MUNGAL JHUGROO FAMILY – OTTAWA PIONEER FAMILY
LOVE AND MARRIAGE ACROSS SOCIAL LINES AND PIONEER FAMILY HISTORY
(Budhoo Mungal and Subadra Sewnarain)
By Subry Govender
Our little village of Ottawa, during the midst of its development from the early 1900s to the 1990s, became well-known for a number of marriages across language, religious and cultural lines. These marriages included Hindi and Tamil language groups and Muslims, Hindus and Christians.
There were also marriages between young lovers from what some families believed was unacceptable because of social differences at that time.
One such marriage that involved two of the pioneer families was that of Budhoo Mungal, who was part of the Mungal-Jhugroo extended family, and Subadra Sewnarain, who was part of the extended Mehgraj/Maharaj family.
Budhoo Mungal and Subadra Sewnarain fell in love in 1959 when they worked at the Flash Clothing factory, which was owned by Mr S S Maharaj, a great humanitarian, community leader who spearheaded the construction of the new Jhugroo primary school and former “Indian” undefeated singles and doubles tennis champion in South Africa.
The Maharaj extended family, after whom Maharaj Road in Ottawa was named, objected to the relationship between Budhoo Mungal and Subadra because, according to their beliefs at that time, the two lovers belonged to different social groupings within the Hindi-speaking community.
But S S Maharaj, who was in no way related to the extended Maharaj family, came to the rescue of the young lovers.
He made arrangements for the young couple to be married at the old Jhugroo school, which was situated where Globes Shopping Centre now stands. The entire Maharaj family stayed away from the wedding with the exception of Minora Maharaj, daughter of Munoo Maharaj. Minora Maharaj had married S S Maharaj’s younger brother, D S Maharaj, who was a teacher at the old Jhugroo school and also a top musician.
She and Subadra were very close friends and there was no way that she could stay away from the wedding.
Minora’s father, Munoo Maharaj, Mr Manilall Maharaj and teacher Mr S S (Krishna) Maharaj’s wife, Sursathy, were all first generation descendants of Mr Badri Maharaj, who came to the former Port Natal sugar colony from the state of Bihar or Uttar Pradesh in North India.
Badri Maharaj and some of his children practised as priests, in addition to their daily jobs in the sugar estates and in the teaching profession. This made them to consider themselves to be of higher social standing within the Hindi community.
Besides Minora Maharaj, Subadra’s parents and close relatives, Roopanands, attended her marriage to Budhoo Mungal at the old Jhugroo school.
Subadra came from a large family – seven sisters and one brother. They were the children of second generation Sewnarain Meghraj. Meghraj was a Sadhu. Mr Megraj and his family were sugar farmers north of Tongaat but sometime in the 1930s they moved to Ottawa. They settled in an area in what is now known as Maharaj Road. They wanted the road to be named Meghraj Road but the children of Badri Maharaj wanted it to be named Maharaj Road.
The Meghraj family conceded to the Maharaj family as they did not want to provoke any differences with their Maharaj family members.
Budhoo Mungal, for his part, was the son of Mungal Jhugroo. Mungal Jhugroo’s father was the pioneer Mr Jhugroo, who came down from the Bihar state in North India to work as a farmer on the sugar estates in Ottawa and surrounding areas. Budhoo Mungal was the son of Mungal Jhugroo and his second wife, Ramkali. Mr Jhugroo married for the second time after his first wife, died while giving birth to their son, Parthab. Parthab’s mother’s sister was Sanjaria Jhugroo.
Mr Parthab was a well-known vegetable farmer in the Tin Town area of Ottawa and a community leader. Mr Parthab was a businessman as well – he owned Ottawa Sand Supply which was located adjacent to a piggery at the time – now Highway Poultry occupies the land. He played a prominent role in the building of the new Jhugroo school.
(Mr Parthab Mungal, who is the elder brother of Budhoo Mungal, seen here with his wife and children. Mr Partab lived near the new Jhugroo Primary School in School Road.)
Both Budhoo Mungal and Parthab went onto become part of a large family after his father and mother progressed to have two more sons and six daughters.
(Budhoo Mungal on the day of his marriage to Subadara is seen with family members. One of them on the right is Mr H A Beharee, who was one of the famous teachers who taught at Jhugroo Primary School)
They were: Parvathy, who married teacher H A Beharee who lived on Munn Road; Dewanthee Dharampaul, who lived her early life in Beatrice Street in Durban; Heera Mungal, who married Roowanthee and lived on Munn Road until his passing a few years ago; Thara Deeplal, who married Dewkee and lived in Tagore Street in Tongaat; Rookmin - married Mungal Manawar - lived in Port Shepstone and then moved to Verulam; Chanan Mungal, who married Rashida Bob Khan, lives in Ottawa; Chooran Mungal, who married Sita Ramdhaney and lived in Ottawa; Sukrani who married Krish Praladh – lived in Tongaat; and Jasodhi, who married a person named Maharaj and lived in Verulam.
Budhoo Mungal, in addition to working as a machinist at Flash Clothing, was also an intermediary at the Durban court, and went on to become a security officer at M L Sultan Technikon. His hobbies and passion included: fishing, motor mechanic, a keen hunter, and snake catcher.
