Trafalgar Square 1971

Daniel, Ringano and Shashi, their new friend from the same university faculty are having lunch in a Leicester Square pub. Ringano and Shashi ordered chicken and beef sandwiches with French fries respectively while Daniel ordered a ploughman’s lunch. He likes the thick cheddar cheese with pickle and salads stuffed between a big chunk of crusty bread. For drinks, they prefer the cool, dark brown foamy English bitters. It’s Saturday and the pub is crowded with colourful people of different nationalities, speaking in their own mother tongues. They are mostly tourists from the continent. The atmosphere is friendly and jovial. Sitting on the stools situated near the bar counter are some English youngsters with Arsenal Football Club’s scarves round their necks, passionately discussing football, offering their assessment of the impending derby with arch rival Tottenham Hotspur to held in White Hart Lane in the afternoon. The juke box at the far end corner is belting out ‘Maggie May’ by Rod Steward. Everyone in that corner is singing along …‘Oh Maggie I couldn't have tried anymore. You lured me away from home, just to save you from being alone. You stole my heart and that's what really hurts……’. ‘Maggie May’ expresses the ambivalence and contradictory emotions of a young man involved in a relationship with an older woman. The song was Rod Stewart's first substantial hit as a solo performer which launched his illustrious solo career. In later years, Steward admitted in an interview that the song is a true life story of him having sex for the first time with an older woman. Then someone slotted in a coin for another song after ‘Maggie May’. The feel good atmosphere turned somber with the juke box plays the soulful rendition of “Imagine’ by John Lennon who has recently broken off from the Beatles. ’Imagine there's no heaven…It's easy if you try. No hell below us. Above us only sky. Imagine all the people, living for today….”. The patrons know the lyrics but no one wants to sing it; perhaps they lack the conviction in message of the song. But a group of long hair youth with leather jackets and high heeled boots burst into a sing along when it comes to the lines..’You may say that I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us. And the world will be as one’. They are the last die hard, happy-go-lucky hippy generation. “Well, I’m done. Let’s get out of here. Let’s take a walk to Trafalgar Square”, Daniel proposes. They have just finished their lunches.
They walk along the embankment, stepping into the summer breeze, savouring the sights and sounds of the summer day in the heart of London. The cinema down the road is showing ‘Escape from the Planet of the Apes’. It is the second sequel to the ‘Planet of the Apes’ movie of 1968. And the cinema at the opposite side of the road is showing ‘Fiddler on the Roof’. It is a musical set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. The story centers around a Jewish father named Tevye who tries to maintain his family and religious traditions from outside influences which encroach upon their lives. Furthermore, he must cope with his three rebellious strong-willed older daughters whose choice of their future husbands move further away from the customs of their faith. The three friends finally reached the Square. Trafalgar Square is a site of significant historic value. It is surrounded by monuments and statutes which also have their individual heritage classifications. At its front is the Nelson’s Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. In the centre is a water fountain. The name commemorates British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Trafalgar Square is a centre of national democracy and protest. Rallies and demonstrations are frequently held at weekends on a range of political, religious and social issues. The Square is also used as a location for community gatherings, especially the celebration of Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. It is also famous for its feral pigeons and feeding them is a popular activity among the British and visiting tourists alike. No one leaves the Square without taking photos with these pigeons. The surrounding majestic buildings look dirty from droppings made by these pigeons.
There are rallies in difference parts of the Square today. There is a protest rally organized
the National Front at the centre of the Square. The NF as they are popularly referred to is a far right whites- only British political party. It stands for ‘white family values’ with a white nationalist slogan that states “we must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children”. With the decline of the British Empire, Britain's nationalist parties now turned their attention to internal politics. Their protest today is against the British government’s soft immigration policy. Britain, over the past 2 decades have witnessed thousands of people, particularly from India, Pakistan, the Caribbean and Uganda, to come to settle down in the UK. Never in the entire British history has the influx of immigrants into its shores in such a large scale. Far right political groups such as the NF grew increasingly impatient and demand the government to curtail its immigration policy. Later, their rallies would become more vociferous and frequently led to violence. It was during this period that British nationalism and patriotism became linked with violence in the public conscience. “Just look around you today. Our inner cities are contaminated with coloured people. They don’t come alone. They come with their whole families. These people are draining our resources. We have to find jobs for these people have no skills. We have to find them dwelling, no wonder we are now at the bottom of the queue for council flats. The dole queue is full of coloured people. The British government is committing genocide against its own people!”, leader of the party is blasting away his dissatisfaction to the gathering crowd. “What the shit is he talking about? Bloody white racialists!”, Shashi could not contain his anger. Shashi is himself an immigrant from Kenya. His family originated from India and they migrated to Kenya where they found success and fortune from going in business. But their success has also became the object of envy among the locals. The educated and politically minded locals have become disillusioned with them and they question the inequity of their wealth. How can a small group of people control so much of the country’s economy? So, by the generosity of the British government, his family has come to settled down in London. Shashi himself pays only British students fee. Ringano looks at Shashi and offers his view on the protest of the day. “Well, I think we have to look at the practical perspective too”, Ringano turns to talk to Shashi. “Family traditions and values are hard to give up. The British are proud people with the legacy of an Empire behind them. They have centuries old traditions and customs. They see and feel their social system and order are now under threat from large scale immigration of people whom they consider lesser than them for these immigrants and their forefathers were ruled by the British for centuries”…But before Ringano could finish, Daniel asks, “Are you saying that you are condoning what is being said here today, Ring?”. “Oh no. Not at all. I am merely trying to see both sides of an argument”, replies Ringano. “Hey, there is another rally over here. Let’s go check it out”, Shashi is eager to get away from the NF’s rhetoric. The other rally is being carried out in the left centre of the Square. They are youths waving some red-coloured little books and shouting slogans in unison. A student leader, standing on a make shift stool, is holding up the Little Red Book, containing Mao Zedong’s thoughts. “Ladies and gentlemen. The world is unjust because of imperialism and the corrupt capitalists. These bourgeois are living a life of filthy luxuries and corrupt practices while millions are living in poverty. Society is for the common good of men and women. The only way to bring about this common good is through class struggle. The great Chairman Mao teaches us that revolutions and revolutionary wars are inevitable in class society, and without them it is impossible to accomplish any leap in social development.”, the student leader steadfast in his powerful speech in the meantime waving Mao’s Little Red Book, as if it would give him more credence. Then Daniel notices a figure standing next to the student leader who looks familiar. He is wearing a Che Guevara military jacket and with a beret with a silver star on his head, looking every inch a revolutionary fighter. The only difference is he looks oriental and without a moustache. Daniel walks up to him and asks “Are you Seng Keng?’ “Hey, Daniel! What wind has blown you over here?”, in deed it is Seng Keng. Lim Seng Keng is Danie’s class mate in fifth form. They were not particularly close as Daniel was hanging out with the Serenade Boys most of the time and Seng Keng always was usually busy with his studies, going to the British Library. And he seemed to be always in the company of a British family. “ I am studying anthropology in the London University”, Daniel answers. “Give me your house number, Daniel. I will contact you. We shall do some catching up and I will bring along some of our old classmates. I am sure they would be happy to see you too”, Keng Seng says. Daniel wrote down his number in a piece paper and promptly gives it to his former class mate. “Ok. Call me then. I need to head back to the dorm”, Daniel bids him farewell.