Category Archives: Uncategorized

In Indian culture the maternal and paternal grandparents have distinguishing names.  In our family/culture Nana and Nani are maternal grandparents and Aja and Aji are paternal grandparents.  Therefore my Aji was my dad’s mom.  Her given name was Dulari (pronounced Dularee) and it means beloved or dear one tracing it origins back to Sanskrit. AjiContinue reading “AJI”

My children have always been very mobile.  The moment they left the safety of my arms they crawled, walked and ran away from me.  Eventually they acquired scooters, skateboards and bicycles and would try to press the limits of their freedom.  However, I would impose boundaries on their travel on the block and when theyContinue reading “Boundaries”

Our house in McBean was almost perfect.  Downstairs was open air with two big sets of double doors.  We rarely opened them wide.  They were large enough for a car to drive through, although, to the side of the house was an attached shed with a galvanized aluminum roof where, before Daddy moved to America,Continue reading “Keeping up with the …Ramkisoons”

Mammy called me at work on Long Island on a summer morning in 1994.  “Your Nana died yesterday, Tanti Basdai just called,” she sounded sad and lost.  Even though she was in her mid-fifties she still felt the pain of losing her daddy.  “Your father and I are going to fly down to Trinidad tomorrowContinue reading “Lead Me Home”

Even though the estate was purchased early on in their marriage, the family never lived there.  Nana stayed  in Santa Clara to manage the day to day operation of sugar cane farming and came to visit his family in McBean often enough to ensure a baby every year, there were eleven births in total.  NaniContinue reading “The Smell of Sunday”

Nana and Nani bought a sugar cane estate in 1945.  The purchase price for the 365 acres was $9500.  They put a down payment of $4000 and paid 6% interest on the balance.  Nana related to me that he paid about $1000 annually and paid off the loan in about six years.  The math isContinue reading “Come to The Garden”

Graceland calls.  Yes, it’s a three hour drive from Nashville but it’s on my bucket list.  10 minutes on the highway, outside of Memphis, the idiot lights on the rental car start flashing.  It says refer to manual.  Of course there’s no manual in the glove box so I google the code.  Something to doContinue reading “Memphis – The Place of King”

Phelps lane peewee softball mid-week, 7pm and I’m wishing I was home; all the 3rd grade girls are out on the field.  The outfielders, my daughter included, are leisurely plucking dandelions and occasionally looking up to field a ball.  I’m trying to pay attention to the less than riveting game while keeping my son andContinue reading “Extraordinary Grace”

He was born at 42 weeks. After several false alarms my doctor jiggled things around and with the help of some drugs he came into the world, finally. He was my third and the only one I remembered to sing Happy Birthday to right after delivery, on his true birthday. They brought him to meContinue reading “Richard III”

We touch down at BNA after 9pm.  There’s a band playing at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge right outside of the gate.  Welcome to Music City.  The first morning we end up in Athens, the Athens of the south that is, and tour the Parthenon.  It is a life size replica of the one in Greece andContinue reading “Nashville”