Budhoo Mungal’s wife, Subadra, was a daughter of the second wife of Sewnarain Meghraj. Her father married his second wife, Ramdhai, after his first wife also died during child birth.
Subadra had a half-sister named Shanti, who married into a Singh family who lived in Blackburn Estate. Her husband worked as driver for Tongaat Hullett.
Subadra’s other siblings were:
Devika, who married Ram Rampersad who owned a sand supply truck company in Pinetown. They have three sons and two daughters who all have successful careers. One son, Nashen, owns his own trucking company, M & R Trucking, based in Amanzimtoti.
Then Susheila, who lived in Ottawa; Rajcoomar, who was fondly called Boyan, lived in Ottawa; Radha, married accountant Ronald Ramkissoon and they have two daughters; Kalawathee (Rabitha) married Inder and they live in Newlands after first staying in Shallcross; Khusielawathee (Asha) married Anand Beeky (Sanjaria Jhugroo’s grandson) and they live in Maharaj Road, Ottawa.
Returning to Budhoo Mungal and Subadra they conceived four children – Beena Devi (Sharda), Andisha, Bramdaw (Ravin) and Tanuja.
Sharda, a lawyer (B D Singh and Associates) and former educationist, is married and lives in Ottawa. Andisha, who was married to the late Santosh Maharaj – son of Mr S S Maharaj – lives in Munn Road, Ottawa.
Ravin Mungal, who is an entrepreneur, owns a shipping and forwarding company (Custo Clear Shipping). He also lives in Ottawa.
The fourth sibling, Tanuja, is the only one who lives outside Ottawa. A marketing manager for a multi-national company specialising in supply of generic medicines - she is married and lives in Westville.
In compiling this history about the Mungal family, I interacted at length with Andisha Maharaj about the family’s connections to both the pioneer Jhugroo and Maharaj families.
Andisha Maharaj, who is the convenor of the Ottawa Environmental Society, is a community activist in her own right.
She told me that whatever information she had gained about the early history of the two extended families was obtained through conversations with her mother, father and other members of the family.
When asked about the love marriage between her father and mother, Andisha Maharaj said they had nothing to be ashamed of although they were marginalised in some ways.
“My parents fell in love and got married. They broke down the caste divides that existed at the time. Theirs was the first marriage to take place outside their homes. During those days it was customary for weddings to take place from one’s home and the invite was printed on handkerchiefs.”
The Maharajs relented their attitude to the Subadra family only after their father, Budhoo Mungal, passed away in 1978 at the age of 48.
BUDHOO MUNGAL FULLY SERVED THE PEOPLE OF OTTAWA
Andisha Maharaj has very strong recollections of her father who took an active interest in the welfare of Ottawa residents at that time.
“He was at everyone’s beck and call in the village. He was the first-person people would reach out to for any assistance. The people used to call him to tackle burglars and to take care of dangerous snakes which used to leap from tree to tree, especially in mango plantations.
“Dad was an excellent motor mechanic. He built the first beach buggy owned by SS Maharaj. All the work was done onsite – from axle to engine to moulding the fibre glass for the buggy. The engine he had fitted on was VW. The buggy was more often with us than with Mr S S Maharaj. It was a statement vehicle!”
Budhoo Mungal remained a strong ally of Mr S S Maharaj as he and his wife continued to work for S S Maharaj in his factory after their marriage.
“Dad partnered SS Maharaj on the Flash Free Funeral Services. He did all the paperwork and oversaw the arm of S S Maharaj’s social outreach programme.
BUDHOO MUNGAL WAS A CLOSE FRIEND OF FLASH CLOTHING FACTORY OWNER - MR S S MAHARAJ
“Dad and SS Maharaj had shared a very close relationship. They were like brothers. I remember that during all our summer holidays we used to stay at Mr Maharaj’s beach cottage in Tinley Manor.
“We had unlimited access to the cottage. Dad would pack us up on long summer afternoons and take us to Tinley Manor with a person we called uncle Alimuthu. Alimuthu was an ace in catching crayfish and with T K Harry, would land the big fish.”
Despite the social isolation, her mother, who is now 83 years-old, was also a strong person. She remained resolute and strong, especially after Budhoo Mungal passed away in July 1978.
MOTHER - SUBADRA MUNGAL - WORKED VERY HARD TO BRING UP HER CHILDREN
“Mum raised her kids without any social support. She worked at Flash Clothing for more than 40 years. She maintained that her children must finish matric schooling to improve their lives.”
The social and cultural lives led by the early residents were things that united the community. They all looked forward to Diwali, Eid, Christmas, and other festivals such as Inder and Devi Pooja (prayers) and Muslim Mohrun festival that Hindus, Muslims and Christians celebrated.
Like other third and fourth generation descendants of indentured labourers who had settled in Ottawa, the Jhugroo family members also excelled in the different professions and became entrepreneurs in different fields in trade and businesses.
These included medical and scientist doctors,
dentists, educators, engineers, lawyers, nurses,
clerks, artisans and entrepreneurs.
“The early lives of our parents, grand-parents
and great grand-parents are a treasure that
we must cherish.
“They taught us about hard work, respect for
our elders, charity and voluntary labour.
Without these qualities the people of Ottawa
would never have built the new Jhugroo School.
It’s a rich legacy we all must be proud of.” Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com Oct 30 2023
