In Pursuit Of Betterment

Rahman Ali Khalil

Description

In Pursuit of Betterment, is a unique collection of five historical fiction stories of families from India, Guyana and the Caribbean, Mauritius, East Africa, and South Africa. The five families share a compelling desire and drive to achieve betterment through education, hard work, and business, against the backdrop of the histories of the countries they originate from, leave, and, those they reside in. Each story should resonate with readers of the Indian Diaspora and others, who have had to leave their homelands to explore better life chances in other countries.

Sujets

• Historical fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Hansib Publications
• Date de parution: 01 juin 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781910553800
• Langue: English

Extrait

In Pursuit of Betterment
Five Stories from the Indian Diaspora
Khalil Rahman Ali
First published in Great Britain by Hansib Publications, 2017
Hansib Publications Limited
P.O. Box 226, Hertford, Hertfordshire SG14 3WY
United Kingdom
[e-mail]
www.hansibpublications.com
Copyright Khalil Rahman Ali, 2017
ISBN 978-1-910553-76-3
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
All rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.
Printed in Great Britian
To my wonderful wife Manjeet and our beautiful daughter Sonya, and all our relations and friends. Thank you for your immense encouragement, support, and advice over the last few years whence I embarked on this journey of researching, travelling, speaking and writing this trilogy of historical fiction novels about people of the Indian Diaspora .
To all the incredible people I have met around the world, and who share my passion and enthusiasm for our ancestors who dared to leave their homeland to seek betterment elsewhere .
PREFACE
The Indian Diaspora is a term used to describe the people of Indian origin who left India and settled elsewhere in numerous countries around the world, essentially in the pursuit of betterment. They number about 25 million, and most of them continue to retain their Indian heritage, culture, religions, and philosophies from their ancestral birthplace. Although such migration had occurred over many centuries in relatively small numbers, it was not until 1838 after the end of African Slavery in the British colonies, that through a system of Indentureship, a considerable number of Indian labourers migrated from several States, principally Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal in the North, and Tamil Nadu in the South.
The main reason for the Indentured Labour migration was to work on the British owned sugar plantations in the then British Guiana (now Guyana), Mauritius, Fiji, South Africa, Trinidad, Jamaica, Reunion, St Lucia, Grenada, and so on. Labour migrations also took place in the nineteenth century from the Punjab and Gujerat, to Kenya and Uganda in East Africa, to build the new Railway System there. The Indentureship to the sugar plantations officially ended in 1917, by which time over 238,000 labourers had undertaken the contracts in Guyana alone. Many returned to India after the end of their five years term, but over time, most decided to stay on in their colonies, or to move to another.
My first historical fiction novel titled Sugar s Sweet Allure (Hansib Publications, May 2013), tells the story of Mustafa Ali, a young labourer who left his village near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, to go to Guyana in 1845. He and his fellow Jahaji withstood immense hardship on their ninety days sea voyage, and in the colony. Most decided to take the risk and opportunity to stay on in Guyana to build their new lives within a multi-racial and multi-religious community. My second historical fiction novel titled The Domino Masters of Demerara (Hansib Publications, 2015), features the descendants of this community in 1985, still using their wit, resilience, and determination to make their lives better even at a time of political instability, racial mistrust, and economic hardship.
In Pursuit of Betterment , relates five separate historical fiction stories of the Indian Diaspora. The first is about a family from Mumbai in India which grew incredibly wealthy from a small outlet, to international establishments in Delhi and London. It reflects a fast growing trend of Indian industrial and business successes both in India and in the Diaspora, and the challenges for such families to stay together as one. The second is about the further migration from Guyana to the United Kingdom, and thence to Canada and the United States of America, as the new generations of the Indian descendants continue to seek betterment outside of their homeland. The third is a story of similar migration from Mauritius to the United Kingdom, and the pull to return to Chota Bharat (Little India), as Mauritius is called. The fourth is a story of the people known as Ugandan Asians who were expelled with only 90 days notice, by the tyrannous President Idi Amin, in 1972. Many opted to move to England whilst others returned to India or went to Canada. The fifth and final story is set in Durban, South Africa, where the highest number of Indian people have settled outside India. Their experiences were different from others in the Diaspora, and were wrapped up into the South African struggles against apartheid.
