Later they heard, their home and assets were all burnt down

Later they heard, their home and assets were all burnt down
Hand painted in New York (in 2000), my maternal grandparents, Lahore, (Now Pakistan). 1923

My maternal grandparents, Lahore, (Now Pakistan). 1923 . Hand painted in New York, 2000 Image and Narrative contributed by Dinesh Khanna, Gurgaon My grandparents, Balwant Goindi, a Sikh and Ram Pyari, a Hindu were married in 1923. She was re-named Mohinder Kaur after her marriage . They went on to have eight daughters and two sons, one of the daughters happens to be my mother. Balwant Goindi owned a whiskey Shop in Lahore. He was a wealthy man and owned a Rolls Royce. During Indo-Pak Partition, he and his family migrated to Simla, without any of his precious belongings; assuming he would return after the situation had calmed down, however, that never happened. After moving around, and attempting to restart his business with other Indian trader friends, they finally settled down in Karol Bagh. The area was primarily residential with a large Muslim population until the exodus of many to Pakistan and an influx of refugees from West Punjab after partition in 1947, many of whom were traders. It must have been a very sad day when he heard that his home and his shops in Lahore were burnt down.

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India’s first Kodak couple

India’s first Kodak couple
My great-great grandparents, Sarala and Dr. PK Roy. Calcutta, West Bengal. Circa 1880

My great-great grandparents, Sarala and Dr. PK Roy. Calcutta, West Bengal. Circa 1880 Image and Narrative contributed by Chetan Roy, UK This photo was used by Kodak India for an Ad campaign in the early 1980s. Sarala Roy was an educationist and is remembered as the founder of the Gokhale Memorial School at Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal. She belonged to the famous Das family of Telirbagh, Dhaka, now in Bangladesh. She was also a member of Calcutta University’s senate and also one of the leaders of the All-India Women’s Conference. The conference was founded in 1927 under the leadership of Margaret Cousins but was soon completely run by Indian women. It was the most important women’s organisation of its time. She devoted her life to the cause of women’s education and also established a Girl’s school & a Women's organization in Dhaka, while living there with her husband. Rabindranath Tagore composed the dance-drama Mayar Khela at her request.   Prasanna Kumar Roy (1849-1932) was a well-known educationist and the first Indian to be principal of Presidency College, Calcutta. He was attracted towards the Brahmo Samaj early in life he was turned out of his home. However, he won the Gilchrist Scholarship to go to England. He graduated from the University of London in 1873. He was awarded the D.Sc. degree in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh and the University of London in 1876. He and Ananda Mohan Bose got together to establish a Brahmo Samaji Indian Association and a library in the UK. He was posted to England for two years as Education Assistant to the Secretary for India.

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They went to receive the groom, but returned empty handed

They went to receive the groom, but returned empty handed
Mr & Mrs H.E Chowfin on their wedding day. Lahore, (Now Pakistan). December 28, 1938.

Mr & Mrs H.E Chowfin on their wedding day. Lahore, (Now Pakistan). December 28, 1938. Image and Narrative contributed by Madhypriya Sinha Mr Chowfin was part Chinese and part Indian. When the strapping Pathans from the bride's family went to the station to receive the groom, they returned empty handed claiming that the groom's family never arrived, there were however, many Chinese people hanging about at the station.

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