quot;Not the India we read aboutquot;

Warm, friendly, hospitable. No, Indians are none of that. Not at least when they are dealing with black skin, curly hair and pudgy nose. But...

Warm, friendly, hospitable. No, Indians are none of that. Not at least when they are dealing with black skin, curly hair and pudgy nose. But that8217;s how we were born and that8217;s how we were loved by Indians back home in Sudan. There you do not feel they are Indians and we are Africans. Here it8217;s made sure that you don8217;t forget that you are in an alien country.

Soon after we came here for higher studies we were to realise that the India we had read about in books 8211; the India of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and the celluloid classic Mother India 8211; was a carefully nurtured fantasy. In Sudan we believed it was a land of equality, beauty and love. No more.

Why did we choose India? Well, it seemed like a perfect place to pursue higher studies 8211; a democratic country, affordable education and good colleges. Also, certificates from Indian educational institutes are recognised by our government. But we never thought making friends here would be so difficult.

In Wilson College, some of our classmates usedto call us kalia. In the last seven years that we have spent here never even once were we invited by our Indian classmates to a get-together. All this time my only friends were other Africans who, like us, are here to study. We stay in a hostel at Churchgate and go around, have fun, but just among ourselves.

On a few occasions some classmates mostly girls did try to be friendly with us. But when we went out with them, we got strange looks, snide remarks and sometimes plane abuses. Though we don8217;t follow the language, the embarrassment of our friends8217; faces would tell us all.

On one or two occasions we were invited by our friends to their houses on Diwali. But, we were embarrassed to note that their parents were not comfortable in our presence, in fact they looked quite scandalised. We are sure a white8217; guest would never be treated like this. In fact, if an Indian girl has a white foreigner as a boyfriend, she is encouraged by her parents. Any way, we no longer go out to any of our girl friendshouses. Just to save them from the unnecessary embarrassment.

Life in suburbs is much more difficult. The two months we spent in Mumbra were a revelation. Everytime, we would step out, there would be a virtual morcha of kids following us. We have had the same experience in upmarket residential areas of Santacruz and Bandra too.

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In town, restaurants and bars stretch this prejudice against black skin a bit too far. About a year back we went to HQ in Colaba with three white girls. While I was stopped at the gate, my friends who were walking a few steps ahead of me, were allowed in. The guard thankfully allowed me in for a few minutes to inform my friends about the problem. All of us later left the place.

A few weeks back at Leopold pub, we were sipping fruit juice on the ground floor when two foreigners invited us to join them on their table. But as we were moving, the waiters stopped us. When we protested, one of the managers came and shouted at us. We just paid our bill and left. It was the second timewe were treated like this at Leos. Last year we were stopped from going to the permit room located on a upper floor. This time nobody shouted at us. The guard in cold voice told us: 8220;Blacks are not allowed.8221; We were just too stunned to even argue.

Seven year now, we have completed our studies, the primary reason why we were here. As we leave for our country shortly, we have little to cherish except the varsity certificates.

Mohd Hajo 25 name changed on his request and Mubarak Sid Ahmed 27