CONTENTS
STORY 1: THE BILLIONAIRES
1. Death in Kensington
2. Chor Bazaar
3. Super aaya
4. The price of fate
5. The proposal
6. The wedding
7. The boss
8. Bombay to Shimla
9. Overcome evil with good
10. Hind-di-Chadder
11. Three weddings
12. The sun sets for Suraj
13. Saving face
14 The missing link
STORY 2: LITTLE GUYANA
1. Doctors Lawyers and Accountants
2. Welcome to London
3. The world is in London
4. Priceless education
5. Reasons to be cheerful in the Winter of Discontent
6. Choices
7. Shame and dishonour
8. Crime and punishment
9. Not for sale
10. Safe haven
11. Cashflow problems
12. Time to move on
13. The Big Apple
14. Little Guyana
15. Toronto, the meeting place
16. Towers of strength
STORY 3: MAURITIUS - CHOTA BHARAT
1. Independence
2. The pain of separation
3. Madhouse
4. Restraint
5. Getting together
6. Beautiful Mauritius
7. Future plans
8. Expansion and growth
9. Selfless service
10. Aashabhavan - The House of Hope
11. Live and let live
12. The big party
13. Despair
14. Welcome home
STORY 4: UGANDAN ASIANS
1. Expulsion
2. Refuge
3. Pakis Go Home!
4. The Lunatic Express
5. Strength in unity
6. Deepavali s spiritual lights
7. Resolving problems
8. Family celebration
9. Return to Kampala
10. Something to hold on to
11. The returnees
12. Wedding of the year
13. The will and the way
14. Staying and leaving
15. Jai Shri Krishna
STORY 5: SOUTH AFRICA
1. Crystal clear
2. Zulu values
3. Walking away
4. Keys to the future
5. Questions and answers
6. When the time arrives
7. Conversion
8. Rewriting history
9. A golden key
10. The 11th of February 1990
11. Just one last time
12. Nikah
13. The course of fate
14. All will be well
15. Good to be free
GLOSSARY
STORY 1
THE BILLIONAIRES
1.
Death in Kensington
There was an eerie silence at the entrance of the grand white mansion on one of the United Kingdom s most exclusive residential streets, Kensington Palace Gardens, known as Billionaire s Row , in London.
Detective Inspector Ben Smith of Scotland Yard, a middle-aged Englishman, eased his large six-foot frame past a group of his police officers and the security personnel of the property. He was ushered through the opulent entrance hall, to the scene of the suspected crime.
It was just after eight in the morning, and although it was a dull August day in 2010, the luxury bathroom was brightly lit by a huge crystal chandelier, casting sparkling reflections around the marbled wall panels, and fog free mirrors over the his and hers washbasins. The cream Chinese Travertine marble floor led invitingly to the kingsized raised bath which was accessed via two semi-circular steps.
He carefully inched forward to look at the bath, and suddenly, the scene of exclusive luxury became one of sheer horror. The light red bath water was half way up to the top, and covered much of the bloodied body of a dead woman. D I Smith immediately realised that the victim had not drowned, due to a gaping wound above the temple of the left side of her head. Dark red blood still trickled down from the wound along her jaw and neck, and into the bath water.
He slowly scanned the bath with its gruesome contents, and then raised his eyes up to the tall Georgian windows, pausing to focus on one of the panels which was slightly ajar, and with the inner side which was smashed. Small fragments of glass were sprinkled on the glossy marble floor, and reflected the light from the chandelier above. He took out his personal notepad, and wrote a note before placing it back into the left pocket of his white short-sleeved shirt which was neatly tucked into his black trousers.
D I Smith, in all of his twenty years as a senior detective, had never encountered a crime scene as bizarre as this. He looked around the bathroom once more before nodding to the police officers to begin to undertake the forensic study of every visible detail. As he stepped out of the building, and quickly reached the eight feet tall ornate black metal gate, he was approached by the first two journalists and cameramen on the scene.
The first journalist asked, Officer, can you confirm what has happened here sir?
The other added, Is it a murder sir?
D I Smith raised his right hand, and calmly responded with, I am sorry, but I cannot answer you at this early stage of our investigations. Now, if you do not mind, can you please stand back beyond the inner cordon? Later on this afternoon I shall make a Press Statement. Thank you for your understanding, and patience.
He then briskly stepped forward, and took his seat at the back of the black unmarked police car which quickly left the otherwise quiet residential street. A police helicopter arrived, and slowly circled the area for a while, shattering the relative calm of the streets below. Then it sped away in the distance. Several police cars with their blue lights flashing, were now effectively blocking traffic into, and out of the street at both ends which were marked out by