In 1976, I met Lord Louis Mountbatten (an uncle of Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth). Being a somewhat naive and straightforward young man, I was curious if this "super-hero" had a more human, personal side so I innocently asked him: "Sir, you've obviously led a successful life, being First Sea Lord (UK's head admiral) during World War II, Governor-General of India, etc but what would be your singlemost biggest regret in life?"
Without hesitation, he replied "To have permitted the partition of India."
A pregnant pause followed, almost unbearably long, before he changed the subject by asking me a question: "Where did you learn to speak such good English?" to which I promptly replied, tongue-firmly-in-cheek: "We get Dallas on TV in Malaysia, you know!"
Well, that broke the ice.
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This Blog archives the random writings of Azlan Adnan as well as eclectic stuff by other writers that he likes and thinks deserve a wider audience. Azlan's Book Reviews are not available here, but are archived at his Fan Club. Only recent posts are shown on this page. If you want to see older posts, please click on the monthly archives. Please read the Legal Notice. Please do not access this blog if you do not agree to the terms and conditions or do not understand any of it.
Friday, November 03, 2006
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