As an immigrant to Canada from the small island country of Mauritius, Laurentian University professor Vasu Appanna has first-hand experience of what it’s like to leave everything familiar to build a new life.
His grandparents were also immigrants, having left India to move to Mauritius, and Appanna grew up hearing their stories.
With these narratives ingrained in his psyche, Appanna chose a theme of immigration for his first foray into fiction, a book he self-published last fall called “Tales from Dodoland,” which he said is “partly biographical and partly fiction.”
He said he was inspired to write the book because of the stories he grew up with, things that happened “maybe 100 years ago.”
Appanna, a professor of biochemistry at Laurentian University who immigrated to Canada 45 years ago, is also the author of a non-fiction book “Human Microbes: The Power Within,” about microbes that make humans the way they are.
“Tales from Dodoland” transports the reader to a virgin island virtually devoid of any human imprint where a unique blending of cultures from the different parts of the world occurs.
It describes how disparate cultures merge to create a unique human tapestry where people live in harmony.
Through the prying eyes of a small boy, Bablu, you will experience human resilience, ingenuity, creativity, bonding, and the emergence of a joyful community.
The lives and daily happenings in Regala, a small nascent town whose inhabitants are all immigrants fresh off the boat, are revealed.
The tiny but shrewd storyteller shepherds and indulges the audience through a memorable and lively journey full of intrigue, adventure and human warmth.
Appanna said with human migration being so much in the news, he wanted to give the topic a different spin, with people bringing “a new spirit, and new culture” with immigration and the mixing of languages.
“This book is all about human resilience, adaptability and creating a new place,” he said, adding that there are no Indigenous peoples on this island, so there is no collateral damage of colonialism.
“Tales from Dodoland” is also very much apropos in Greater Sudbury, which has been built on immigration — first from European countries, and more recently from countries such as India, China and Africa, he said.
If you’d like to purchase a copy of “Tales from Dodoland,” the book is available for purchase online through sellers such as Amazon.
Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.
