Welcome One. Welcome All.

Yes Ranjit is finally here. After two years of changes and re-writes, ‘I am Called Ranjit,’ has finally hit the Amazon.com site, thanks to my friend and creator Bruce Wallace.

I had quite a lot of fun writing this book. Many memories flowed through my mind as I sat down to write some of the chapters.  Although  fictional,  I used the name of one of these street children for the title of this novel. I remember his handsome little face so clearly and also his beautiful smile that would flash across his face whenever he saw me.  

One incident which my former colleagues constantly ask is, “On which page will I find the story about the rat?”

Yes there was indeed a rat who decided to pay me a visit in my hotel room around midnight, just before I was due to fly out to Singapore.  Yes it did crawl into my bed and across my back. That was on the 27th floor of the hotel.

However I managed to survive, but was surprised when I got on board to find out how many of the passengers knew about the incident although it had happened only a few hours earlier. When I returned to Bombay from Singapore, trying to forget about my ordeal, I was greeted by the one of the young men at the reception with the words, “Madam that was a big one you had in your room the other night.”

Sorry, but I didn’t mention too much about my four footed roommate in the novel.

I still love India and have a soft spot in my heart for that country. I am hoping that sometime within the next two years, I will be able to visit her again. 

And I will quote Mr. Berkley, one of the characters in the novel.

“Ah Bombay! She takes your breath away. She’s a lady riddled with challenges and she will chew you up, spit you out, and the crows waiting in the treetops will devour what’s left of your flesh and bones. The rich shun the poor, leaving them condemned to a life of eternal hell here in the gutters and on the pavements of the city. It reminds me so much of the mother country during the Dickens’ years, but worse! Much, much worse! But Bombay is still my lady and I will always love her.”

So please read and enjoy my latest work ‘I am Called Ranjit.”

Worldwide Amazon Websites

https://www.createspace.com/3993952

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1479302155

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1479302155

http://www.amazon.de/dp/1479302155

http://www.amazon.es/dp/1479302155

http://www.amazon.fr/dp/1479302155

http://www.amazon.it/dp/1479302155

This month I’m giving away one copy of my last book, ‘Just One Handful of Snow.’  Please tell me the Barbadian meanings of Questions 1 – 8, and send me the meanings of the last two questions which both have something in common with this week August 8th to 14th.
So put your thinking caps on and send me the answers. The correct answers will be raffled in order to choose a winner.

So here goes:-
The last two questions I threw in because they both have something in common with this week; August 8th to 14th.  You will understand what I mean when you do your research for those two questions.

Remember 1-8 are words with a Barbadian connotation!
So here goes:-
1.     What does one do if one Skins Cuffins?
2.     What is a Moffrey?
3.     What is a Chossel?
4.     What is a Monkey?
5.     What is a Poppit?
6.     What is a Sawarria?
7.     What is a Pass-over?
8.     What is the meaning of Gutta perk?
9.     What is Triskaidekaphobia?
10.  What is Paraskevidekatriaphobia?

Good Luck!!

People ask me constantly why I decided to write my first novel, ‘Born in the Briar Patch.’ The first reason is that I was born in Barbados and secondly, I was always told that I should write what I know about, and I certainly know a lot about Barbados.  I am not the first author to write The Barbadian story, but ‘Born in the Briar Patch’ is an all encompassing story of what life was really like on the island for the poor, after the abolition of slavery and post colonial rule especially on the many plantations which dotted the island. Caryl Philips and Andrea Levy have done a good job with their books on these subjects.

There are words in the Barbadian vocabulary that are slowly slipping away. My first thought was to write a book compiling a list of the words we had used when I was young girl, but someone had already beaten me to it. When I asked a young Barbadian girl in Barbados if she knew what a wagon was, she said she knew and she did.  A wagon is a compartment on a train. She was correct, but what I really wanted to know was the definition of ‘wagon’ as the older generation of Barbadians knew it. A wagon back then was a piece of furniture in the living room or front house, where one displayed the best of one’s eating and drinking utensils. It usually consisted of three shelves. The top shelf was reserved for the Royal Doulton figurines and the oil lamps, the second shelf for the glasses and the third shelf for the crockery, like the good plates and the soup tureen which were only used when guests came to the home.

Although the word wagon was never used in that context in ‘Born in the Briar Patch,’ every Barbadian knows that Nellie must have had a wagon in her living room.

I am still very happy that I wrote Born in the Briar Patch because I have seen the recognition on the many faces in the audience, when I read excerpts from the book. Write to me. Let me know what your favourite passages are from ‘Born in the Briar Patch’ or send me your best old Barbadian story.