Mom lived on Gandhi’s Ashram

Family History I recently Learned

On the left is a photo of my Mom with Opal, my cat.

Mom recently moved in with me. She lived on the East Coast for over 40 years, ever since she moved to the United States as a young woman. I live in Texas and Mom wasn’t sure she’d like it here.

Shortly after she arrived, I found her a doctor through the Texas A&M medical center.

An Indian lady, the doctor chatted with Mom in Hindi when they met. Mom was thrilled. In her usual fashion, she asked the lady’s history. Polite questions turned into exclamations of delight.

It turns out the doctor had gone to medical school at Sevagram Wardha, the home of the first rural medical college in India, the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences. This was where my mother had spent her early childhood.

Mom’s parents worked for Mahatma Gandhi and lived at Sevagram Ashram for several years.

Over 70 years later, my mother had found a doctor who had also lived there, half a planet away in Austin! The two of them talked and shared memories while tests were run on my mother. It was lovely to see her so excited.

Afterwards, I took her to an IHOP. Mom loves their onion rings and I wanted to visit with her. Growing up, the focus…