Reflections from the Village Bard
/
The process
Here you will read my biography, published in 6 languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Japanese (in Romani) and, finally, in Russian. It is a complete biography of 17 chapters that vividly describes my life experiences, from my childhood to my education and work experience, starting in Vietnam during the war and ending in the Philippines, when I retired from Sudan in 1994.
It has been a long road, full of challenges and achievements. They will read about the dangers I faced in Vietnam, where the war broke out, and in Haiti, where I had to live through the violent revolution. Other countries where I lived and worked, such as Burundi and the Philippines, also suffered very violent revolutions that had a great impact on me and my family.
My biography will take you through my experiences in all the countries where I lived, worked and studied, such as the United States and, later, the Philippines.
I faced many challenges in India and other countries, but somehow I managed to overcome them and get my wife and children out of there so that we could all live a better, safe and peaceful life in the Philippines, where I retired and raised my family. Our two children were educated here and then moved to other countries such as the United States and Australia.
Finally, I must acknowledge the extraordinary effort made by our daughter Kim to make the biography suitable for publication on Amazon. He has spent countless days and nights formatting every chapter to make it acceptable for Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).
I am very grateful to you for your contribution to the publication of my biography as an e-book. We really appreciate her and her helpful nature.
Amazon will create e-books for you, no matter where you live in the world.
The reason for my biography
It’s very tempting to write something to share with everyone online, because it seems like the whole world is connected these days. Even so, I feel that it is an overwhelming task given the enormous responsibility that comes with writing and opening my soul to unknown people who I will never meet, but who might read what I write and form their own opinions.
But I also feel that I must do it, even if it’s just to say that I do it for our children, who have the right to know their parents better. I wish my father had done the same, because I know practically nothing about him, except that he was a very intelligent and peaceful person. I also don’t know anything about my mother, except that she was a loving mother who sacrificed a lot to raise us all. I think we all owe it to our children to understand us better and perhaps learn from our mistakes and successes.
So one day I started writing. This is not just a biography, but a look at the complex relationships that develop over time between the people in our lives and the consequences of those relationships. It is true that I have gone through difficult times and I have met very bad people who have disappointed me enormously, but I have also met wonderful people in different countries who are still my friends after all these years.
So the path of life has been very exciting for me, because I was lucky to live it the way I did and I learned many lessons. I have written extensively about these experiences, some good and some bad, but equally interesting. I have mentioned the good people in detail and the bad ones only in passing, because it is better to remember the good ones who cheer you up than the ones who disappoint you. My opinions are mine, but I understand that others may have different opinions. If my opinions offend those who disagree, I must say that my story was not intended to be so and should be read with an open mind, free of prejudice.
I thank all those who have helped me during my long journey through life, but above all I thank my parents, who raised me, gave me an adequate education and taught me values that last and have been very useful to me.
Finally, I will say that without Jasmine by my side, this trip would have been less colorful and exciting. She is extraordinary and I am very grateful to her. Our dear children are our blessing and joy, and have made this biography worth writing.
I wish you all the best.
your friend
Anil
I see a widespread decline in moral values everywhere that used to be the guiding principle to live a decent life and be useful to others without any recompense. But the world is in the grip of the tsunami of a decadent culture and values that is dragging us down and away from…
The young generation is adapting to new technologies faster than the older people who did not have such technologies in their younger days so are at a loss to know how to adapt. This is where the clash of generations comes because people value different things and grow up differently aided by technology now.…
The conundrum of the diaspora all over the world is well known. They can not forget their mother country from where they immigrated to the new one and can not completely assimilate into their adopted country so they stick to their own culture, language, food and mannerism no matter where they live making them…
Mighty Zulu called Shaka When we think of Africa, we think of war and famine, poverty and inter-tribal rivalry that lead to many conflicts and deaths. This has not changed since the time of Shaka so many countries like Somalia, Burundi, Rwanda, Congo and many others suffer but most of their sufferings are man-made and…
Who does not know the joys of festivals? This is the time when we all let down our guards and purely enjoy the colors, the sounds and the rituals that the festivals offer in every country. Life would be boring without the festivals. When I was in Algeria working in Mostaganem, I was…
The statue of Chandra Shekhar Ajad in a park in his name in Prayagraj My hometown of Allahabad (now Prayagraj) is well known for its leaders in the freedom struggle for Indias independence. Many great leaders were born there and spent their lifetime either working with the likes of Gandhi and Patel but there were…
Florence Nightingale Nursing is a noble profession that is often under-appreciated. The high standard Florence Nightingale set for all nurses still guides them and motivates them. We should all learn to appreciate them and give them our whole hearted thanks because they bring us back to health through their care and empathy…
The global effect of mass tourism cannot be overlooked in its negative impact on the local culture and traditions.This studies its impact in the social structure, degradation of moral values and the economy of the countries affected and the backlash mass tourism suffers in some parts of the world. These days you can see the…
The art of writing using calligraphy has been practiced since a very long time when people learned to write beautifully using only quills and brushes. The art of writing has been diminished over a period of time as people now do not learn the art and have poor penmanship. This studies the art of writing…
Of all types of occupations, I think farming is the most difficult and laborious one. Most people in this world who live in towns and cities and are not farmers have no idea what it takes to grow food that they buy at the supermarket. They have never been to a farming community to…
Credit cards are now as common as flies everywhere. People cant seem to live without it. The society demands it, the business people demand it, the capitalistic system demands it so one must have a credit card. It brings instant gratification that the society demands. But the credit card companies are not responsible…
It is common knowledge that peer pressure often makes people drink for the first time so it becomes easier from then on. While not everyone doing so becomes an alcoholic, alcohol can have a devastating effect on those who have poor will power and give in easily. I have too often seen a…
Adulteration is very common today and the most commonly adulterated food product is milk. Adulteration lowers the quality of food and sometimes, toxic chemicals are also added which can be hazardous to health. The products are marketed in a tricky manner, which is usually cheating the customers. A friend of mine gave me a…
Old age comes with its own set of challenges that vary from one social group to another, from one country to the next. The challenges are related to the values that are practiced by the people who have to take care of their old parents, so either they keep them at home or admit them…
We all experience in our lives the wrongs that have been done to us at some time that is like a festering wound that seldom heals. Buddha taught us that it is the bliss of forgiveness that extricates us from the hurt feelings and gives us peace. I admired the late…
We are often surprised by certain coincidences in our life and we wonder if there is a coincidence or if it is planned by a higher authority, so that we are only pawns in the game of life. Its something to consider. Some people say that there is no such thing as coincidence…
If you live like a frog in a well, you will have a very limited view of the world. Most poor people who live in small towns in isolation from the rest develop what is called the frog in the well syndrome that limits their ability to understand the greater world and how to…
Time means different things to different people. Some value it while others do not. This focuses on what is important in life that people should prioritize and spend more time on.Do you often think how time passes for you either too quickly or slowly? Do you often feel that you want to do…
There have always been tricksters and fraudulent people who took advantage of the gullible and greedy people but now they have become more sophisticated because they now use computers in call centers to scam people around the world. It has become a multibillion-dollar industry that shows no sign of abating. This looks at…
Religious intolerance has taken millions of lives and continues to do so even today because of the blind belief that their religion is the only true religion therefore the rest are not. This conflict cannot be resolved anytime soon unless people learn to be tolerant of others who are not like them and accept…