MRS SAVUNDALAI PADAYCHEE - A SECOND GENERATION DESCENDANT OF INDENTURED SUGAR CANE LABOURERS CELEBRATES HER 89TH BIRTHDAY TODAY

JULY 8 2016

(MRS SAVUNDALI PADAYCHEE - SECOND FROM RIGHT - IS SEEN WITH LAST SURVIVING SISTER-IN-LAW MRS SOUNDLER GOVENDER, SISTER MRS AMOY PADAYCHEE AND ELDER BROTHER, MR MUNSAMY ISAAC GOVENDER DURING THE FAMILY RE-UNION IN JANUARY 2016)

(MRS SAVUNDALAI PADAYCHEE - EXTREME RIGHT - SEEN WITH HER LATE BROTHER, PERCY GOVENDER, LATE ELDER SISTER, SALATCHI SUBRAMONEY, AND MR MUNSAMY ISAAC GOVENDER AT A MUNIAMMA FAMILY GATHERING)

(SOUNDLER,SECOND FROM LEFT) WITH HER LATE SIBLINGS PATCHA, SALATICH, NADASEN AND PERCY. ISAAC UNCLE IS SECOND FROM RIGHT.) One of the three surviving second generation descendants of our indentured labourers ancestors, Mrs Savundalai Padaychee, celebrates her 89th birthday today. Mrs Padaychee, who lives in her home in the Northern KwaZulu-Natal town of Dundee, was born in the Dayal Road area of Clairwood, south of Durban, on July 8 1927. She was one of 14 children of Muniamma and Coopoosamy Govender, who settled in the Dayal Road area as market gardeners after their indentured parents completed their 10-year grimmits in the former Blackburn and Mount Edgecombe sugar estates respectively. Mrs Padaychee, who grew up in the Clairwood area, is now one of three children who are still around. The others are Mr Munsamy Isaac Govender is 94-years-old and lives in Pietermaritzburg with his daughter, Ruth, and Mrs Amoy Moodley, is 80-years-old and lives in Unit Three, Chatsworth. Mrs Padaychee, who has visited the land of her forefather and mother in India many times, was married to Shunmugam “Sunny” Padaychee of Dundee at an early age. They had seven children. One of the boys, Nickel, died a few years ago. Mrs Padaychee has a number of grand-children and great-grand-children. Early this year, Mrs Padaychee made a special trip to Durban to attend a family re-union organised by the Muniamma Social Club (Business) to pay tribute to the three surviving children of our ancestors. Thyna and I telephoned Mrs Padaychee this morning and wished her well on her 89th birthday on behalf of all the extended family members of the Muniamma brood who number more than 500 today. She was very happy to hear from us and asked that the Muniamma family must continue to keep in contact and promote the values, cultures, traditions, languages and music of our ancestors. We want to wish Mrs Padyachee many more happy returns and at the same time also greet her other surviving siblings, Mr Munsamy Isaac Govender and Mrs Amoy Moodley.