2010, from Autobiography, in my iPad application Horvatland
For the ‘continental’ that I was, the England of the 50’s was almost as exotic as India – though without the added excitement of my teenage dreams. With mass immigration and globalisation still a long way off, the masculine population I observed in the tube could be split into two classes: those who wore a flat cap and read the Daily Mirror, and those who sported a bowler and read the Times (whose headlines were still to be found on the inside, the front page being reserved for the classified ads). As far as women were concerned, social class was more difficult to pin down: most resembled wilting flowers, wore little hats and knitted. The light from Britain’s leaden sky suited me almost better than the harsh sun of India, but I have to admit that my London photos are closer to caricatures than to miracles: I wasn’t well enough versed in British culture, nor did I have enough imagination to superimpose on this universe a grid made up of anything else than a somewhat condescending humour.