AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Chaya Parmessur was born in Mauritius (16 August 1962) from an Indian family settled in Mauritius from the Indian State of Bihar. She received a scholarship from the Mauritian Government in 1982 and studied Chemical Engineering at Emmanuel College, Cambridge University. She lived and worked in the United Kingdom for 15 years.
In 1997, tired of the English weather, she went to work in Perth, Western Australia where she lived for 5 years with her English husband Richard.
They moved to Houston where they stayed for a year to complete an oil and gas project. Their journey took them back to Mauritius where they lived one year promoting her novel. The Snake Spirit now forms part of the University of Mauritius (UOM) curriculum for post colonial literature. Chaya has been invited by the UOM to give presentation about her work and talk about creativity. Her book has been reviewed by all the major newspapers in Mauritius.
She has traveled extensively, visiting more than 40 countries and has a fascination for all the different cultures and peoples of the world.
Once her novel was published and was successful in Mauriitus, she found her creative writing had stalled except from writing the odd poem here and there.
She joined hub pages a few years ago as a way to keep the creative writing process going.
Working as an engineer does not necessarily encourage creativity as engineering is a very exact science. Chaya needs this creative side to be active. She wanted to share all her amazing adventures while travelling. They have been recorded in a journal that Chaya started writing when she was around ten years old. Hence the first series of hub pages were about exploring new places.
She also became a Sivananda Yoga Teacher. She runs yoga classes when she can.
In her spare time, she has helped the local Rotary Club to carry out humanitarian activities.
“One of my most incredible experience of generosity : We were collecting food at a local supermarket for the European Food Bank, and this lovely man in his sixties kept coming to get more bags from us. Finally he turned up and had a full trolley of food for us. When I looked at him, I saw this Saint in front of me. He had such a serene composure and I felt like crying because people like this are rare.”
“I feel very strongly about injustice. I will stand against my own family if I see any injustice or racism. I genuinely believe we are all the same and that there is God in us all and we should not treat anyone with contempt. However, there are also some people who have forgotten this God nature and tend to enjoy hurting others. These people I avoid because life is too short to waste with the wrong people.”
Her motto(s) in life is “Don’t do to others what you don’t want others to do to you”
“Start the morning by smiling at the world and the world smiles back at you”
“Live life as if everyday was your last day because all we have is now”
“I do not want to have any regret at my death bed”
ABOUT PART 1
Time is running out for Dado, the Cursed One, who has to pass on all her powers to her great-granddaughter, Nandi. The young girl is fascinated by the inhabitants of the Big Old House, including Local Einstein, The Philosopher, The Alcoholic, The Exorcist as well as the Spirits, who reside there. As Nandi finds out more about her family’s turbulent past, her own life experiences take her to places she never knew existed.
This is the story of an Indian family making an incredible journey, like millions of people all over the world. They settle on the island of Mauritius, a Paradise at first glance.
The story combines depth of feeling with great imagination. Here, there is realism and magic at work.
Chaya Parmessur, born in Mauritius, has spent 21 years overseas, working as a Chemical Engineer in the Oil and Gas Industry. Her travels have taken her all over the world. She studied at Cambridge University, lived and worked in England, Scotland, France, Australia, USA, Malaysia, Indonesia and India.
“Mauritian writer transforms family roots into exotic novel” – Pamela De St. Antoine, Week-End.
“Chaya Parmessur has the virtue of not only turning something inexistent into a work of art but also of captivating the attention of the reader who finds it impossible to put the book down once he opens it” – Marc Gregoire, Mauritius News, London.
“The Snake Spirit is a bewitchingly haunting and fascinating saga of undaunted spirits highly recommended for a pleasurable reading” – Sarita Boodhoo, Sunday Vani.
MY AMAZING WORLD 