Stories

From Budgerows to Battlefields: A history of the De family

Dr. Ramesh Chandra De, my maternal great-grandfather, was an army doctor in the First World War. What I gather from family members is that he was first posted in the Khirgi-Waziristan division for traineeship, and then sent to France for the rest of the War in the capacity of a surgeon. Sudhir Chandra De, my maternal grandfather, chose to follow in his father footsteps and at the age of 21 in the year 1940, found himself appointed as the official physician at the notorious Andaman Cellular Jail.

The Kadhai: A crucible for food and family

This Kadhai dates back to sometime around 1951, when it was gifted to my grandmother at her wedding. There weren’t many gifts to begin with, but this kadhai – bought from Lucknow’s old Chowk market by my great-grandmother’s youngest sister – stood out from among the sarees and shirt fabric pieces.

Amma’s graduation day saree

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This Saree was bought by my mother in 1969, for her graduation day from Kasturba Medical College. This called for a grand saree when marking her exit from college and her entry into the real world. Her father agreed and gave her the money for buying herself the saree she wanted, which as it turns out was Rs.70 ( as remembered by my mother) from one of the premier saree shops in Mangalore in 1969.

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