Polish love story in Gujarat

The Times of India ^ | 17 Sep, 2006 | Raja Bose

[lizol]

Polish love story in Gujarat

Raja Bose [ 17 Sep, 2006 0121hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

AHMEDABAD: When about 500 children, all Polish refugees from slave labour camps in then USSR, reached the erstwhile Nawanagar state (now Jamnagar) in 1942, shaken and traumatised, it was a maharaja's welcome that awaited them.

A recent study has traced a large number of these people, now settled across the world, who still get together and raise a toast to Jamsaheb Digvijaysinhji, the then maharaja of Nawanagar.

"Do not consider yourselves orphans. You are now Nawanagaris and I am Bapu, father, to all Nawanagaris, including you," the Jamsaheb told them. And, this created an instant bond.

So,when Anuradha Bhattacharya, who carried out the research, met some of them, it was Balachadi — the village they stayed in — and Jamsaheb that they all talked about, amidst choked voices, tears and an impromptu rendering of "Jay, jay, jay maharaja .." the Nawanagar state anthem.

Bhattacharya's thesis, 'History of Polish refugees in India between 1942-48,' awarded by the University of Pune, spans over 60 years, from the time these children came to Balachadi from labour camps, where they were put after the Soviet occupation of Polish territory during the World War II, to present time, when they have formed the Association of Poles in India.

But, beyond history, lie the emotions — of an old Marian Raba recalling the days spent in Balachadi, under the care of the maharaja, of his childhood spent riding on cows, watching the saints.

And, their gratitude is evident — a school in Warsaw in the name of the maharaja and a plaque in Balachadi that says "Jamnagar ki bhumi ko pranam ..."

"This documents the passage through India of Polish refugees coming out of USSR in 1942. They were not Polish Jews escaping Nazi Germany. They were from eastern Poland, who were deported by USSR. They were granted war-duration domicile by the Jamsaheb," says Bhattacharya.

"At that time ... getting a visa to India, was visa to life," says Alicja Edwards, who now lives in the US. Like her, most recall enjoying life at Balachadi — Jamsaheb's picturesque summer camp, the school with a swimming pool and tennis court and the fun at the countryside.

"They were a happy lot. They slowly got over their trauma and began to like the place," recalls Jamsaheb Digvijaysinhji's daughter Hershad Kumari, who was six when the Poles came to Balachadi.