Gowri - Das V. G. Kumar

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. She was widowed at a young age with seven children to rear, and her biography narrates her life from a hapless childhood in her native Kerala (India) through 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.