The Blessings of FamilySearch.org
I was born to an Indian mother and an American father. I remember my mother dancing classical Indian dance and wearing saris. She was very loving, made curries and was proud of being Indian. I tragically lost my mother when I was about 6. My father was unsuccessful in contacting any of her family in India. In fact, we knew very little about her. I always longed for a connection to my Indian family. I embraced being Indian. Understanding Indian history and culture was a strong desire. I would run up to Indians I saw (which was not so frequent an occurrence 40 years ago in the USA) and I would say "Hi are you Indian? I am too! My mom is from India.' Most of the time they looked at me curiously, surely thinking I was quite"dulali" and would walk away.
While attending University I began researching my genealogy. It was not easy. I would pour over microfiche records and found very little information. I went to India and unsuccessfully tried to find my family. I continued making efforts over the years. Eventually, my sister began to join groups online searching their roots and found a distant cousin in England who told us of possible family members. My wife put a note on FamilySearch.org that
(This photo of my great great grandfather who worked with the railroad was just one gem I found as I connected to family. My grandfather is in the dark suit with the garland.)
Within two months we had a message back from a woman in Australia who indicated that my mother did have a brother. that she had met my mother and that her dad was that brother and that he was still alive and living in England! I hopped on a plane within a few months and was in England to meet my uncle and embrace the closest person I had ever met to my mom on this earth. Cousins hearing I was in town came and much joy resulted as I embraced family. I discovered that I was only part Indian. All the British family loves curries and tan well but are actually only part Indian or known as Anglo-Indians. I had thought I was alone in the world. Meeting my uncle Dougie was just the beginning of reaching back through the years to discover family.
After all these years and through wonders of technology I am now connected to my Indian past. There are still many unanswered questions and family still to find. I am excited for the GSID community to be a resource to help others as many helped me on my quest.
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