The Naipauls of Nepaul Street: A moving memoir on a family of achievers

Savi Naipaul Akal does a wonderful job in documenting the hard beginnings of the Naipauls as second-generation indentured laborers in Trinidad.

The surname of Naipaul has become tantamount with Sir V.S. Naipaul easily the most famous member of Naipaul family. However, through this memoir Savi Naipaul Akal, the sister of V.S.Naipaul brings lot of new information. Apart from V.S. Naipaul there are two others in the family, brothers of V.S. Naipaul, Vidia and Shiva who are also writers. In fact, the love for writing can be traced to the father Seepersad Naipaul. Seepersad Naipaul wrote numerous journalistic pieces for the Trinidad Guardian along with a collection of short stories.

Savi Naipaul Akal the sister of V.S Naipaul brings lot of new information

These short stories successfully captured the various shades of Indian life in Trinidad. At that point Trinadad was a colony of the British crown. Seepersad Naipaul was very well known for his humor while addressing local problems. There is a deeply disturbing incident in the novel where Savi Naipaul talks about a rabies epidemic.

Seepersad Naipaul wrote numerous journalistic pieces for the Trinidad Guardian

Seepersad Naipaul received a letter telling him to sacrifice a goat for Kali Matha if he doesn’t want his family to become victim of the deadly curse. Naipaul was initially unfazed and responded in his usual humorous style, but soon was persuaded to perform the sacrifice. This led to a major mental breakdown as this was against his principles and he was never the same person after that. The portions about Seepersad Naipaul are easily one of the best chapters making readers feel the pain of the man.

The chapters focusing on the early life of Seepersad and his wife Droapatie are engrossing. Both of them were indentured laborers doing odd jobs; how they eventually got out of bonded labor building a better life for themselves and the children is very touching. Through this memoir Savi Naipaul also makes some sharp points about the cultural changes in Trinidad from a colony to an independent nation.

In fact, Trinidad becomes a major protagonist in the way Savi Naipaul describes the place and its inhabitants. The readers have a lived-in feel while reading the novel.

Savi Naipaul also comes as a strong individual no less than her brothers. The progressive outlook of Seepersad Naipaul and Droapatie in making sure that their daughters Savi and Kamala also get the same education and importance as their brothers is laudable. She also talks about the role of her mother in managing both the family finances and how V. S Naipaul used his mother as a source of information to better his writings. The word she uses here is ‘via savage interrogations’.

It is interesting to know that the home of Seepersad, Droapatie, V.S and Shiva Naipaul is now a heritage building with a plaque ‘The Naipaul House’.