RAMCHARAN PIONEER FAMILY HISTORY OF 0TTAWA -RIET RIVER
INDENTURED ANCESTOR - RAMCHARAN - ARRIVED FROM THE VILLAGE OF JUGRAJ IN THE DISTRICT OF FAIZABAD IN UTTAR PRADESH
By Subry Govender
One of the extended families that became an integral part of the Ottawa community since 1910 were the descendants of an indentured labourer who worked as a Sirdar (supervisor) in four sugar estates in Ottawa and neighbouring areas.
They are the descendants of Ramcharan, who arrived in the early 1900s at the age of 23 from the village of Jugraj in the district of Faizabad in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
He arrived at the then Port of Durban in the former Natal Colony on the ship called Ukkuzi XXX1X.
He was recruited by the owners of the Ottawa Sugar Estate where he completed his first five-year indenture. He, thereafter, moved to the Sykes Estate, which was situated in the area of Phoenix, as a Sirdar. He continued to work in this category at the Verulam Sugar Estate and J H Trenance Estate.
During his first few years on the sugar estates, he was introduced to and married Phoojaria, who was South African born.
They settled in the former Mount Vernon area (now known as Riet River) of Ottawa where other pioneer families – Jhugroo, Munn, and Mungal – had also settled while working in the nearby sugar estates.
Mr Ramcharan and his wife had six children – four sons and two daughters. They were Mahabir, Paken, Budraj, Kalideen, Rita and Mahaday.
Mahabir, the eldest child, was born in Mount Vernon on October 1 1924.
Mr Mahabir, who also in his early life worked at the Sykes Estate as a sugar cane field labourer, is the father of Paramanand Pabs Mahabir and five others - Parvathy, Sewak, Basdaw, Soolachanee, and Pamla.
I interacted with Pabs, who is now a Ayurvedic Medicine practitioner, about his family history and their struggles in the early days on the sugar cane fields.
According to Pabs, who qualified as a building inspector, his grand-father settled in Riet River because many other former indentured labourers from North India had also settled in the area.
His grand-father and grand-mother worked very hard in the fields to grow vegetables for food and also to sell vegetables and fruit in Ottawa, Mount Edgecombe and Verulam.
He recalls that his grand-father and grand-mother passed away in Riet Rivier in the 1960s when they may have been in their 80s.
His father, Mahabir, entered the furniture industry as a carpenter after working at Sykes Estate. As a carpenter his father used to do some work at the new Jhugroo school as a voluntary labourer.
He and all his brothers and sisters had attended the Jhugroo primary schools and completed their primary education.
Some of them completed high school and also studied for their tertiary education through UNISA and other universities.
The descendants of the Ramcharans have now reached the sixth generation and most of them have entered various professions after completing their tertiary education. Some of the Mahabir and other second, third and fourth generation descendants are now qualified Engineers, Soft Ware IT Specialists, electricians, lawyers and food technologists.
One descendant, Rahist Dusrath, grandson of his sister, Parvathy, qualified as a medical doctor two years ago.
Pabs Mahabir (69), who lived in Mt Vernon for more than 30 years and who is now settled in Verulam, is one of the "first" persons of Indian-origin to qualify as a Building Inspector. He worked for the Ethekwini Municipality for 35 years. He studied for the Building Inspector’s Diploma through Technicon RSA through correspondence.
Most of his siblings and cousins stayed in the Mount Vernon area even after marrying and entering the adult stages in their lives.
Some members of the extended Ramcharan family, Ravi and Kamil Mahabir, have emigrated to New Zealand over the past few years.
Growing up in Riet Rivier (Mt Vernon) was not only tough for his grand-father and his children but also for the second-generation descendants.
“After attending school at the Jhugroo Primary School, we had to work in the fields growing vegetables and weeding. We used to walk to Ottawa village and Mount Edgecombe with my grand-mother, Phooljaria, to sell ripe mangoes and vegetables.
“My grandparents had their own cows for milk and donkeys for ploughing the farm.
“We had no running water and had to fetch water from the local ponds and the river nearby. Times were tough in those days.
“We also had no lights and had to study with paraffin lamps and home-made lamps.
“We gathered wood from the nearby bushes for cooking our food on homemade fire places (chola) and bowla.”
There was also no public transport at that time and they had to walk to and from school and also to Verulam and Mount Edgecombe. It was easier walking to Verulam and Mt Edgecombe rather than taking the trains.
“All the families, like those in Ottawa, lived very closely with one another like ‘one big family’.
“Our relationship with our neighbours was something we appreciated. We shared our food and helped in times of need.”
Some members of the extended family have researched their roots in India and have made several visits to the village from where their ancestor, Mr Ramcharan, had come from.
“My cousin, Hiralall, made contacts with the families in India. Hiralall, who is also known as Sham, and his wife, Shakila, visited the India families first.
“Thereafter, Hiralall took my uncle, Kalideen, my sister Pamla, my cousin Rajendra, another cousin Parvathy and her husband, Royith Bachan, to the village in North India.”
Pabs Mahabir also tried to visit the village when he and his wife visited India in 2005.
“We were on holiday and travelled as far as Ajodya. We contacted the families in the village by phone but unfortunately lost communication with them. After a few days we gave up our attempts to travel to the village when we failed to locate the family members.” Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com Feb 10 2024
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