Foreword

My baba (father) is 80. He’s fit and healthy. He has an active mind. He’s been married to my ma (mother) for nearly 50 years. He has 2 children – Neil (that’s me) and Mitali. We’re in our 40s, both married and with 4 children between us – Mia, Aidan, Priya and Lucy, currently aged between 6 and 8. Their grandfather (Dadu) dotes on the 4 youngsters, they have given him a new lease of life. For some years now I’ve been badgering him periodically to write down and share key memories of his life. To chronicle a life well lived that his four grandchildren can one day look back on and understand part of where they came from. It seems so fashionable to retrace family history to previous generations that I think we are in danger of forgetting our present, to learn from the experiences and values that shape our own lives now. I have pleaded with him to jot these thoughts down, to share his anecdotes, to recall the happy times and the sad. He has never had the patience to sit down and do this himself. Perhaps he doesn’t appreciate the significance. He’s not one to fuss. He prefers not to eulogise. I’m not sure he realizes the influence he has had on my life, and those of many of his family and friends. He thinks his life has been ordinary. It depends on your perspective. I see a man who has enriched the life of others. His life has meaning. The man himself is extraordinary. I like to write. My creative spark resides in storytelling. I’m a hopeless artist (don’t pick me on your team for Pictionary) but when it comes to writing, I’ve enjoyed a dabble and my loved one’s keep on at me to invest more time. I’m duly admonished so here goes. Baba is on board. It’s my role to listen, to absorb his memories, those little gems of a life full of adventure and sacrifice and on these pages I’ll bring his story to life. This is a fascinating story of a man born in India in the late 1930s, raised in Kolkata (or Calcutta as was then), the original vibrant capital of the British Raj. A man who in his early 20s left his safe and secure life behind, seduced by adventure and prosperity in a foreign world. A man with barely a penny to his name when he reached our shores, who fought early prejudice in a country not yet accustomed to multicultural trends. A man who became a pillar of society and raised a loving family. A man who has redefined our family history. This is my baba.