Marriage and Motherhood
The year was now 1944 and Roshan was nearly 20 years old. Britain and her colonies, including India, were at war against Germany and the Axis powers. Roshan was a young women in the prime of her life. After completing high school, Roshan continued to live with her family in Mumbai (Bombay).
As a young school girl, Roshan had met a young boy named Bomanshaw Akolowala. Bomanshaw was the son of her grand-mother’s brother. Roshan grew up playing with Bomanshaw and her many cousins and siblings during regular visits to her grandmother’s house. Once she grew into a young woman of marrying age, Roshan’s grandmother decided that Roshan should marry Bomanshaw, who had by this time had completed his education and worked at the textile mills of Berar where his father was employed as the chief engineer. Bonashaw was a handsome young man and a very active sportsman who played tennis, billiards, enjoyed swimming and even won a gold medal as a bodybuilder at Deccon College. With the blessings of her parents, on April 9 1944 Roshan and Bomanshaw were married in Mumbai.
After marrying, Roshan and Bomanshaw relocated to the region of Sholapur to begin their new lives as husband and wife. On November 11, 1945, Roshan gave birth to her first daughter, Zenobia. Three years later, in 1948, her first son, Nadirshaw, was born. He would later be followed by the youngest second son, Zareershaw, in 1950.
Looking for opportunities to better provide and care for their growing family, Roshan and Bomanshaw and their young family moved to Pondicherry- a French colony located in the lower south-east region of India. Bomanshaw served as the weaving manager at Radier Mill with Best and Company. The family remained in Pondicherry until 1954 when the French granted independence to Puducheery and it became a formal part of the recently independent country of India. Roshan and her husband were offered French citizenship and an invitation to remain in Pondicherry. Roshan and Bomanshaw turned down the offer and decided instead to move to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Bomanshaw worked as a weaving manager with Wellaweta Textiles.
During the next decade, Roshan and Bomanshaw lived in Sri Lanka in the capital city of Colombo. Roshan continued to raise their three children as they grew from young children to teenagers. In the mid 1960’s civil war erupted on the island nation of Sri Lanka. In December 1969, concerned about the growing threat to their family, Roshan and Bomanshaw left Sri Lanka at the urging of the Indian government. They returned to Mumbai where the family purchased an apartment to live in. Bomanshaw, after nearly 40 years of work, decided that now was the time to retire and enjoy a well-earned pension.
Bomanshaw, who had met several Canadians during his working years at the social clubs he and Roshan belonged to. Roshan recalls that Bomanshaw was impressed with the friendliness and character of the Canadians he had met. As a result, he regularly spoke about the dream of one day immigrating to Canada with this family.
Throughout the 1970’s and 80’s, Roshan and Bomanshaw continued to spend their retirement years in Mumbai. Their three children, Zenobia, Madirshaw and Zareershaw, were married and had started families of their own. Roshan being a grandmother to the growing number of grandchildren in her family.
