Mahavir Sanglikar
This is a humorous story about Angelina Band, a young woman born in India who later settled in Germany.
Father Joseph Band, a British Indian priest, had a son named William. In his youth, William studied in Calcutta, focusing on India’s ancient religious and cultural history. He frequently visited the Royal Asiatic Society in Calcutta for his research. There, he met a young woman from Germany named Mily, who was also studying the history of Indian religions. She and William became good friends.
Later, William got a job as a professor at a college in Pune. He invited Mily to Pune, and she also secured a job as a professor there.
Soon, the two got married and had a son and a daughter. They named their daughter Anjali, an Indianized name.
Everything was going well, and William and Mily enjoyed their careers and family life until the First World War broke out. Due to the strained relations between England and Germany, the relationship between William and Mily also deteriorated.
Following frequent conflicts with William, one day, Mily resigned from her job and left for Germany with their daughter. However, their son stayed in Pune. His name was James Band. But he was not the famous one we know as James Bond. This was James Band. The difference in spelling and pronunciation is noticeable. Moreover, James Bond was 007, but James Band never attached numbers to his name.
So, James Band’s mother left him and his father to go to Germany when he was just 16 years old. It was James’ matriculation year, so William married a teacher from Pune to provide James with guidance for his studies. Due to his new mother’s strict tutelage, James passed with good marks. William then sent him to the Royal Military Academy in England. After completing his education there, James soon returned to India and joined the Indian Army as an officer.
At that time, the First World War was ongoing. James wished to go to war, but the war had ended by the time he joined the Army. Thus, his desire to achieve heroic feats remained unfulfilled at that time.
Meanwhile, in Germany, his sister Anjali Band graduated with a special degree in the English language. She then completed many smaller courses and learned sewing. Since there were no computers back then, she learned to use a typewriter.
She typed so quickly that the heavy typewriters she used would become loose within a few days.
Then she began searching for a job. Soon, she found a small job at a big company, but she couldn’t settle there. She kept changing jobs but couldn’t find one that suited her. Then one of her friends told her, “Meet Sang Lee once, your problem will be solved immediately and you will get the job you want.”
Anjali Meets Sang Lee
Sang Lee was a Chinese numerologist who often visited Germany. Even Hitler consulted him. The main point here is that Anjali went to meet Sang Lee at his office, which was crowded with clients.
The receptionist informed her that the earliest appointment she could get would be in a month. Disheartened, Anjali started to leave, but the receptionist quickly added, “Madam, wait a minute… let me check the register…” After a quick check, she whispered, “Wait for 15 minutes, I’ll send you in.”
Soon, the client inside came out, and the receptionist ushered Anjali in.
Anjali had imagined Sang Lee would look like a typical Chinese person, but he resembled an Indian man instead!
Sang Lee asked Anjali to sit on the chair in front of him and said in Hindi, “Tell me, what is your problem? Is it that you can’t find the job you want? Or did you come because you’re not yet married?”
Anjali had three questions. Instead of answering Sang Lee’s question, she asked him, “Sir, first tell me, if you are Chinese, why do you look like an Indian? And how did you know I speak Hindi? And how did you know exactly what my problem is?”
Sang Lee laughed and said, “We will talk about that later, first let’s solve your problem. Tell me your full name and your date of birth.”
“Anjali William Band… Date of birth 26th September 1912,” she told him. Upon hearing that, Sang Lee became a bit serious, but then reassured her, “You will get the job you want, but you need to change your name… Anjali won’t work here in Germany… Use the name Angela… or Angelina will also do… you will get a ‘very good and permanent’ job within a month… Go now…”
“Sir, your fee?” Anjali asked. He replied, “We’ll see about that once you get the job… From today, start telling everyone that your name is Angelina… later you can make it official, changing Anjali to Angelina.”
Anjali got up from the chair and was about to leave when Sang Lee, looking at his diary, asked, “Girl, what did you say your name was? Anjali William Band, right?”
“No, no… My name is Angelina William Band!” she said and walked out of the cabin.
Anjali Becomes Angelina and…
…what a surprise! Just as Sang Lee had predicted, in a matter of days, Angelina landed a job in a place no one could have imagined. To ensure she got the job and to prove Sang Lee’s words true once again, war clouds started gathering over Germany. Recruitment began in various government departments.
Angelina read in a German newspaper that the German government headquarters was recruiting stenographers and typists. She immediately scribbled an application for the typist position. (This application is still available in the German government’s archives today. It bears the marks of hurried scribbling. Check it out if you get the chance, if you visit Germany).
She was called for an interview within a few days.
She arrived at the interview location five minutes early. Long queues had formed for the interview. Angelina was beautiful, but there were many young women in line who looked far more beautiful. She was convinced she wouldn’t stand a chance here and was about to turn back when two guards approached her and saluted! They escorted her respectfully to the interview cabin. Even the watchman saluted her and politely opened the cabin door for her.
Angelina’s Interview
Angelina couldn’t understand why these people were treating her with such respect. Lost in thought, she entered the cabin, and her surprise and joy knew no bounds. Three young women were seated to conduct the interview, and all three were her classmates from high school to college. The woman sitting in the middle chair was her close friend. Who could it be? It was none other than Eva Braun, Hitler’s lover. Was she going to conduct the interview?
The three women stood up, rushed towards her, and hugged her one by one. Then they went back to their chairs, transitioning from friends to interviewers. They ordered Angelina to sit in the chair opposite them. Eva pulled out Angelina’s application from the file and said, “You were born in India. Since India is under British rule, and Britain is an enemy of Germany, how can we offer you a job?”
Hearing this, Angelina’s face fell. Just then, Eva said, “But we’ve done a thorough background check. Your mother left India with you after quarreling with your father. The reason for the quarrel was your mother’s patriotism. We are confident you share the same sentiment. Therefore, we are offering you the job. Just remember one thing: type a bit slower, and don’t scribble when writing with a pen. Both the nib and the paper get damaged. Look at your application; it’s torn in several places. Start from the first. You can go now.”
“Thank you,” she said, “but I’d appreciate it if you could answer one question.”
“What?”
“How did you know about the quarrel between my parents? My mother never tells anyone about it. Until now, I thought only my mother and I knew about it in all of Germany.”
“Getting that information wasn’t difficult. There’s a German student at the college in Pune where your father teaches. She obtained the information for us directly from your father. And we also know your brother is an officer in the Indian Army.”
Hearing this, Angelina was stunned. She felt the need for a hot cup of tea or coffee. Just as she was about to leave, Eva said, “Wait, have some coffee before you go!”
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