Pam Handa Nee Kochhar
Of Kismet and Karma, a semiautobiographical, cross-cultural goulash, is the realization of a dream the author had nurtured since she was a young woman. It is the first book ever written by a female Indian author about three colonial cousins-India, Ghana, and the United Kingdom. This cross-cultural voyage of self-discovery, the reflection of a color-blind mind, spans over three decades spent among diverse cultures. The two Indian words in the title of the book are found in every English dictionary-kismet means destiny, and karma refers to the duties we are born to perform in this world. Of Kismet and Karma is the tale of a lifetime spent amid peoples of three worlds-the black, the brown, and the white. Through this semiautobiographical account, Pam tries to give her readers interesting glimpses and explanations of diverse cultural beliefs and colorful customs. It focuses on the diversity of our world. The Ghanaian word sankofa (meaning the past can become a learning experience) so impresses her that through nostalgic anecdotes collected from a multicultural world, she celebrates their past glory and wisdom. Though names of people and places have been changed, this book is about real people and real places. In the pages of this book, the author expresses the view that though oceans apart and in spite of the color of their skins, all peoples of the world share a common destiny.
