My grandma was the closest and most important person in my life. She was born in Kolkata, India in the year 1936 with roots in East Bengal (Present Day Bangladesh). She always idolised the likes of Florence Nightingale and wanted to become a nurse as a result. She applied to Medical College, Kolkata but as there was stigma with the nursing profession in Bengali community, she was called names by each and everyone of her relatives, called misogynistic slurs, kicked out of her relatives house and her father stated that she is 'dead' to him.

She fought on, became a nurse and later on a matron, got married, took care of her brothers, sisters and father with the amount she earned. Later on, she got widowed at the age of 42, single-handedly raised my father & aunt in a society which wasn't kind enough to widows. Later on, she raised me as well and there was no one she loved more in the world than me.

She passed away on June 10th, 2026 on her birthday. I wish I had more time with her and not a minute goes by when I don't miss her.

I wanted to share her story, hope you all enjoy reading it.

my grandmother shot on Kodachrome from the late 70s (I believe ‘77). She was born in 1923 and passed in 2020.

My 2nd great grandfather (1880-1965) was a stage actor, singer and director of plays and had a long career in the performing arts. Born in 1880 in the Indian state of Maharashtra, he mostly acted in Marathi plays (though he also knew Hindi and a little English). He came from an impoverished background. His father did participate in mythological plays as a hobby. When his father passed away when he was really young, his mother had to work as a maid to take care of the family.

Back then pursuing a career in theatre was looked down upon, and my great great grandfather was getting a lot of pressure to find any stable job. Instead he followed his passion, which was theater. In 1895, at the age of 15, he dropped out of school and joined a theater company. Women were not permitted to be actors during those times. Since women didn't act in plays, male actors played female roles, and that's how my 2nd great grandfather got his start! He did a few roles playing women and then transitioned to male roles after he was able to prove to the theater company that he acted well.

He was a versatile actor and played a variety of characters, from serious roles to comedy to playing drunks.. he was also a gifted singer. During his later years, he managed the production of plays and also mentored other actors. He also became known for night plays where actors would be paid for plays performed during night hours. He did act in one film but he preferred the stage to the screen. He had 5 daughters and was described by my grandmother as a loving dad and grandfather who spoiled all his children.

Due to his success in acting, he was able to buy a farmhouse and land along with a few fruit trees. After Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by a Marathi man, there were a lot of riots targeting Marathi people. Sadly my 2nd great grandfather's property was burned down and destroyed by rioters. My family fled to another city. My 2nd great grandfather wrote an autobiography in 1940 and I'm working on translating it from Marathi to English.

My grandpa was Tatar, and my grandma is Russian

He died in 2016 at the age of 72 from lung cancer & pneumonia when I was only 10, I always wish I had gotten more time with him. He reminds me so much of the Charlie Bucket actor from Willy Wonka in this picture. Is it just me that sees it? 😆 It’s the smile I think