LOST and FOUND: A Wahindi Story

About the Book

It is a summer morning in 1962 when Surish Patel arrives in London via a British Overseas Airways’ shiny VC10. Wrested from the only life he has ever known in British Kenya by the Mau Mau riots, he steps off the aircraft with only one hope: finding happiness in his new home. Freshly arrived in the mother country, he, a young British Kenyan man of Indian origin, is about to begin an unforgettable odyssey of self-discovery.

It is not long before Surish settles in the small, seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire. But even as he seeks to make a name for himself in London with the hope of passing as an English gentleman, Surish still struggles with heart-wrenching grief of having to leave his family and customs behind. When asked, he reminisces and explains to new and curious Anglo-Saxon friends in London his stories of Colonial East Africa, the Wahindi culture, and the religions affecting his way of life. Eventually, loyalty to his beloved family pulls him back to a different, recently Africanized Kenya. Now, as he cares for his widowed mother, he is torn between his obligation to fulfill an arranged marriage and pursue his English rose, the love of his life. He is lost.

In this compelling tale based on true events, Surish explores a new way of life and cultures in an uncertain world where he soon learns more about himself than he ever imagined.

About the Author

Bipin C. Patel professionally recognized as Bip In Chandra, was born in Nairobi, Kenya under the British crown and moved to London in 1962, just before Kenya’s independence. There, he was the first Indian from Africa or India to make a name for himself in London’s fashion and advertising photography scene. In 1979, he chose the United States as his second home and started a family. Now retired, he lives in Florida with his wife.