Chapter 1

Our story begins in October of 1858, when Vishnu Singh was born. He was the last of a long line of Singhs and the most precious member of the family. His elder brothers and sisters would fond over him every day. He attended primary school where he was tested and promoted to high school. He then graduated at the top of his class in high school earning a scholarship. He applied to the Indian Medical Service and was accepted as an apothecary. During his studies he met a young lady whose beauty rivaled that of a rose. His every attempt to court her was denied, but he was relentless! He would write her poems and leave paper made flowers for her to see. One day, he just struck up the nerve and asked her to marry him. He married his wife in fall of 1876!

Each year they had a child until the set of twin boys who were born in 1880, whom they named Daljeet and Emir. They grew up in a life of privilege and had everything they needed. Daljeet was walking home one evening from hanging out with friends when some ruffians attacked him for his shoes. Not wanting to give them up, he chose to fight. Little did he know, they were armed with knives, and other weaponry. Emir, who was leaving an extra credit class at school, heard a commotion and ran over to see what was going on. It was his brother, who was supposed to meet him on the corner. He could see them punching and stabbing him so he dropped his bag and ran to his brother’s side. His approach made the attackers disburse from the scene leaving his brother bloody without his shoes. Unfortunately by the time he arrived, his brother was laying in the streets, bleeding. He screamed for help but most people just ignored his pleas for assistance. His brother died in his arms from his injuries. Greif stricken, the family had a service and cremated his body. Emir was badly affected by this tragedy and needed to escape his world.

Emir was married in 1898 and begat four children with his wife; three boys and a girl. The last boy child was born in 1905 and was named Sahil. He grew up in the suburbs where there was little crime and most of the area was a gated community. He attended school close to his home and also had private tutors. He was a great musician and loved to sing so he was nicknamed Sing Singh. He lived a relatively privileged life. Sing Singh worked very hard at school and received a scholarship that was enough to study abroad. Given the new relationship with Trinidad and Tobago he chose to go there where he could both attend school and work. Sing Singh was only 16 years of age when he graduated and was not yet old enough to travel abroad alone. As no one in his family could accompany him, Sahil ventured out on his own. He was determined, and changed his date of birth as documentation in India was handwritten. Upon arrival in Trinidad he was asked to provide his information. The clerk processing him asked for his name to which he responded Sahil Singh. His name was erroneously written as Singh Sahil. Many immigrants from foreign lands had their names, dates of birth and other key information modified upon arrival. Documentation from India was not only handwritten but written in Sanskrit, the written language of most of India. Since translators were in short supply clerks relied on what the individual stated and not the credentials provided. This change in name caused a break in the family tree angering his grandparents and family because of the disruption in the family tree, so they cursed him with daughters to eradicate the newly created name, and cut off all financial support. Sing Singh didn’t believe in curses and worked to make it on his own.

Sing Singh met a lovely girl at school named Prachi Patel. It was love at first sight! They began studying together, and spent every other moment in each other’s arms. He courted her for several months often running off to Tobago to spend time under the waterfalls, and enjoy the landscapes. Once a week, Sing Singh took Prachi to a different eatery. He wined and dined her as best he could on his meager salary. They got married in the summer of 1925. Together they had five children, three boys and two girls; Vishnu, Sonali, Krishna, Aarya, and Persad. Persad who came to the couple rather late in their life was born on April 5, 1947. Prachi suffered greatly from post-partum depression after given birth to Persad. She was consumed by nightmares, stress, and anxiety. She heard voices in her head telling her to kill her own children. Overwhelmed by her mental illness, she hung herself on the branch of a mango tree with her saree a few months after Persad was born. Grief stricken by the loss, Sing Singh attempted to raise the children on his own. When Persad was barely two years of age, Sing Singh was shot and killed by a local gangster by the name of Boysie Singh. It was believed that Boysie was sent by the family to kill Sahil who had three sons to carry on his false name. The family, devastated by the loss, turned their focus to raising each other, focusing on the youngest child: Persad. The eldest boy Vishnu was old enough to find work and feed the family. Sonali the second born maintained the household and took care of the younger siblings. Persad was just two years old when his father was killed so he never knew his parents. His siblings were his parents.

Vishnu and Sonali worked hard to put the others through school. Persad showed a lot of promise at an early age so the siblings agreed to put all their focus and money into Persad’s future. When he was of age and could travel on his own, his brother Vishnu placed some money in his hand and sent him to Canada to study and find work so he could send money back to the family. Persad completed a university degree from Concordia University in Montreal, in Education, and could therefore apply for teaching jobs. He was successful and began teaching mathematics, and English at Royal Arthur Elementary School. During his stay in Montreal he met a young lady named Rashida. She too was an immigrant of Trinidad in search of a better life. They fell in love and got married after only a few months in spring of 1973. Rashida bore Persad a son in their first year of marriage: Clifford. The whole family rejoiced! Persad was so proud he decided that it was best for his son, and heir, to be raised with family in Trinidad.

Having built up enough funds, Persad took his new family back home to Trinidad at the end of 1975. While Persad was in Montreal, his eldest brother married and begot three girl children from his wife. Sonali and Krishna also were married and had six children between them of which Krishna had one son. The so called family curse was broken! With two males to carry on the family name everyone was ecstatic! Persad built a house on the land adjacent to his family home. It was quite modern compared to the other houses in the area and was a reflection of Persad’s success in Montreal. He continued his career as a teacher in Trinidad earning an above average salary as he had a foreign degree. His family lived quite well and took advantage of the land to grow crops for their family. Everything was working out for the best.

Seven years later, in January of 1983, Persad had another child with his wife, a second son! The family was overjoyed and celebrated the birth of Shawn, with dancing and singing through the streets. It was like a miracle had happened! It had been so long since there were two males in the same Sahil family! Shawn was the most precious thing in the world to his father. He was spoiled by the whole family with the exception of his brother who envied the attention he used to receive. When Shawn was almost four years old, Clifford was asked to watch his little brother. Persad and Rashida needed to tend to some finances and were going to be gone for at least an hour. Shortly after departing, Clifford watched as Shawn walked out the door chasing after his parents. Shawn got as far as the road when a neighbor saw him and returned him home. Upset that Clifford failed to keep an eye on his little brother, the neighbor scolded him and took charge of Shawn until Persad and his wife’s arrival. Shocked at his behaviour, Persad took Clifford aside and explained to him the importance of having a brother. He also explained how bloodlines are tracked by the husband’s last name, and that their family was in short supply of males. Though Clifford understood, he was still jealous of his little brother. They fought like Kane and Abel as they got older, and each time Persad would remind them of...