Gowri

This is a story about a woman’s exceptional courage, a mother’s unconditional love, and a matriarch’s uncompromising will to see her family survive against insurmountable odds. Widowed at a young age with seven children to rear, her biography narrates her life from a hapless childhood in her native Kerala, India, to the span of history of her domiciled country, Malaya, from World War II through independence and beyond. The book is a poignant read of events that she had to cope with in her life, bringing to the fore the special attributes that she possessed and displayed—in particular her strong positivity, her magnanimity of love, and her unflinching faith in the divine. Her kind and forgiving nature stamped her out as an exceptional individual. Also woven into her biography are the rich cultural traditions that she instilled in her progeny; her travel experiences, especially in her later life, which she enjoyed sharing with her grandchildren; and interesting facets of Malay and Chinese cultures that touched her life, which she loved to share with her relatives in India and abroad.

GOWRI comes in two versions- color and black and white book.

This book is a biographical tale based on the life of the author’s beloved mother, Gowri – her trials and tribulations, her joys and sorrows, the events that she shared with her children and those vividly recalled by her family. It is a story that reflects the grit of an immigrant Indian woman, widowed at a young age, who brought up seven children all born in a new land, the Malay Peninsula, where her progeny now extend to three generations. Save for some individuals to whom pseudonyms have been applied, the names have been left intact.

Woven into her biography are her personal experiences of historical events in her domiciled country, interesting details of Malay and Chinese cultures that touched her life, along with accounts of her travels, and her intense familiarity with Kerala Hindu customs which she instilled in her children and grandchildren. The book also brims with humorous anecdotes and accounts of family squabbles and reconciliations, prejudices and enlightenment, and the tussle between the traditional and the modern values that she had to cope with, all of which makes for a memorable read.

GOWRI comes in two versions- color and black and white book.