Leave Only Footprints: Indian Migrants in Kenya

The writer pulls you into his life as you follow him on this journey that is his life. Right from the start, you feel the emotions, and experience the circumstances that he finds himself in through his writing. This book can't be put down. You'll continue to read because you're drawn to finding out what happens next. His life (to as much as I have read to date) reminds me of my own life. Although different eras, situations, and circumstances have been familiar. I am so glad I picked this up. Putting it down when I've read it through will be equally difficult. Beautiful story; beautiful life.

Our world today inhabits some seven or eight billion people.In this ocean of humanity there are two very special communities which are minuscule in terms of population; barely about a quarter of a percent each in size. Yet their contribution to the society and industry in terms of creativity, prosperity and progress is way beyond what their small size would suggest.One community has spread out over the globe for five thousand plus years. The other has a relatively brief history of five or six centuries, and resides mainly in India. One community owes emotional allegiance to a part of the geography which most of its generations had never seen but had only heard of across millennia. The other community remains devoted to and in love with the soil of India.This book is the history of the Sumal family belonging to India's illustrious Sikh community.Written by the Father and Son duo of Kartar Singh and Jaihind Singh Sumal, it spans the family history across several centuries, while focusing on two recent generations, and their migration across the geographies of India, Kenya (and eventually of UK and the USA).Although family specific, in effect the book is about the soul of the Sikh community - its pioneering spirit, its pragmatism, its dedication to innovation and hard work, and its never-say-die attitude in the face of overwhelming odds.Those of us who had ever paused to wonder about what exactly made Sikhs the number one community of India, need not look further than this book to find their answers.

The family memoirs in this page-turner book revolve around Kartar, the protagonist of the story. As is typical of most immigrants, his dissatisfaction with life in his home country, youthful restlessness in search of direction, and a general sense of adventure land him in Kenya, a country under colonial rule at that time. The book is full of heart-warming and heart-wrenching stories of family bonding, dealing with adversity and learning to live as a sandwich race between the natives and the colonial rulers. The introductory chapters hark back to more tolerant and congenial times in India when social righteousness took precedence over religious dogma.An interesting juxtaposition of names - author’s mother Angrez Kaur, literally a “white Brit” and the author’s own name Jaihind, literally “victory over the colonial rule” - speak volumes about the duality of human mindset.The author has never lived in India but espouses all the positive values of his ancestral roots. As the saying goes: you may never be able to go home again but the part that you relate to as home never leaves you.This well-written book will appeal to the Indian diaspora all over the world, and most readers will find plenty to relate to through their own life journeys.

Great historical & personal story of India & Kenya’s independence told from the perspective of one family.A true gem! The author has written a beautiful book, a great tribute to his father, finishing his father's memoir & adding his own. I loved reading the history of his ancestors. Poignant life story and I could relate to life in East Africa.

The book is extremely well written and keeps the reader fascinated.Most of the societies are divided into whites and colored. Kenya was unique to have a three tiered society - Europeans (White), Indians (Brown) and Africans (Black),This book is based on a true story of an Indian family caught in the middle

This book took me on a journey with the Sumal family. Beautifully chronicled and written, is is wonderfully balanced between history and storytelling. What a privilege to have a peek inside the life and times of this amazing family!

It’s a well written book depicting the life of a typical Indian family in the early nineteen hundreds moving from India to East Africa. A must read if you had any connections with Kenya .

The author shares frightening stories of the impact of racial discrimination on himself and his family members while also addressing the wider societal issues of racial segregation. A multigenerational story of family love and tradition enduring the trials of immigration into a completely different cultural system. Leave Only Footprints is an absorbing read.

I first meet Jai when we briefly worked together in the mid-1970s. At the time, I did not gain a full appreciation of his and his family’s background. After reading this book the family history so complex, at times distressing and yet at other times inspiring became so much clearer. The challenges faced by Katar’s generation and the huge leap they took in emigrating to East Africa (and at such a young age) just stagger me. It was a revelation to learn of the strange (to me) way in which East African society operated with its rigid structure of “Whites” “Asians” and “Africans”, each with their place, their position in society. Perhaps it was always doomed to end in violence. However, the bonds of family helped overcome the many tests that they had to face.Jai, you have done a great job in drawing together the many threads of you and your father’s life. You should be proud.. It is a fine book.

Disappointed with the style of writing