Jay

Jay declares that he is now an ‘old guy’, laughing. Relaxed and even tempered, he describes his skin as dark, his eyes brown, worrying that he may be too dark for portraiture!

Born 1942 in Madras State in Southern India, he was a small baby who grew to be a five-foot seven-inch adult. The second oldest, he had two brothers and two sisters.  His older brother passed away.

His parents were teachers working where the family lived in Ethiopia and beyond. Jay attended school in Madras at Saint Bede’s School to standard 11 after which, he started college. Jay recalls his father was a taskmaster who taught him well.

In 1961, at 18 years of age, Jay came to Canada with his parents, both of whom taught for the North Peace School Division. The family lived in Grimshaw. Jay wanted to attend university, but was refused entry. Jay believes this was racially motivated. His father then wanted Jay to attend SAIT but Jay did not like the program. After working in B.C., Jay returned to Edmonton to work for the city. There his work provided steady income and his life soared. 

He became a writer for the city of Edmonton answering letters regarding mayoralty and alderman enquiries. It was pleasant employment for 28 years. When he retired from the city, he worked one year as a golf marshal.

At 81, Jay experiences some pain from colitis and Sciatica, but basically lives a good life. He is a Christian who prays in the quiet of night considering Jesus to be his Lord and Saviour. He does not attend a church.

He likes living in Beaumont, Alberta a quiet and well-run community. There he looks after his garden with his second wife, Sushila, from Singapore, whom he met 30 years ago.

As a gardener, Jay appreciates the sound of rain falling. His attitude towards life is one of gratefulness and appreciation. Jay declares he has loved his Canadian experience, where he was rarely discriminated against. Today, Jay has eight grandchildren whom he states are all happy people.
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Jay began stamp collecting at 14 to 15 years of age. He still collects today. He focused his collection around a geographical area and was motivated to enter stamp collecting contests. Jay considers his collection valuable and it saddens him that there seems to be no family interest to sustain it.  Collecting stamps has taught him many things.