Tehmina Patel - Her Life Story

Our grandma was born in Navsari, India, to Banubai and Jamshedji Digaria and raised affectionately by Dinamai and Dinshawji Tavadia. She was fortunate enough to grow up in Kenya, with these two sets of very loving parents and her four siblings. Due to a clerical error with her birth certificate, we celebrated her birthday thrice. She was born on February 16th, but for some unknown reason, she was registered as being born on the 21st. We took full advantage of the situation, celebrating her birthday on both dates, as well as her Parsi roj, to enjoy her ravo as many times as possible.

She had a happy childhood and fondly spoke about it. One story she frequently spoke of, was when she was involved with the Girl Guides and Princess Elizabeth was visiting Kenya. The Girl guides had been invited to see the Princess, so our grandma was very excited about the visit. She had a special dress prepared for the occasion but was extremely disappointed when the event was canceled at the last moment when Princess Elizabeth’s father, George VI, passed away.

She married our grandfather, Dara Patel, on the 29th of November 1953. They were married for 67 years, raising a family along the way, with one son (Kersi) and two daughters (Maharukh and Roxy). She was a doting grandmother to 5 grandchildren (Farhad, Shirin, Adarvan, Daryus and Adel).

Our grandmother lived a quiet and simple life in the seaport of Mombasa, raising her three children to have strong ethics and values, but most of all emphasizing the importance of studying hard and obtaining a good education. She supported her husband in his business endeavours, particularly helping him with managing the family farm at Mtongwe. She had endearing friendships with many of women in the Parsi community, and communities in her apartment complex.

She had a great love for food and cooking. She inherited her cooking genes from her father Jamshedji, and refined her cooking style with her mother, Dinamai. She created her own recipes, replicated those she had learnt from her parents and modified many recipes she came across and making them her own creation.

Late in life, she moved to Canada to be closer to her son and daughter. Moving to a different country is difficult but her kind nature and openness helped her make new friends in her neighbourhood and community, particularly at the Zumba classes and at the Indus community center.

This website is dedicated to celebrating the life of our grandmother, her love for food and cooking and her strong commitment to her family and friends. Her grandchildren loving called her Maijee, Mamaijee or Mumma, many of her friends called her “Tinu Ben”, but everyone has described her as a kind, gentle and sweet person. She will always be remembered by us and our parents as a loving and doting selfless mother and grandmother.