The Memoir of the Brief Life and Death of An Anonymous Son of the Indian Diaspora

Book excerpt: Rahul Sooknanan is a pen name. The story of Mudgar and all the characters are largely true. Names have been changed to protect Mudgar from further retribution. Mudgar is a descendant of Phoolmatie and Chandanand, two indentured labourers who crossed the Kala Pani to forge a new life in Trinidad. Mudgar lived on the precipice of both excess and success. His life became a journey towards greater opportunities as he worked his way through an education at New York University and Cambridge toward great professional success as a sought-after business consultant and university professor. And then, in a single year, several acts of violence shattered his home, his family and indeed, his life. Unable to work or even maintain his concentration, his downward spiral culminated in losing everything through a series of frauds committed against him. Only at the end did he truly know what he had loved and lost. In his own words, "I have never done things in halves. I have loved and failed severally. Hated and loved in equal measure. Sex and alcohol were choices; I accept all consequences and blame none for my troubles."