BY SUBRY GOVENDER HAPPY 95TH BIRTHDAY - Ruthinsamy Munsamy “Isaac” Govender

(ISAAC MAMHA ADDRESSING HIS MOTHER'S 100th BIRTHDAY IN CANELANDS, VERULAM) Today, the 23rd August 2017, we, members of the greater Muniamma Family, want to wish our Mamha, uncle, elder brother, father, grand-father and great-grand-father, Mr Ruthinsamy Munsamy “Isaac” Govender, better known as Isaac Mamha or Isaac Uncle, a happy and joyous 95th birthday. Isaac Mamha was born on this day in 1922 to Muniamma and Coopoosamy Govender at Dayal Road in the former “Indian” village of Clairwood, south of Durban.

(ISAAC MAMHA AND HIS WIFE, KURPA) He was part of a large family of 14 children, eleven of whom had survived to give birth to the greater and extended Muniamma family. His siblings were Baigium (Periamma), Nadasen Govender (Port Shepstone uncle), Licky Govender of Unit 7 Chatsworth, Soobramoney Govender of Isipingo, Valiatham Dick Govender of Isipingo, Salatchie Subramoney of Ottawa/Verulam, Savundalay Padaychee of Dundee, Patcha Govender of Unit 3 Chatsworth, Percy Boya Govender of Merebank/Chatsworth, and Amoy Moodley of Unit 3 Chatsworth. Isaac Uncle, Savundalai aunty and Amoy aunty and their deceased brothers and sisters are second generation descendants of our ancestors, Kandasami Naiken and his “wife”, Thanji, who came to the former Natal Colony as indentured labourers in the year 1882. At the time of his 95th birthday, only two of his sisters are still around, Mrs Savundalay Padaychee, of Dundee who turned 90 on July 8, and Mrs Amoy Moodley, who is 81-years-old. One sister-in-law, Mrs Soundler Govender (Percy uncle’s wife), who is in her 80s, is also around today.

(ISAAC MAMHA WITH HIS BROTHER, PERCY, AND SISTERS AT A FUNCTION OF THE MUNIAMMA FAMILY SOCIAL CLUB) Uncle Isaac, who lives in Northdale, Pietermaritzburg, has come a long way from his early days at Dayal Road in Clairwood where in his youth he helped his father, brothers and sisters in cultivating their market garden. They cultivated a number of vegetables, including strawberries, which they used to sell at the historic early morning market in Warwick Avenue. After a few years at primary school, Uncle Isaac did odd jobs before taking up catering at several hotels in Durban as his main work. While still a young boy, Uncle Isaac, who used to attend Tamil classes and visit the local temples on a regular basis, also became interested in the Christian religion. But his interest in Christianity caused him unwanted problems with his family, especially his father and one of his brothers, who accused him of transgressing the family’s belief system. On one occasion, after visiting a local shop in Clairwood, he purchased a photo of Jesus Christ for two pence (this was the currency at that time until the late 1960s). When he took the photo back home, he was confronted by one of his brothers who asked him this question: “Why do you bring a white man’s God to our home?”. But Isaac Mamha told me that he was not disturbed by this question and instead retorted as follows: “Listen here Anna (big brother) I have paid for this photo and it belongs to me. It has nothing to do with you. You are not going to tell me what to do.”

(ISAAC MAMHA WITH HIS TWO SURVIVING SISTERS, AMOY AND SAVUNDALAI, AT A FAMILY FUNCTION AT THE JAPANESE GARDENS IN DURBAN IN JANUARY 2016) Then on another occasion, after secretly converting to Christianity at the age of 17, Isaac Mamha was found by his father to be praying on the side of his bed. His father was furious and grabbed a spear and started to run after him. His mother, Muniamma, tried to stop the old man but Coopoosamy pushed her aside and scolded: “It’s because of you he is acting like this.” He shouted : “He is praying to a pariah God.” Noticing the seriousness of the situation he had found himself in, Isaac Mamha jumped through the window and ran to a nieghbour’s home for safety. He stayed the night at the nieghbour’s home and the next day left home. He went to the home of a pastor in Beatrice Street in the then Grey Street area of Durban where he stayed for a few years while working as a chef. His mother, brothers and sisters were not too happy about him leaving home and spoke to the old man to change his mind about Isaac Mamha. While he was working at a hotel at Riverside in Durban, he got a surprise when his father pitched up and said he wanted to talk to him. “You have been away for three years and it’s not nice that you are staying away. I want to you to come back home,” his father told him. Isaac Mamha agreed to return to Dayal Road on condition that his father did not interfere with his religious affiliation. But when he returned home, he got a shock.

(ISAAC MAMHA AND HIS ELDER BROTHER, NADASEN GOVENDER, AT THE HOME OF ANOTHER BROTHER, LICKY, IN CHATSWORTH, DURBAN) “My father made a special room for me in the verandah where a separate plate and cup were provided for me. My father told me that I must eat on my own and that during weddings and other functions, I must not get involved. “But of course this only applied when my father was not around. My mother and other brothers and sisters were very concerned about me and made sure that I was not treated separately.” However, Isaac Mamha suffered more frustrations and inconveniences when his elder sister arranged for him to meet a young girl in the Merebank area. That girl turned out to be his future wife, Aunty Kurpa. Although his father did not oppose his marriage, he insisted that he would not attend the wedding. At the same time he warned Muniamma and the other children not to attend the wedding. But some of the brothers and sisters informed the old man that they were going to attend a Tamil movie at the Rani Theatre. They attended the wedding and Dundee aunty was the bride’s maid. Isaac Mamha tied the “Thali” because of his own background and because Aunty Kurpa’s family were strong Catholic people who respected their family’s traditions and cultures. After their wedding, Isaac Mamha and Kurpa stayed at Kurpa’s parents home for a while.

(ISAAC MAMHA WITH HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS AT A FUNCTION OF THE MUNIAMMA SOCIAL CLUB ON THE SOUTH COAST) His father mellowed his attitude after Ruth and Able were born and they began visiting Dayal Road. Isaac Mamha at this time was working at one of the hotels in Durban and he arranged for his brothers, Dick and Percy, to also work with him as page boys and waiters. Then in the early 1960s, Isaac Mamha moved to Pietermaritzburg where he found a job at one of the top hotels. Here another three daughters – Selvie, Meryl and Dhaya were born.

(ISAAC MAMHA WITH ONE OF HIS GRAND-DAUGHTERS, MICHELLE MUNSAMI, AT A FAMILY FUNCTION IN DURBAN IN 2016) After living in the “Indian” district of central Pietermaritzburg for some time, Isaac Mamha and his family moved to Northdale after they were also affected by the notorious Group Areas Act, which was enforced by the former apartheid regime to separate the residential areas according to race – white, coloured, Indian and African.

(ISAAC MAMHA WITH HIS LATE WIFE, AUNTY GRACE KURPA, and his late sister, Salatchie Subramoney) Isaac Mamha has been living at this house with Aunty Grace and his family for more than 50 years. Although he has been involved in the Christian religion for some time, Isaac Mamha has never forgotten his Tamil background, cultures and traditions. He managed to obtain a Tamil Bible and up to this day continues to sing religious songs in the Tamil language. We want to wish him a very happy birthday and hope that he will still be around to see the golden age of 100 like his mother, Muniamma. Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com