African Quilt: Stories of the Asian Indian Experience in Kenya

Angebote / Angebote:

AFRICAN QUILT This is a collection of ten stories exploring the wide canvas of the Asian Indian experience in Kenya through the 20th century. There is a panoply of humor, injustice, pathos, wonderment, exploitation and self discovery in the stories. The characters, whose lives are subtly, but often dramatically, affected by their surroundings and the political climate in a changing country, are ordinary in their origins, but rise to personal triumph and leave a mark on society. In an era when the Asian Indian community lived largely segregated from their Kenyan counterparts, their lifestyle and culture are portrayed against an African background. The stories transcend linguistic and cultural differences despite being ensconced in the confines of close-knit families and an insular community. The early stages of the colonization of Kenya and the eventual sunset over the British Empire are sensitively portrayed. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Parvin D. Syal and Harshi Syal Gill are brother and sister, born in Nairobi, Kenya, of parents who migrated from India in the early part of the 20th century. Parvin D. Syal is a medical doctor who is noted for his community activism both in Kenya and California, where he has been practicing medicine for over thirty years. He and his wife Kiran have two daughters, Mala and Devika. Harshi Syal Gill taught English in Kenya and later in England. She pursued careers in systems analysis and medical administration over the last thirty years. She now resides in California. They have both been acclaimed for their poetry, articles, literary reviews and a play "God Minus - The Life of Buddha." Their anthologies of poetry, "Streams of Consciousness" (Parvin D. Syal) and "Reflections" (Harshi Syal Gill) are scheduled for publication soon.