Showing posts with label son of indentured immigrants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label son of indentured immigrants. Show all posts

Wednesday 6 June 2018

My Father's Day Gifts for my Dad - Dr. Andrew M. Khan


Today I received two Express Reviews from Readers Favorite for Memoirs of Dr. A.M. Khan: Journey of an Educator.
These are my Father's Day Gifts to my Dad.

Here are the reviews:

5 Stars - Congratulations on your 5-star review! Get your free 5-star seal!

Reviewed By Ruffina Oserio for Readers’ Favorite

Memoirs of Dr. Andrew Moonir Khan: Journey of an Educator by Mrs. Brenda C. Mohammed is a biography that follows the life of a great man while providing wonderful social and cultural commentaries on the era in which he lived.
It is during the days of indentureship in Trinidad and Tobago, and readers are introduced to a period in history when few people were interested in education.
Against this backdrop, the son of uneducated, indentured immigrants from India, Mr. and Mrs. Sultan Khan, overcame all kinds of challenges to acquire the education he needed and to set an example for his generation.
Thanks to his assiduity, dedication, and strong values, he was quickly promoted to a school principal and subsequently to the Superintendent of schools.
Readers encounter an educator who led by example, a man who would become the first Presiding Elder in the Presbyterian Church in Trinidad and Tobago.
This biography is well researched and the author allows the subject to speak for himself through the narrative by making references to Dr. Khan’s own memoirs.
The writing is beautiful, journalistic, and it is enriched by the social commentaries and historical references that allow readers vivid glimpses of what life was like in the first half of the twentieth century.
The setting comes out clearly and while the reader gets a clear picture of locales and places, the author catches the soul of the people in a brilliant way.
Memoirs of Dr. Andrew Moonir Khan: Journey of an Educator is a book that will appeal to anyone who loves biographies of great men.
It is inspiring and hugely informative.
Mrs. Brenda C. Mohammed does a great job in bringing to readers a work that will inspire them and compel them to consider their own contribution to history.

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Gisela Dixon
Review Rating:
5 Stars - Congratulations on your 5-star review! Get your free 5-star seal!

Reviewed By Gisela Dixon for Readers’ Favorite

Memoirs of Dr. Andrew Moonir Khan: Journey of an Educator by Mrs. Brenda C. Mohammed is a non-fiction memoir on the life, work, and thoughts of Andrew Moonir Khan.
This book is compiled together by Dr. Khan’s daughter, Brenda, but a lot of the book contains writing in Dr. Khan’s own voice and his own hand, taken from his memoirs he had written before he passed away.
The book describes his parents' background as indentured Indians who migrated to Trinidad and Tobago around the turn of the last century to work on the sugarcane plantations.
Both of his parents had married before and divorced, and so this was the second marriage for both of them. Andrew Khan describes their house, the tropical lushness of the surroundings, his own childhood games and interests, school and education, his first job, his career as an educator and teacher in Trinidad, his period of stay in London on a government scholarship, his involvement in the church and his faith, and his lifelong commitment to the cause of education.
What I liked about Memoirs of Dr. Andrew Moonir Khan the most, is that it depicts life in Trinidad about 100 years ago, which is little known to the outside world these days.
The history of so many immigrants, including Indians, who immigrated there is one that needs to be told.
I also liked that Mrs. Brenda C. Mohammed has included so many reminiscences and firsthand accounts and memories of various people who knew Dr. Andrew Khan, all of which portray a vivid picture of the man more than a mere biography can do.
Dr. Khan’s ethics, morals, and teachings are an inspiration and, above all, present a humanitarian point of view.
I also very much appreciated his ideas on the importance of education and equal rights and opportunities for women everywhere.
This is a short and compelling read by Mrs. Brenda C. Mohammed which I would certainly recommend.

Read a sample of the memoir below.


You are not around anymore but your name lives on. Happy Father's Day, Dad!
Read all the reviews at Readers Favorite.