The Bride from Bombay

Book excerpt: At the turn of the nineteenth century, a widespread migration took place as a result of British colonialism. This migration was known as the Indian diaspora. It was a time when millions of East Indians would jump ship and leave India to be taken as indentured laborers to the far corners of the world to Fiji, Mauritius, South Africa, and the West IndiesTrinidad and Tobago, Suriname, and Guyana. The circumstances that surrounded this for many of the migrants were poverty, famine, and hopelessness. In the case of those sailing to Trinidad, it was under the lure of chenee dadthe land where sugar flows. Bombay Kay Dulahin is a story beyond the grasp of the historians. It is one womans journey of overcoming the unthinkable through a vision and a dream. She was the daughter of East Indian immigrants in the emerging cosmopolitan society of Trinidad and Tobago. Cast off into an arranged marriage at the age of sixteen and possessing no more than a first-grade education, her strength, courage, and passion drive her to keep her vision and dream of breaking social and gender norms. The book discusses traditional East Indian arranged marriages, the age-old Hindu caste-system structure and traditions. It is a story that shows there are no boundaries and borders when it comes to the resiliency of human endurance, passion, and a mothers unconditional love, ensuring that her loved ones and family are influenced positively for generations to come. A story about love, faith, and hope.