“My children have often asked me to write about our family,” says a local man whose professional career spans four continents, Africa, Europe, Asia and North America.
Abdulmahomed Kaderali took up the task of fulfilling his children’s request with My journey, my story, my life, a book, recently completed and published.
Abdul and his wife Lata moved to Niagara-on-the-Lake a number of years ago. To learn more about the NOTL community, Abdul joined the bridge club at the community centre, and during a game, he discussed with another member his interest in finding assistance to write about his life experiences.
This person happened to be a member of the NOTL Writer’s Circle, and she suggested he attend a gathering.
“The Writer’s Circle was a big help, not only with my memoir, but they have inspired me to write about other experiences as well,” said Abdul. “The group not only helped me with critiquing my writing, but also where to find help to get it published.”
Abdul’s story begins with his grandfather, who at the age of eight, sailed from India to East Africa in search of distant relatives. He settled in the City of Dar es Salaam, Tanganyika, where Abdul’s father, and later Abdul, was born. As a young man, Abdul studied architecture at Leicester School of Architecture, near London, where he obtained his professional distinction as a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
When Abdul returned to Dar es Salaam to begin his professional career, he was joined by Lata. She was from India, and the two met while studying in England.
In the early 1960s Tanganyika became the independent Tanzania, which created political and social upheaval. The turmoil resulted in the Kaderali family leaving the country, with Abdul and Lata relocating in Pakistan. The reprieve from political change of Tanzania only lasted a few short years in Pakistan, when conflict between India and Pakistan shut down major building projects. Eventually, Abdul was able to immigrate to Canada in the early 1970s.
While it was a challenge to re-establish his work as an architect in Toronto, it was not long until a number of major building projects involved his work. Libraries, theatres, schools and civic centres and more have all been part of Abdul’s passion for how we interact as communities.
Another passion of Abdul’s is painting. Their home is decorated with a number of his artworks. In spring of 2019, he shared them with a display at the NOTL Library.
The image selected for the cover of his book is a painting of Abdul’s, Turmoil. With it he envisioned a tree on their property, overlooking Lake Ontario, while expressing his feelings of dealing with the COVID pandemic. The light on the horizon reveals his hope and anticipation of working on further writing projects to share with family and friends.
