london may 1983
my london billionaire uncle swraj paul says he is busy and to call back
after three weeks and make an appointment with his secretary
i call on a friend from india settled in london in the
garment business
who was very happy to help me…as he himself needed help
he and his wife had recently separated…he was always travelling
his house was in a mess…his one man garment business in shambles
with too much stock of clothes to sell
i fitted perfectly into his plans and it worked out ideally for me
i cleaned out his house…cleared out his messy office
started to sell the piled up stocks of garments
and within a few weeks it was clear that i had the skills for selling
and managing a company single handedly
my friend was overjoyed and we had an ideal working arrangement
seeing the results he was generous
i was actually earning 1000 pounds a month
and i began to love london and the garment district
finally some light in the end of this financial black
tunnel
my streak of good luck was soon to run out as my friend had to close his
london office and manage the company factory and exports from india
i had now been in london for a year
i had learnt much and gained valuable experience
so i created a shelf company
started designing for my own label and importing into london
not legally allowed to earn in the uk i created a front company
with a cousin of my mothers
my company was selling evening wear for women
designed by me under my label renei…manufactured in india
and i was soon in the christmas windows of harvey nichols selling in
selfridges, dickens and jones
in every top end store in bond street knightsbridge and oxford street
sequined evening wear was a hit in london
my designs were outrageous and modern
i had earned the reputation of high end designer with a low price tag
after the initial setup company expenditure and about a dozen flight
tickets
to and from india i had profited over 25000 pounds…about 35000 dollars
the oregon dream seemed a reality
with 50000 dollars i could become a resident
i was almost two years in london and life was
beautiful
i woke up each morning to his feet and wore my mala
to bows of buddham sharanam gachcchami
i was invited to milan italy by a famous international brand
to assist in their design development and arrange garments from india
this would be my last money trip and then back to india and then to
oregon
i mentioned this to my cousin who held my front
company for me
everything from my contracts with department stores for my renei label
to import documents…bank accounts…all were in his name
i was living simply and taking money only for food and the
london underground tube each month with no real other expenses
living in his house and paying him for accommodation
on my return with a successful business deal and
orders from milan
i was stopped at customs and taken in for an interview
i was told they had information that i was earning in the uk
and running a business against the stipulations on my tourist visa
and that i was not going to be allowed into the country
i was stunned and immediately realised that perhaps my cousin had
reported on me to try and steal my money
he had a boring government job to do with social securities and was
always interested in my company seeing the huge profits
i became clear and stated that mine was only an indian
company
exporting garments to the uk and that my cousin was importing the
garments on credit and was not intending to pay my indian company
and that i had come to collect the outstanding dues
the customs officer accepted my story
and instead of the usual three months i was given a two week entry visa
i called my cousin from the airport
he sounded surprised that i was actually back in london
i realised that he had been trying to cheat me
he never came to the airport…pretended that his mother was in hospital
and that his house was locked and he would see me in
two or three days
when i went there he complained to the local police that i was a
stranger
who was forcibly trying to enter his house
i called india to hear he had been in india during the week i spent in
milan
had made contracts to continue my renei business with other suppliers
and when i called my buyers at harvey nichols and selfridges
they said they were told that i was only working as the designer
that my cousin owned the company and had fired me from my job
back on the streets again
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