FOREWORD
Dr Ram Lakhan Prasad has been my neighbour and revered father-figure for well over a decade. In this beautiful tribute to his late wife, Saroj, Dr Prasad shares his most intimate feelings which attest to his deep and abiding love and admiration for a remarkable woman.
Dr Prasad has long been interested in education, literature and philosophy and readers will see elements of these intertwined in the poetry and prose. These thought-provoking pieces challenge us to consider how loving another human being, and being loved in return, enriches our lives.
While Dr Prasad is honest about the depth of his sorrow and his loneliness, understandable after sharing so many years of his life with Saroj, the creation of this book has allowed him to release some of these feelings and preserve her memory.
Dr Prasad frequently refers to Saroj as his 'Pretty Lotus'. The lotus flower is a symbol of purity and beauty in the Hindu religion and this is a fitting analogy for Saroj.
Readers will gather that she was an intelligent woman who was not only physically beautiful, but possessed a deep inner beauty. Dr Prasad’s writing also has a purity and beauty because of its raw emotion.
I am therefore honoured to write this Foreword to ‘Home Alone’, a fitting gift or for Saroj, and as Dr Prasad calls it his homage and his loving tribute to her.
Dr Donna McGrath,
Bellbowrie, Queensland, Australia.