BAIJNATH SINGH FAMILY HISTORY
BORN AND BRED IN OTTAWA, BAIJNATH SINGH WORKED AT THE LOCAL OTTAWA SUGAR ESTATE FOR MORE THAN 55 YEARS.
(BY SUBRY GOVENDER)
(This article was made possible through the information and photos supplied by Sunjith Singh - the eldest son of Mr Baijnath Singh.)
A second-generation descendant of indentured labourers, who was born and lived all his life in the Ottawa village, has left a legacy of not only hard work and self-reliance but also a commitment to spiritual development.
Mr Baijnath Singh, who was born in 1922 in a property below the old railway line, worked at the Ottawa Sugar Estate for more than 55 years and was a member and senior official of the Ottawa Estate Temple Society all his senior life.
He lived with his three brothers, three sisters and parents - Goordin Singh and Sunhai - in a simple wood and iron house in an area where there were other families whose members also worked at the nearby Ottawa Sugar Estate.
His grand-parents, Bhowani and Sundri Singh, came down as indentured labourers from the north eastern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh sometime in the 1880s. Mr Bhowani Singh came from the village of Soorrmow in the town of Lucknow and Sundri from the village of Sariga in the district of Ballia in the same state of Uttar Pradesh. When they arrived in the former Port Natal (Durban) harbour they were recruited by the owners of Ottawa Sugar estate. After they completed their five-year indentureship, they continued to work at the Ottawa sugar estate. One of their sons was Goordin Singh who moved to Ottawa sometime in the early 1900s. Here he married Sunhai who was also a worker at the Ottawa Sugar Estate.
It was here that Baijnath Singh was born along with his three brothers and three sisters. He started work as a young boy at the Ottawa Sugar Estate and over time climbed to the position of a clerk. One of his brothers also worked with him at the sugar estate while one worked for the South African Railways and another in the Printing industry.
While in his early 20s, Baijnath was introduced to a young lady, Poolmathie, and they married sometime in the 1940s.
After their marriage, Baijnath bought a property at the end of the Old Main Road in the Uplands area where he built a wood and iron house. The house was across the railway line from the old house where he was born.
This property is now known as 94 On the Main where one of his sons operates a sporting centre and his daughter-in-law has her attorney’s office.
Baijnath Singh and his wife moved to their new home to start their side of the extended Singh family. Here their eight children - Shanti Devi, Chinta, Sunjith, Romilla, Geetanjali, Hannieruth (Bunny), Roy and Nundcoomar (Jay) were born.
(Poolmathie Singh celebrating her elder age birthday with her daughters at her home in 94 Old Main Road, Ottawa. From L to R: Romila, Shanti, Mrs Singh, Gita and Chinta - who is now late.)
I interacted with Mr Baijnath’s eldest son, Sunjith, about the history of their family and their lives in Ottawa.
Like all other parents in Ottawa during the early years, Mr Baijnath Singh and his wife, Poolmathie, emphasised the importance of attaining a decent education to their children.
It was for this reason that Mr Baijnath committed himself to his work so that he could provide the necessary assistance for all their children to attend both primary and high schools.
Mr Singh started to work as a Shunter in his early teens after completing standard four at the Umdloti Primary School in Verulam. While driving a locomotive the young Singh injured his hand and was forced to move out of this job. He was then transferred to the Irrigation Department. For a brief period, he moved out of the sugar estate and worked for the South African Railways.
According to Sunjith, his father was recalled to work for the Natal Estates at Flanders and Blackburn.
When he first started to work, Mr Singh used to walk from his home to the sugar estate about five kilometres away.
But after a few years, Mr Singh purchased a bicycle to ride to the sugar estate. The bicycle became Mr Singh’s main mode of transport to work and to carry out other chores for the family. By riding the bicycle to and from work made him a legendary figure in Ottawa estate and in the Ottawa village.
He only stopped using the bicycle two years before he retired sometime in the 1980s when he bought himself a VW Beetle 1200. The Beetle cost him no more than R3 000 at that time.
While working for the sugar estate, Mr Singh earned himself the name “Umabhalane” because he was their clerk in the Estate. Some of his working colleagues were K C Moonisami, Munusamy - who was known as “Bombo”, Nadas, Poonsamy and Munsamy Raman, the father of Kidd Muthen and other siblings, who was the local blacksmith.
Mr Singh’s association with the Ottawa Estate Temple Society earned him the respect of the estate people and he served as secretary of the organisation for more than two decades. He served in this position until his retirement. He was also a member of Development Services Board Advisory Committee.
