It was sunny when the boat left Hamburg at four in the afternoon, but I don't remember what the weather was like in Harwich at noon the day after. I found it difficult to pronounce the name of the port of my arrival. The immigration officer asked me about the address in London where I intended to stay. I showed him the business card of someone I had met in New Delhi a few months earlier. The officer read 'Harley Street' written on the card and asked me if the person I knew was a doctor. I did not know the association of Harley Street in London with doctors. The man who sold me a train ticket to Liverpool Street looked a bit eccentric, but he was kind. I headed towards the nearest Youth Hostel after arriving in Central London and phoned Jane two days later at her Harley Street address. She said that it was not a good time to call her. I felt I could never phone her again despite my languishing memory of our dinner in Hauz Khas.

LRB 28 November 2002 | PDF Download