New to the Site

Hi All. Have been reading this site for about a month as I will be going to India to work pretty soon. Finally got the courage to post. Wow. What a great site. Anything and everything one needs to know can be found here. I am really excited about going. My wife will not be accompanying me (sob sob), as she has no interest. I must go. I think India is calling me. I will miss my wife terribly, but I must go. It is India or my wife, and I chose India. Is that a wise choice?

Yes, it is, as for you India will open the doors to a fantastic experience which will remain etched in your memory for ever.

However, your wife would do well to accompany you.

Thanks for your advice. I forgot to mention that my great great ancestors came from India to work the sugar cane fields in Trinidad, W.I. Lately I have this burning desire to learn more about their homeland, my ancestory, and maybe even visit their village if i can find out where. I am so excited that I got this opportunity to work in India for two years while I explore occasionally. There are a lot of Trinidadians of indian origin who would one day love to find their roots.

Welcome to indiamike peter.

It is such a pity your wife will not consider India, as it means so much to you, I was in a similar situation, for 15 years I wanted to go to India, my (now ex) wife was not interested in India and couldn't understand why I was, I guess she thought it was a phase I was going through.

It was hard when I first went though, I couldn't help thinking "oh, she would have loved to see this", "this would have made her laugh/cry".

Hopefully your wife will change her mind.

After reading your other question, I done a quick search, there was too much to type so I have just added a link below.

Bangalore jazz search results.

Are you going to be working in Bangalore?

What is the name of the village your great great ancestors came from?

peter...Welcome home...

Thanks all for your positive replies. I already feel like part of the Indiamike "family". Steven, I really appreciate your comments. I am afraid that (just like you), half of me will be unhappy while in India cause my wife will not be there to enjoy it with me. Happiness for me is sharing my happiness with someone else - especially the one you love. Hope she changes her mind. Thanks for the Jazz site. I'll check it out later. Yes, I will be teaching at an International School in Bangalore starting in September on a two year contract.
I will fulfill my life-long dream over these two years. I do not know the village my ancestors came from. I'll have to do some major research. Not sure how to even begin researching. Any ideas? All I know is that the ship that took my ancestors away from India left the port of Calcutta. So I assume that they came from around that region of India.

) Calcutta means you must be then Bengali babu eehehhehhe
Advance Welcome to INDIA..
Hey Bangalore is really cosmopoliton city,weather will be always pleasent..Hmmmmm you have to bring your wife for vocation,may be then she may be fell in love with India. ))

Enjoy your India dream.
radz

peter - you'll miss your wife, but it's important to live your dream.

as you say you'll need to do some major research if you want to find the village your ancestors came from. but you've made a good start by joining the "indiamike family", as there are so many knowledgeable people reading this site, i am sure there will be many suggestions to help you on your way.

good luck, and don't forget to post your progress.

Hey Peter,welcome to indiamike. You sure are going to have a wonderful experience being in India.Bangalore is a good city.Lovely weather,nice people... Hope you get to fulfill your life long dream the two years you are going to be here.Get your wife to come for a vacation once you settle down in Bangalore.Who knows...she may change her mind about India

Hey:
Thanks to all for making me feel so at home on this wonderful site. Indiamike deserves a nobel peace prize nomination for this masterpiece. This site is sure filling a huge void in my (and others I believe) life. Even if I don't go to India, just by exploring this site, I feel like I have been there already.I am now in the planning stage for my trip. Have to be in Bangalore the last week of August. As I will be based there, I hope to spend every weekend in a different town/village within a 500 km radius of Bangalore. I will leave trips to North India for the Xmas or Summer vacations. I really want to experience the villages of India. A few years back I saw a movie called Virasaat and it has stimulated my desire to experience India through the villages (as well as seeing the regular commercial tourist sites). Is that a sensible thing to do, or am I asking for trouble? (sickness/ mugging etc).

Trouble? Not at all. On the contrary, you will discover magic in the villages.

I don't think Bengalis were taken to the W.Indies, very likely you will find your roots in Orissa, UP or Bihar. I've met quite a few Trinidadians of Indian origin who had no clue where their ancestors came from. I also remember an interview with the cricketer Sarwan who admitted to the same. Your surname could be of great help here. In Dec.1989 I was witness to a reunion of families divided due to the emigration, at Bangalore airport. It involved first time meeting of 80+ yr olds with their 60+ yr old siblings. I gathered that was the second such reunion of many more to come but I do not know if they are organised anymore. I can't be sure but I think it was Thomas Cook that arranged it, for some reason I recall Pierce Leslie as well so it's got to be one of them or both jointly responsible for those reunions. I don't know how true it is but I was told many of them were taken forcibly out of India thus the first time interactions between siblings and it also quite explains the age difference between them, ie. while the able bodied 16 yr old and/or his 35 yr old father were "tricked" into the ships the mother was left behind with the infants unless she volunteered to go too leaving the younger children with relatives.

Thanks Pooch. Your explanation is greatly appreciated. From what I can gather over here in Trinidad, the firstname of our ancestors were the only recorded names on official ship documents. As a result, I am carrying my ancestor's firstname for my lastname. I have done some enquiries with the much older generation of my family over here, and I understand that my great grand father's surname was Gujuru. Would that give an indication as to the province or perhaps the village that he came from? I know that I am probably going out on a limb here, but this is the only lead that I have so far. I am dying to see my Indian family. So much to do, and so little time.

peter,

If the movie "Virasat" has inspired you to visit IOndian villages, then do watch the movie "Machchis". It will make you want to live in the Punjab and Himachal Pradesh for ever !

I agree with Pooch, Bengalis weren't taken overseas. Many though came from UP. So many that UP state has an internet site and a tourist bureau for those descendants from UP who were taken to Fiji etc etc (perhaps Trinidad too?) to trace their ancestry. Don't know the site url though but I'm sure you can find it. Did your ancestors speak Hindi? That would be a clue. In UP and Bihari they speak Hindi.