Gowri

About the Book

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.

About the Author

The author, V. G. Kumar Das, PhD (Q’ld), FASc, FTWAS, DSDK, is a well-known figure in academic circles in his country, with scientific and civil honours to his name. An emeritus professor and founding vice-chancellor of two universities following his retirement from the University of Malaya as dean of the faculty of science, he has authored numerous technical publications and three scientific books on chemistry. His latest book, “Tin in Applications: Meeting the ‘Green’ Challenge,” won the coveted Malaysian Scholarly Publishing Council Ministry of Education Award 2014 for the best book in the science, technology, and medicine category. This, however, represents his first effort at novel writing. In the years following the loss of his father at the tender age of seventeen, the author dutifully assumed parental responsibility for his six younger siblings and the role of confidant to his widowed mother. Consequently, he could not be better placed to recount and document the trials, tribulations, and joys of life as experienced by this admirable woman whose indomitable courage, unfettered love, and unerring faith in the divine carry a universal message that needs to be told.