Family History: Remember Who You Are

Family history is very significant to remember. By knowing where you come from, you can have a perception of your family. Interrogating our family members is the best way to have a clear perception of our family. It allows us to acknowledge our family history. After obtaining knowledge about our family it helps us in influencing ourselves. Hence, our roots and origin is one of the most important things to familiarize ourselves with.
Trying to search out about our family history is a best way to learn something and flourish from it. Right or wrong, one thing is sure : we cannot change the past. one famous writer said well “ in all of us there is a hunger, marrow deep, to know our heritage- to know who we are and where we come from. without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still vacuum, an emptiness, and the most loneliness.” – Alex Haley (the roots,august 17 1976 ). This quote illustrates that our family origins and family history are very crucial. Sometimes, our family history may have a impact on us.
I feel very privileged to have such a great family background and such a great surname “ PATEL “. The surname PATEL, is an Indian origin which is very common among people of Indian descent. which means a leader or chief, there are a number of variations for Patel’s as well.it comes from the Guajarati language, an Indo-European language spoken in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The Hindu name originally translated as “headman” or “village chief”. it can also mean “farmer” from Guajarati word pat or patlikh, for the owner / tenant of a piece of land. patel can also be a nickname meaning “ little head.” it seems from the word “pate”(head) and “el” (little).(by- Cottle B Penguin dictionary of surnames.baltimore,1967). Since, than Patel’s have built a great legacy in India and also in parts of worlds like USA, Canada, Europe, and Africa

So, I interviewed my father and my grandfather. My father’s side of family came from VADODARA,Gujarat India ( west of India ). there are 7 people they are grand-parents, aunts and my uncles. My father is from Gujarat and my great – great – grandfather his name is Fula Bhai haji Bhai patel, lived there as well. Because, at time they ran a huge business of production of tobacco and marketing it to different states of India.
Simultaneously, as they owned a huge area of land about 120 acres of land, so they also cultivated many crops around the year like cotton in summers, drumsticks in winters and they shipped and marketed these products all over India. And, due to such large business he had good relations with the Maharaja (king ) of the city THE MAHARAJA SAYAJIRAO GAEKWAD. And further this huge business was descended to my grand father and his two brothers. They, also took over the business and with they hard work and dedication they were able to grow the business. further, as my father also had an interest in business and marketing he too joined the family business. And now is managing it with the help of my uncle and guidance of my grandfather.
I only know very little about my mother’s side of history. My grand parents had 3 daughters and one son. my mother met my father in Vadodara city. In 1993, they had their first son my elder brother and in 1996, is an important year to me because I was born in that year. My family was very happy because my family only had one daughter.
I feel very lucky, I was born and brought up in the same city my great-great grandfather and father were born and brought up too. Since, then we are living in Vadodara, and in 2017 my father made a decision to send me and my elder brother to Canada for further studies. In 2017 we moved to Canada and started a new life. I think moving to Canada is a new literary portion of my family history. Hoping to maintain the reputation and integrity in Canada too.
And, on further analysis and searching, I found that most of the people of my culture i.e. eastern are dark in complexation it is due to the geographical location on earth, as it has high temperatures, moreover also many people in India have agriculture as their source of income and due to which they are more expose to sunlight. And further on many people of my culture (i.e Hindu ) are vegetarian and hence, many of us lack the vital vitamin B12.
Hence, to summarize it all it is very crucial and informative to know the roots of one’s origin. It helps us in staying connected to our ancestors, and also helps us in staying focused and also makes one responsible to carry further the legacy started by our ancestors.
Hence, to conclude investigating my family history in detail enlightened me with many new facts about my family background the hard work my grandfathers and great-great grandfathers did in order to built the wealth and respect they earned for us. And similarly I also hope I do the same hard work and show entire dedication to maintain this spectacular and marvelous family history ahead in Canada.