Victor and Nina

Victor,Nina,Anna and Safdar

Most will recall Victor Egan (my father) as Amrita Shergil's husband. Though volumes were written about her controversial and colorful life no one was particularly interested in him as a person. After she died life went on for him as a village doctor in Saraya and the Majithia's became his friends and family.

He devoted his entire life to the backward people of this area and was revered almost as a god-like figure by the illiterate and superstitious. This worship led to many strange, bizarre and hilarious situations which were sometimes quite unbelievable. He had the most phenomenal sense of humour and believed that if one could see the funny side of a situation one would survive anything. He had a deep compassion for animals and our house was a veritable menagerie most of the time. One of his favourite quotes was "The more I know man the more I Love my dogs".

Victor first met Nina Hydrie (my mother) when she was six years old. He was extremely fond of her parents Ghulam Safdar Khan  and Anna who were living in Lucknow at that time. He was a very eligible bachelor and would drop by to visit on his way to and from Nainital, always with a different young lady on his arm!

Safdar and Anna eventually divorced though always remained the best of friends and Nina grew into one of Lucknow's legendary beauties.

When she was twenty one Nina met Victor in NainiTal after a gap of a few years and fell completely in love with him.She did the proposing and he the discouraging of what he believed was young infatuation. He told her they would wait a year and if feelings were still the same would think about the future.He returned to Saraya and she to Lucknow but six months later decided not to wait any longer and were married in 1954.

The event sent shock waves through Lucknow society. The gossip mongers had thought he was pursuing Anna (her mother), who was two years older to him and when he announced he was marrying Nina, who was twenty three years younger, predictions for the union were full of doom and disaster. They were married for forty three years until the time of his death in 1997 and it was one of the best partnerships I have known.

One of the conditions Victor put down for the marriage was that there would be no children. The age gap was so large and he thought if something were to happen to him he did not want Nina to be bringing up children alone. I was a mistake made in 1959, a fact I was reminded of once in a while, and since the rules had been broken my sister Juliet came along in 1964.