Shashikant Patel

Companions for Life Shashikant Patel

I was born and raised in Gujarat India. I graduated from Gujarat University in 1969, with chemistry major. I also proceeded to teach sciences and math at a local school shortly after graduating and continued to teach for fifteen years. In addition to teaching I began studying the life of the people where I was residing, their beliefs and their culture, and that is how I created my story. Previously, I had published my story in a Gujarati magazine and I got many phone calls and emails requesting me to change the ending of my story from sad to happy. With this story, I wanted to educate the readers about the cultures and feelings of the people who are living in the remote areas of India and how their lives are immensely different than the life we have in America. It shows the struggle of poverty, yet demonstrates that happiness has no limitations. Although over the recent years times have changed and Gujarat has modernized immensely, there are still several areas where there is no electricity and running water, and where farming, and living in huts is the way of life.