IF ANYONE HAS led a truly multicultural life, it would be Lubna Jumabhoy. The longtime resident of Penang is a global citizen in every sense of the phrase.
Born in Bombay and growing up in Karachi before moving to Malaysia (then Malaya), she is a teacher of the Japanese floral art ikebana, and is France’s representative in Penang. Lubna’s life has been a borderless one that has witnessed important events of the 20th century, like the founding of India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Singapore as modern nation-states.
The retired octogenarian has lived a varied life as a wife, mother, sister, daughter, teacher, artist and diplomat; she is proof that one need not be born in Penang to contribute to its betterment, which she has done for the past 60 years.
Childhood In British India
Lubna was born in 1937 in Bombay (Mumbai) to Muslim parents, Nazer and Kamartaj Mooraj. Her family had originally been from Kutch in the western state of Gujarat. In 1947, when India gained independence, her family relocated to Karachi in Pakistan, settling on Britto Road.
