The Ambassador, the President, and Me: an Unlikely Reunion in India

Author Charmaine Craig had always felt mysteriously drawn to India—pulled by childhood family legends of ancestors who arrived there centuries ago and copper plates inscribed with ancient privileges that still hang in a Kochi synagogue. But it would take a chance encounter at a dinner party—and the power of old friendship—to finally help her explore her roots.

She set out on a pilgrimage through Kerala's ancient Jewish communities with a former college boyfriend turned U.S. Ambassador to India and a mutual friend who orchestrated their reconnection. From sacred sunrises where three seas converge to an impossible meeting with the last two Jews of Kochi, Charmaine discovers that sometimes journeys into the past have the power to change your life—especially when you have good friends by your side.

Don't miss these transformative moments

• The dinner party revelation that set everything in motion
• Why Charmaine's childhood bedroom featured only one map—of India
• The legend of her ancestor who saved a ruler's son in 10th-century India
• Traveling by presidential motorcade through Kerala's lush landscapes
• The 4 AM journey through cyclonic winds to witness sunrise where three seas meet
• Meeting Keith and Queenie, the reclusive last Jews of Kochi who "never see visitors"
• The moment in the sacred waters that changed everything
• How friendship, timing, and ancestral calling converged to open a new chapter

Resources

• Learn more about Charmaine Craig at charmainecraig.com
• Buy Charmaine's books: Miss Burma and My Nemesis
• Read Charmaine's Spin the Globe trip to Portugal or listen to theTravel Tales episode
• Read the transcript of the episode

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