Going Back To Where You Came From. The Ghosts Of India.

[Cormac135]

As some of you may know i'm on my summer hols in Agra India, i was at the Taj earlier today, magnificent, i even shed a tear, my father was from India so visiting the city was very much like coming home, even though the heat is criminal, the people so far are lovely although i have an eerie feeling i might be being followed, who knows.

Anyhoo onto the purpose of this thread, have any of you ever went back to where your parents or grandparents came from, did you feel an affinity with the place ?

 

[Alistair]

I'd like to but I don't think anyone know's exactly where we are from.

BTW are you following tradition and going deodorant free?

 

[Cormac135]

I'd like to but I don't think anyone know's exactly where we are from.

BTW are you following tradition and going deodorant free?

Sadly no, i'm going heavy on the Lynx Africa spray, there is an overwhelming stench of curry everywhere but so far no shit, well apart from the droppings of a couple of Elephants i saw parading down the street.

 

[dpnice]

And sex? Have you had any yet?

 

[Cormac135]

And sex? Have you had any yet?

Well i've pretty much been keeping with the tour so far, now that i know my way around i shall venture out tomorrow afternoon after my visit to The Red Fort, there are a few spectacular gardens nearby that people use for cruising, i shall take my fill.

 

[rareboy]

Sounds like a great excursion...I have spent some time in Holland where my grandparents were born and lived and have returned to the areas in North England where my father's family came from...I lived in the area where my paternal grandparents and great grand parents were born and lived.

I certainly felt some affinity for Holland.

 

[gsdx]

I was born in and grew up in it. I went 'home' for my mother's funeral. She and my dad never lived anywhere else.

 

[Cormac135]

I was born in and grew up in it. I went 'home' for my mother's funeral. She and my dad never lived anywhere else.

Well i'm lost.

 

[sixthson]

Yes, Norway. Bergen was a favorite. I even met some cousins I had only just heard about.

 

[zoltanspawn]

No idea where my paternal grandparents are from. Don't even know their names. I know grandpa beat the shit out of my dad, though I only know this because it's been reported to me that my father has scars from the beatings across his back. I've never seen them, myself.

Maternal grandparents are from Wisconsin. Been there, no interest in going back. Great-grandparents come from Denmark, and I love crayfish and Ingmar Bergman (so he's Swedish, close enough) and akavit. Would visit.

Wouldn't it be nice to see some photos from your holiday, Cormac? I love purani Dilli. I can't imagine a visit to the Red Fort without wandering through those lanes and eating my fill. Of course, I've never smelled anything like "a stench of curry" so I may be noticing different things. Will you be cruising around shakti sthal and raj ghat? Do you know where in India your pitaji was from?

 

[peeonme]

I have been past the home where my dad was born back in 1903, it's still in the family. A nearby cemetery is where my great grand father was buried, he was born in the 1850's.

 

[gsdx]

Well i'm lost.

My parents were born and raised in the same township. They met there, married there, raised a family of 7 there, and lived there for their entire lives. After mom's sister and 2 youngest brothers got married and moved away, my grandparents and their eldest son moved to the next township to the west to set up a dairy farm. My paternal grandparents and all their siblings and families also grew up in the same place I grew up in.

Seven generations ago, my Loyalist ancestor, along with his family, was booted out of the United States following the Revolutionary War. They settled in the same township and founded the town I grew up in. In his 'colony' days, he lived in Pennsylvania with his parents and family. They had emigrated from across The Pond, but it's uncertain whether they emigrated from Ireland or Scotland.

So, are you found now?

 

[frankfrank]

I've always felt a strong affinity for Canada.

It turns out that during part of the 1800s, ancestors on my mother's side lived (and a generation was born) in present-day Cambridge, Ontario [Galt].

 

[Cormac135]

No idea where my paternal grandparents are from. Don't even know their names. I know grandpa beat the shit out of my dad, though I only know this because it's been reported to me that my father has scars from the beatings across his back. I've never seen them, myself.

Maternal grandparents are from Wisconsin. Been there, no interest in going back. Great-grandparents come from Denmark, and I love crayfish and Ingmar Bergman (so he's Swedish, close enough) and akavit. Would visit.

Wouldn't it be nice to see some photos from your holiday, Cormac? I love purani Dilli. I can't imagine a visit to the Red Fort without wandering through those lanes and eating my fill. Of course, I've never smelled anything like "a stench of curry" so I may be noticing different things. Will you be cruising around shakti sthal and raj ghat? Do you know where in India your pitaji was from?

I had some lovely street food today, mainly filled chapati's and some other filled flat breads i didn't catch the name of.

I visited some lovely gardens, more architecture than greenery really.

Lovely place and full of homosexuals, either overtly feminine or almost aggressively butch, a quick chug in the local bogs finished off a lovely afternoon.

My dad was born in Bombay with both his parents originating in Hyderabad, involved in the diamond industry it seems.

My parents were born and raised in the same township. They met there, married there, raised a family of 7 there, and lived there for their entire lives. After mom's sister and 2 youngest brothers got married and moved away, my grandparents and their eldest son moved to the next township to the west to set up a dairy farm. My paternal grandparents and all their siblings and families also grew up in the same place I grew up in.

Seven generations ago, my Loyalist ancestor, along with his family, was booted out of the United States following the Revolutionary War. They settled in the same township and founded the town I grew up in. In his 'colony' days, he lived in Pennsylvania with his parents and family. They had emigrated from across The Pond, but it's uncertain whether they emigrated from Ireland or Scotland.

So, are you found now?

I may need a map.

I've always felt a strong affinity for Canada.

It turns out that during part of the 1800s, ancestors on my mother's side lived (and a generation was born) in present-day Cambridge, Ontario [Galt].

 

[unloadonme]

This is more like it.

 

[Rickrock]

I did go to Poland once, but don't know exactly where in Poland my father's family came from. I have not been where my mother's family originated. I have seen the neighborhoods that my grandparents and great grandparents lived in here in the U.S.

 

[rareboy]

Where are these gardens located? I see some lounge chairs?

 

[Cormac135]

Where are these gardens located? I see some lounge chairs?

They're part of The Mughal Gardens, to be honest the guides English is not very good so it's pretty much just look at the pretty sights and use Google.

Another lovely day in Agra, spent the day buying tat in the various street markets, off to a sauna after my tea at the hotel, they do a lovely fish and chips, then a lovely selection of sweets.

 

[zoltanspawn]

They're part of The Mughal Gardens...

The image is not of any historical mughal gardens.

 

[gsdx]

^ Indeed. It looks like someone's backyard.