Trinidad & Tobago couple meet relatives separated by 116 years

Varanasi: The Azamgarh police on Wednesday helped a couple from Trinidad and Tobago, David Cannon and Marlin (Lena) meet the fourth generation of their ancestors in the district. Their lineage goes back 116 years. On the direction of the superintendent of police, Anurag Arya, the couple was introduced to their family members by Raunapar SHO Ram Prasad Bind.
According to the SP, the story began years ago in Trinidad and Tobago, when David Cannon’s mother met Dr Vinod Kumar Singh, who hailed from Azamgarh district. About five years ago, David and his wife Marlin decided to visit India and explore the birthplace of their ancestors. They researched and came to know that their forefathers were residents of Madakarmanath Patti village of Raunapar police station area of Azamgarh. David’s ancestor Ramkhelavan Maurya migrated to Kolkata (erstwhile Calcutta) in 1906 at the age of 24 as a labourer. Later, he reached Trinidad, in 1907, where he married an 18-year-old Indian woman Ramkali, daughter of Mahadayi and Ganga of the Bari caste, hailing from Mohrajganj village in Kotwali Wazirganj area near Gonda, UP.
David and Marlin were very happy to unite with their fourth-generation relativesat Madakarmanath Patti village. The couple got a grand welcome. They ate, wandered around the village and were happy to meet the descendants of their ancestor Ramkhelavan Maurya’s brother Paltan Maurya.