DILLINGER GOVENDER FAMILY HISTORY OF MAHARAJ ROAD IN OTTAWA
"INDENTURED FATHER" - NARAYANAN GOVENDER - WAS FROM A LITTLE VILLAGE IN WHAT WAS THEN KNOWN AS THE MADRAS PRESIDENCY IN INDIA
By Subry Govender
In the 1950s and 1960s while most of the people of our little village of Ottawa were still trying to stabilise their lives, one large family at the far end of Maharaj Road that caught our attention was the Dillinger Govender family.
Dillinger was the calling name of Soobramoney Govender, who was the eldest son of an indentured labourer, Narayanan Govender. Narayanan Govender toiled at the Mount Edgecombe Sugar Estate and the Ottawa Sugar Estate after he arrived in the late 1800s with some friends from Tamil Nadu in India.
Narayanan Govender settled in Ottawa in the early 1900s after he married a local woman, Nagamma, despite having a wife and two children in the district of “Poluar Jilla” in Tamil Nadu.
(Nagamma was the mother of Dilinger and his 10 brothers and sisters)
Here in Maharaj Road, Dillinger and his five other brothers and two sisters were born. The other family members who became well-known, like Dillinger, to the rest of the community were:
Moonsamy John Govender; Doorsamy Bux Govender; Chinboy Chin Govender; Kisten Billy Govender; Soobiah Soobs Govender; Perumal Peru Govender; Amoy Govender and Ambi Govender.
I interacted with Logan Govender, the eldest son of Dillinger, about the Govender family and life in Ottawa in the early days. His uncle, Peru Govender, who is in his 80s and lives in Johannesburg, also provided the information in detail about the Govender family’s roots and life in Ottawa.
According to Peru Govender, who was an educator in schools in Verulam and surrounding areas, his father had accompanied some of his friends when they decided to come down to the former Natal Colony to “get rich quick” and then return home to Tamil Nadu.
“My father came as a ‘non literate’ person. Ploughing the earth and planting and grazing was all he knew. Many were filled with hopes as high as the stars. They transgressed the Indian Ocean making their way from India to Durban in the late 1800s. Yet reaching their dream of a better life and returning home triumphant was not to be.
“It is unclear whether the kind of life they would come to live as indentured labourers was immediately apparent to them.
"FATHER BONDED TO A LEGACY OF HARDSHIP AND DOMINATION”
“The severance of contact with my step-mother in India affected my father immensely. He became broody, quiet for long periods of time and very often tearful. Life in Natal was difficult. Socio-economic conditions made family life difficult. Home for many like my father was ‘no more’. He had everything to lose. A wife and two minor children.
“He got ‘stuck’ here, married my mother, Nagamma, had 11 children (including two children in Tamil Nadu), and died at 96-years-old. Life in Mt Edgcombe and Ottawa Estate was brutal and heart rendering, painful and compelling episodes of indenture.
“Most of the indentured workers could not even ‘read’ the dispositions they were asked to sign. They simply used the ‘X’ to become ‘bonded labourers’ for ever.”
Peru Govender says he was born in Ottawa, which was a village his brothers and sisters found to be “endearing to all of us”.
"OTTAWA A CLOSE-KNIT COMMUNITY - NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT LANGUAGE AND RELIGIOUS GROUPS.”
“We were a close-knit community. There was no distinction between Hindi/Tamil/Telegu or English speakers. Religion was a unifying factor, no divisions. We were one happy family.”
Recalling the cultural activities they engaged in the early days, Peru Govender says they took part in the Six-Foot dance at Ottawa Estate; Mount Edgecombe festival; “Porridge” prayers both in temples and at home; and weddings.
The brothers also participated fully in football matches for Ottawa.
(Soobiah and Peru - third and fourth standing - with other local boys in a Ottawa Football team. Two local boys who are easily identified are Dhanraj Sivasanker - first left standing - and Balwanth - centre middle seated)
PERU GOVENDER ALSO RECALLS THE "GANGHA BOYS" OF OTTAWA
Another activity that they considered to be cultural was “smoking dagga or gangha". The main Ottawa participants in this activity were Gengan, who lived with his family in Gazard Road; Ossie and Farouk, who lived at the entrance to Maharaj Road; Georgie Naicker who lived in Kissoon Road; Maggie Pillay, who lived in a house below the railway line; Ismail Hans, who ran a small shop in Central Ottawa; Shaik; Tiger, who worked at Flash Clothing and lived in Central Ottawa; and Aboy.
These were just a few names that Peru Govender could recall.
Peru Govender was also involved in what he considers to be a “Big Fight” with Gokran, which he won on points.
"OTTAWA KE HAAL"
The Dillinger family also loved the close-knit nature of the community and the music they participated in. The song that caught the attention of the village people in the early days, according to Peru Govender, was “Ottawa ke Haal” by Madhan Maharaj. The song was dedicated to the people who died when the motor vehicle they were travelling in went off the road near the Ottawa River and crashed. This incident captured the attention of the people in Ottawa and the rest of the then Natal province and lived in their memories for decades.
BILLY GOVENDER TRAVELS TO ENGLAND
(One of the Dilinger brothers - Billy - third from left - who travelled to England in the late 1960s. He was invited by an English tourist, Derek, standing next to him. The youngster on the right is Soobiah.)
One of the brothers, Billy Kisten Govender, travelled in the late 1960s to England where he stayed for more than10 years. He was invited to England by an Englishman, Derek, who was visiting Durban at that time. Billy was working as a head waiter at the Royal Hotel in Durban where he met the Englishman.
The visitor called on him to pursue his working like in England because of the opportunities available there. Billy was successful in England and stayed on for more than a decade.
Billy, however, returned home after he was persuaded to do so by his brothers.
According to Logan Govender, the descendants of Narayanan Govender run into several generations and number more than 100. Most of the descendants today have established their own businesses and work as professionals. Most of the grand-children and great-grand-children live in Durban, Johannesburg and East London. Some members of the families of one brother, Bux, and sister, Amoy, live in Ottawa. One of the descendants is vice-chairman of African Minerals based in Switzerland.
Another descendant, Charles Govender, was an active member of the community. Among other positions, he was also a committed official of the Ottawa Civic Association and several temples. Sadly, he passed on in October 2023.
Some elder members of the family have visited the village of their ancestor, Narayanan Govender, but hardly any contact has been established with the family in Tamil Nadu. Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com Oct 25 2022/Jan 10 2024
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