Mr Baijnath Singh also had a close relationship with several other residents with whom he used to play card games, Thunee and Rummy, every Saturday evening. At these social gatherings, Mr Singh and his friends used to discuss the events of the week while helping themselves to hard drinks. Some of his friends at these Saturday events included "Box Maker" Stylish h/ware - Ram's father; Hoosen Hans, Bully Maharaj; Harold - Taxi driver; Latiff; Shaik; Trolley's big brother; Gamsom Munn; Parthab; S S Maharaj; Dickey Maharaj; and Freddy Govender, driving school owner and instructor.
Mr Baijnath Singh was also involved in the Ottawa branch of the South African Red Cross Society with local people such as Mr Dicky Maharaj and Mr Moses.
Because of Mr Singh’s hard work and toil, the third and fourth generation descendants of their indentured ancestors, have made tremendous progress in their lives.
Sunjith Singh became the first batch of citizens of Indian-origin to be employed by the then Post and Telegraph Departments as a telephone operator. He thereafter became a Diploma Telecommunication Technician and retired as a Network Specialist in Transmission. Together with his wife, he was involved in retail clothing, Fitment Centre, and Food Processing businesses till the outbreak of Covid in 2020.
Sunjith’s eldest daughter, Yulesha, is a Chemical Engineer with Sasol; son Neishal was a heavy duty Auto Electrician with Grinaker and now a technician for a Fleet management company; second daughter, Kimera Kimone, works as a Business Analyst.
Mr Baijnath Singh’s second son, Hannieruth (Bunny), is a building contractor and runs his own business under the name Stainco Projects. His wife, Beena Devi, has risen from an Educator to become a successful attorney under the name BD Singh and Associates.
Their eldest son, Yakeen, who has obtained B Teck in IT, operates with his wife, the Shakaya Sports-Astro indoor soccer centre at 94 Old Main Road. Their second son, Shrey, who has a Diploma in Marketing, joined his dad, Bunny, in Stainco Projects.
Mr Baijnath’s third son, Roy, runs a TC Electronic company with his son, Tyron. The company is involved in all aspects of security.
The fourth son, Nundcoomar (Jay), works at the Dept of Correctional Services. His eldest daughter, Shenece, is a Payroll Administrator for a Global International Company. His second daughter, Shenel, who is an Audiologist, is working for a team of Audiologists in Cape Town.
Baijnath Singh, in addition to hard work and commitment to social development, also infused the idea of his children involving themselves in sporting activities and development in the Ottawa village.
It was because of this inspiration that Sunjith and his brother, Bunny, took an active part in football, road races and karate.
In the 1980s, Sunjith was vice-chairman of the Ottawa United F C and was head of the club’s Disciplinary Committee. He was also involved in negotiations when Ottawa United joined with D’Alberton Callies. This led to the emergence of Ottawa Callies which competed in the Super League.
Sunjith was also a member of the Silver Star Sporting Club.
Bunny Singh, for his part, was involved with the Mustang Athletic Club and participated in a number of road races in Durban and other parts of KZN. Bunny also achieved a brown belt in karate as a member of the Shotokan Karate Club. He also was the administrator of their local gym in Verulam.
The involvement of Baijnath Singh in numerous activities in Ottawa village and the Ottawa Sugar Estate and the participation of his children in sporting and other programmes made them realise that Ottawa was no ordinary community but “where everyone around was a family”.
“Ottawa was a very close-knit community,” says Sunjith. “Everybody knew each other and we were very united. The community of Ottawa also enjoyed the practice of communal living at that time.
“The people also supported our local soccer team where ever they played.”
Sunjith says their father, Baijnath Singh, passed on in 1999 and mother, Poolmathie, passed on in 2005. Like their parents, he also had a great deal of respect for many local activists in Ottawa. They included people of the calibre of Dilraj Duttoo, Gamson Munn, and H R Singh.
“These are some of the gentlemen that I can remember were with me in Ottawa School Trust Board.”
All the sons of Baijnath Singh still live in Ottawa while the sisters are settled in suburbs in Durban.
According to Sunjith, the descendants of their great-grand parents have now reached six generations and their numbers have reached more than 100.
The descendants have drawn up their family tree and have visited India several times. But they have not been successful in finding the villages from where their ancestors came from.
“Our ancestors sacrificed their lives when they arrived in the former Port Natal colony to work as indentured labourers and later settled in our village of Ottawa. The Ottawa they settled in and developed over the years until the early 1990s is something that we will never forget.
“Peace, tranquility and the togetherness as a family was the culture of the community at that time. This will always be in our memory.”
(This is another photo of Mr Baijnath Singh (right) with Mr January Naidoo of Verulam and a Munn Road youngster during a visit to the former Lourenzo Marques (now Maputo) in the early 1970s.)
Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com Dec 9 2022 Updated Dec 7 2023
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