From Innocence to Impudence

From Innocence to Impudence is the story of a family, the record of three generations, and the story of a young man growing up in Trinidad. The story begins with Awadh Jaggernath's four grandparents, who desperately wanted to free themselves from the curse of the Indian caste system. They voluntarily indenture themselves to the sugarcane plantations in Trinidad with the hope of freedom after their five year contract ends. Living with his parents and grandparents, Jaggernath documents the struggles and way of life of his grandparents and his parents. He colours his story with vivid and compelling details of the vibrant multicul¬tural society, the lives of his immediate and extended family and his friends and the discipline, joys and sorrows, the sexual exploitations, early loves and intimacies of his youth. This is more than a memoir it is an intimate and vivid family and personal history told in a remarkable language which captures the tonality and rhythm of Trinidadian speech. Nothing is left untold. This memoir, in terms of its honesty, finally pulls the curtain open on the real life of this man, his family, his village and his youth in Trinidad.