A business family of the North East

In Sikkim, my great grandfather was somehow introduced to the Chogyals (Namgyal), the monarchs of Sikkim and he earned favour to join and serve them. The king at that time apparently took a great liking to my great grandfather and bestowed upon him several land estates and properties in Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and other regions

The pocket money photograph

My father Subhash Goyal was born in 1968. He grew up in Bathinda, Punjab with four of his siblings (two elder sisters and two younger brothers) and a large extended family of 19 cousins, innumerable aunts & uncles, all of whom lived on the same street. This photograph of him as a young teenager is special to me and when I asked him about it, he tells me that it was taken when he had gone for a trip with his parents to the much revered Vaishno Devi Temple after his Board exams. He spent half of his pocket money  (5-Paisa) to secretly get this photo done in a studio in front of an old camera in Kashmiri attire. The idea of a solo photograph was fascinating to him.