The Hanuman House, the ancestral house of the Tulsi family in Arwacas, which is almost like a human character in VS Naipaul's novel 'A House for Mr. Biswas', is in reality the family house called 'The Lion House' of the Capildeo family and is situated on the Main Street of the Indian-dominated town called Chaguanas, which lies a little to the south of the capital city of Port of Spain. Naipaul's mother was one of the 10 daughters of Pandit Capildeo. He had come to Trinidad in the 1890's from Gorakhpur in Eastern UP as indentured labour and became the community leader of the Bihari Hindu community of indentured laborers.
The house, no more lived in, has been restored by the Capildeo descendents. The website http://www.thelionhouse.com/ is about the house and gives glimpses of the lives of indentured labour in Trinidad. Listers interested in them will find a visit to the site of interest.
No comments:
Post a Comment