Jasodaben is a truly remarkable lady. Despite her age she has a remarkable memory and takes an interest in everything that is happening locally and internationally around her.
As a prolific reader in Gujarati she forgets everything around her and is lost in her reading whether it is a newspaper, a magazine or a religious book. She also manages to read simple English texts and reads the headlines in English newspapers and watches news and Hidni/Gujarati serials on television.
Her memory is so good that she remembers the names of not only her immediate circle but so many people whom she came to know in her younger days. During her visits to London she travelled in most of London’s buses and knew which bus would take her to her destination. When travelling in a car she is able to notice when the driver takes a different route - such is her memory.
Being a very practical and wise lady she got married at a very young age - 15 or 16 years old. She had seven sons and four daughters and also took care of her sister-in-law’s children when she passed away. She has always been very alert mentally with a sharp memory and is also able to sign her name in English.
She is very inquisitive and keen to learn about things having worked during her younger days and was very confident when it came to travelling to Whiteways in Nairobi to buy and sell her material in an area where mainly English people used to frequent. This was highly unusual especially during colonial times as many people were not know to travel into mainly European dominated areas.
Jasodaben currently resides with her daughter-in-law Saroj Nalin Shah in Kenton.
