21st December 1997

Miss World's father is lonely

Hyderabad, While Diana Hayden, recently crowned as Miss World 1997 at Seychelles, is on her way to stardom and riches, her father Aubrey is struggling to eke out a decent living in the Andhra capital.

Aubrey is far removed from the world of glitter and glitz his 24-year-old daughter is basking in. He was not invited to attend the beauty pageant at Seychelles though Diana's mother Dhal and brother Shane were very much there to share the glory. Aubrey watched the proceedings over TV, savouring the success in his own way.

Aubrey lives alone in his small house in the Mettuguda locality of Secunderabad since his wife and two children moved away to Mumbai following differences six years ago. His house is locked most of the time as he is either away at his telephone booth near the local church or working at a corrugated box manufacturing factory in the Nacharam Industrial Estate. ''You can catch him only between 11.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m.,'' said a neighbour.

Aubrey was sanctioned a telephone booth after he was disabled in a road accident. He is invariably at his booth before the crack of dawn and remains there till the church services are over. His income from the booth has gone down in recent years with a dozen new telephone booths coming up in the neighbourhood. "Earlier I used to make as much as Rs 3,000 a day, now-a-days it is even difficult to make Rs 300 a day, ''he told The Hindustan Times. That is why he works in a corrugated box factory during daytime to augment his income.

V.Sunil Kumar, his friend and employer says that Aubrey has a way with machines. Though not an engineer by training he has over the years developed such skills that engineers from nearby factories come seeking his advice for mechanical problems. Aubrey, after passing out from St. Patrick School, Secunderabad, joined Balanagar unit of Sifco, the makers of famous Favre Leuba watches at Hyderabad and worked with them in various capacities including maintenance-in-charge for eleven-and-half years. He met Dhal at a dance party and it was love at first sight. They were married in 1970. They have two children, son Shane who is working as an interior decorator at Mumbai is the elder one.

Financial problems forced him to go to Saudi Arabia, where he worked as a plumber for some years. On return he purchased the present house with the money he had saved.

Aubrey, who is a good dancer, has taken to coaching aspiring dancers to supplement his income. He charges fees ranging from Rs 500 to 800 per student. He has presently four students.

Following his daughter's triumph at the contest, Shane called Aubrey from Seychelles to inform him about the good news and also tell him that except for Diana, they would be returning to Mumbai by the end of the week. Of course Diana would not be returning to India for quite some time because of her other engagements, he said.

He dismissed as rubbish the suggestion that Diana's winning had any possible link with her reported business relation with one of the judges. "It is unfair. She has got it by merit," he said.

The celebrity status of his daughter has been causing problems for Aubrey. "I am besieged with calls at all kinds of hours from all sorts of people congratulating me. They are calling me at my telephone booth or at my neighbour's residence and even in the factory," he said. Of course there are some welcome calls too.

One Dr. Rao from a corporate hospital at Hyderabad rang him up volunteering to treat his injured leg free of cost. He even offered to send him to United States for treatment if necessary.

Diana seems to have inherited her father's talents as far as beauty contests are concerned. It is not well-known that Aubrey was selected as the best dancer and the best dressed male in the new year ball organised by the country club, Hyderabad, this year. The leg injury notwithstanding, he sometimes indulges in his passion for dancing. He has won local dance championship seven times. So what is Aubrey's motto in life? the young-looking Aubrey, who does not appear like the father of a 24 -year-old daughter shot back "Life is short, make it sweet".

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