Stranger on the Home Front: A Story of Indian Immigrants and World War I
Chapter 1 Autumn 1916 Margaret Singh and her family were late as usual They came to Stockton from San Francisco every year for the festival and every year they got lost somewhere between the train station and the gurdwara Margaret’s stomach rumbled but there wouldn’t be any food till they got there Father stopped a couple of passersby to ask for directions Excuse me do you know where the Sikh temple is One of the strangers looked like he was going to say something impatient but then he caught sight of Margaret and Mother He looked at them curiously as if putting two and two together Father the clean shaven East Indian wearing a hat rather than a turban Mother the white woman
and Margaret their daughter Margaret had watched people go through this process a thousand times A man from India with a white wife was an unusual sight in California She held her breath No one here in Stockton knew them and one never knew how strangers would react You want the building where all the Hindus are meeting he asked Just keep going straight then take a left and another left They thanked him but as they resumed walking Margaret heard him say to his companion These Hindus don’t even know where their own meeting is Father’s face fell and he and Mother exchanged a knowing look The man had given them the right directions though and soon they arrived at the familiar wooden building with tall stairs on either side leading to a second-floor landing and a massive sign over the gable reading Sikh
Temple Ranjit A man came out to meet them He clearly recognized her family but Margaret couldn’t remember who he was Late but still in time for langar as usual Come in and have something to eat Ah and you’ve brought your family Alice lovely to see you again And Margaret you’ve grown taller How old are you now She still couldn’t remember what his name was though he knew her whole family Fortunately most of Father’s friends were happy to be called uncle I’ll be twelve next year uncle she said smiling to cover up her confusion Just then her stomach made a loud and embarrassing demand for food Come in and eat something the man repeated and they didn’t hesitate There was no meat in the meal so that vegetarians could eat too Father said but it was tasty They sat on the floor to eat
it They mostly ate with their hands but after last year when she’d made a mess of her new dress Margaret couldn’t help but wish for a knife and fork This time she ate slowly and cautiously scooping up little bits of vegetable curry with the phulka Margaret quickly grew bored by the grown up talk which was mostly in Punjabi anyway There weren’t any other children there except for one two-year-old who kept trying to run off He was too young to be much fun and besides if she showed any interest in amusing him she’d probably find herself watching him for the rest of the day the way her friend Bettina was often stuck making sure her three-year-old brother didn’t get into trouble That definitely wasn’t her idea of a fun festival day Looking up she noticed that Father had left and Mother was looking around for him Margaret started scanning the room as well She spotted a few men with short hair
