The charity, the Venkat Trust, is named in memory of Venkat, a fisherman’s son Sylvia met when visiting a poor South Indian fishing village. The book tells the extraordinary story of how his tragic death led to the setting up of a charity which has transformed thousands of young lives.
Novelist and biographer Dame Margaret Drabble, who has travelled with the authors to India and Africa, describes it as: “An entertaining and moving account of the adventurous lives of that fine duo, Holder and Swan, two fearless, funny and brave women. It’s a story of friendship and enterprise and extraordinary generosity, of triumph over tragedy, with some amazing anecdotes and an exhilarating sense of life lived to the full.”
Born and educated in Scotland, Lindsay Swan is a trustee of the Venkat Trust and a frequent visitor to Kovalam where the trust has operated for 21 years. She is involved in a number of therapeutic gardening projects and, as a member of the Independent Monitoring Boards, helps ensure the humane and just treatment of those held in custody at Wandsworth Prison.
Accidental Lives is available in Ealing at Pitshanger Bookshop and Ealing Broadway Waterstones.
£16.99. Published by Black Spring Press. Royalties will go to the Venkat Trust.
