead of being sent to one of the camps for
foreign nationals Victor found himself back in Saraya only a few months
after leaving. He thought he would return to Hungary after the war but that was
never to be. It lasted five years and by the time it was over he had built up a
good medical practice in Saraya. Hungary turned communist and he never went
back to the land of his birth.
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