Chapter And Verse, From A Fellow Blogger
It really is a small world. I spent several minutes racking my brain to think of a Mumbai-based blogger who could give us an update on the saga of the Boeing 737 that sits on a road in that city. Then I thought of GS, who writes the blog Chumma Chumma, so I went to his blog to ask for his opinion. And guess what I saw there? A review of my novel, `Vegemite Vindaloo’, published by Penguin Books India. To see what he thinks of the novel that shared a bestseller list with the Booker Prize winner, go to GS’s review of Vegemite Vindaloo.
5 comments:
A big old Boeing 747 sits abandoned in his city and he is blogging about your book. Pretty cool!
Hi Deborah,
That really puts it in perspective.
Why, thank you!
Keep smiling
David
Great and useful review. Anglo Indian, he said about you. That would explain your last name which I thought didn't sound very Bengali.
Where was your Dad from? Ignore this if I'm prying too much as I well may be. I was just wondering about the confluence of genes (other than nurture) that produced such a wonderful person!
Hi Sandip,
Thank you for your kindness and genrosity. No, you're certainly not prying.
Yes, we're Anglo-Indian. My Dad was born and educated in Calcutta, but he and his brothers went to St Edmund's College in Shillong.
From memory, my grandfather or great-grandfather came from Delhi or thereabouts. Will check and let you know.
My elder brothers went to Sherwood College, Naini Taland when I came along many years later, I went (as you know) to North Point.
We have several fragments of our family history and are trying to piece it together. It's a huge task, made all the more so because my brothers and I live in different cities, but about two weeks ago I made a significant step in this direction.
Being a lateral thinker, I set up a blog - which allows all of us equal access to post family pictures and memories and documents on a common open-source platform that is accessible to all of us.
Family history means a lot to me (not just because I'm a journalist) but because we all have bits of the jigsaw and it is imperative that we start putting it togeter before it becomes too complicated for the next generation of McMahons.
We have the technology at our disposal and my brothers are just as determined as I am to see this mammoth project through.
In answer to your other question, yes I am Anglo-Indian. I came to Australia as a free man, of my own volition. I chose to take on Australian citizenship, but I wear my Indian-ness like a badge of honour.
I am proud to have been born in a country that gave me amazing opportunities - and equally proud that my Australian-born children are as inspired by their Indian heritage as my wife and I are.
I belong to two cultures, but I do not suffer from an identity crisis. I consider myself emotional and culturally wealthy because of that privilege.
Terry Fletcher, webmaster of the Anglo-Indian Portal regularly features my writing and my photography, and a lot of my work there is an accurate reflection of my pride - which is not to be confused with jingoism - in both countries that have been my home.
Two landscapes on two separate continents inspire me. Two national anthems give me a shiver down my spine.
No human could be more fortunate than that.
If you want to see more about ``the confluence of genes'' of a family that is a true genetic cocktail and proud of it, have a look a http://mcmahonhistory.blogspot.com/
And if I am a ``wonderful person'' as you say so, it is due to friends and family and of course people like you who were such a part of my teenage years at school.
Whew - long reply. But you get my drift!
Cheers
David
Thanks, David, for the detailed response and pointing me to this wonderful and interesting site with your family histories, pictures and great anecdotes!
Post a Comment