"My grandmother used to tell me stories as a child, and through her imagination I travelled to many magical worlds; but the story I want to tell is her story and that of my family's past.
My grandfather Arnand Phatak - Baboo to his friends - was the son of a wealthy colonel in the Indian army and loving mother with blue eyes. Baboo came to England and there he fell in love with Joyce, the beautiful daughter of his landlady. They married in 1943 and Joyce gave birth to my father, Kishore Phatak. Due to family pressure Baboo returned to India, and my grandmother, Joyce, being the independent woman, she was did not want to loose her freedom to Indian life so stayed in England.
After the Second World War, Joyce was reacquainted with her long-time admirer Frank Attenborough and in 1948 finally agreed to marry him. However these were difficult times to get a divorce, so Joyce bravely pretended to have committed adultery. Once married, they changed my father's name to Keith Attenborough and Frank took on the role of his father.
My grandmother was a strong woman who fought against attitudes of her time. A progressive thinker and member of the communist party she worked; wrote poetry and was a talented artist.
Meanwhile Baboo worked as the director of drama for All Indian radio in Pune. He married a graceful dancer knowing she was terminally ill and would only live a few years. When she died Baboo was again sad and lonely, so his parents arranged his marriage to the lovely Gulab. They had a daughter, Neelashi, an Indian sister for my dad and an aunt for me.
This like many of my grandmother's stories left me dreaming of another land and one day I vowed to visit India to learn about the culture to which my grandfather had to return. People often comment that I look Indian, however until my recent visit it was a culture that I knew little about. Now I have lived in India, I'm proud to be that little bit Indian - touched by the warm welcoming culture. I'd found my second home."
