6 - The One-Man Band

Summary

On 6 February 1947, Raja set off for Malaya with Piroska on a steamship from Southampton. It had been 12 years since he left Malaya. Within that time, the world had changed dramatically. Raja, too, had changed drastically. He was 32, more selfassured, more familiar with life's vagaries. He possessed the selfconfidence of a man who had discovered his latent talents and learnt new truths for himself.

Singapore was suffocatingly humid when the couple arrived. At the bustling quay, a gaggle of relatives from Seremban and Singapore were waiting for them. In the midst of them was a young Indian woman in a saree, her eyes darting to spot the notorious relative she had heard so much about, but had yet to meet. The woman, Vijayalakshimi Thambiah, had just joined Raja's family a year ago when she married his brother, Seevaratnam, in a traditional Hindu ceremony.

At the sight of Raja, the family rushed to welcome him with hugs and kisses. Their reception cooled appreciably when he introduced them to his new European wife. In their eyes, Piroska, in her crisp skirt suit, appeared aloof and altogether foreign. According to Senathyrajah Kanagasabai, a first cousin to Raja, some relatives left conspicuously to show their disapproval when they saw Piroska. “Some relatives were against him because of Piroska. She was an outsider,” he said.

Everyone in the family knew how strict Raja's parents were about marrying within the clan; they matchmade relatives regularly and paid for their wedding expenses if necessary. In fact, earlier on, they had already identified a certain relative to be Raja's bride, and had broadcast this match to some members of the clan. They were heartbroken that their son could not live up to the age-old tradition, and humiliated that he did not attain the prestigious legal qualifications so prized by their community.

Their journey by car to the family home at No. 4, Jalan Dato Klana in Seremban was strained. Over the weeks, the tension continued to hang over the household. Pious relatives huddled to cluck their tongues at the scandal of Raja's marriage to a white woman. When Raja's parents threw a tea party to welcome him home and formally announce his marriage, less than 100 relatives turned up — a small fraction of the entire clan. It was a terse statement of the Jaffna Tamil community's disapproval.