FORMER SUGAR TOWN, OTTAWA BOY, NELSON GOVENDER, PASSES ON AT THE AGE OF 63

(NELSON WITH HIS FAMILY MEMBERS AT HIS HOME IN BELVEDERE, TONGAAT, IN DECEMBER 2017) A former resident of the little village of Ottawa on the north coast of the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa has passed away at the young age of 63. Mr Gangadharan “Nelson” Govender, who grew up surrounded by sugar cane fields and the fast flowing Ottawa river in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, passed away on Saturday, March 17 at his current home in the village of Belvedere in the town of Tongaat, about 20km north of Ottawa. He was a third generation descendant of indentured labourers who had come to come to the former Natal Colony in January 1882 to work as “slaves” on the sugar cane fields owned by British settlers. His ancestors had come from the village of Navalpore in the Tamil Nadu state of India. At his funeral on Sunday, March 18, this was the tribute that was paid to him by his eldest brother, Subry Govender: A VERY SPECIAL PERSON DURING HIS LIFE TIME

(NELSON WITH HIS WIFE, MALA, NIECE, ASTER, SISTER, VIOLET, AND ASTER'S GRANDSON) “It takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, and a day to love them, but it takes an entire lifetime to forget them.” Vanakkam, Namaskaram, Namasthe and Sanibonani. Good morning/Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. For us all – neighbours, friends and family – Nelson was that kind of special person. Firstly, I want to thank all neighbours, friends and relatives who have gathered here to pay our last respects to Gangadharan Nelson Govender, who passed away yesterday morning (March 17) at the age of 63.

(NELSON WITH HIS FAMILY MEMBERS IN DECEMBER 2017) On Wednesday evening last week, I telephoned to check with Mala how Nelson was doing. But as my misfortune would have it, I did not get the chance to speak to Mala or Nelson. I then immediately wrote an SMS and sent it to Mala. The next morning on Thursday, Mala wrote me a message, saying Nelson was doing okay. The next day on Friday, I told my wife, Thyna, that we should phone Mala again and just check about Nelson. Then yesterday morning, Thyna told me you know we should go and visit Mala and Nelson. But while we were on our way home at about 11:30am from a local shopping centre we received the sad message from one of the neighbours that Nelson had passed on. We were a bit surprised because from all accounts we thought that Nelson was pulling through.

(NELSON WITH NEIL PILLAY, ONE OF THE FIFTH GENERATION DESCENDANTS OF THE EXTENDED MUNIAMMA FAMILY) As I said in my introduction, Nelson was a special person to all of us. His thought-provoking words, interspersed with laughter and jokes, during interactions with friends, neighbours and family members were special moments during his life. Who was Nelson?

(NELSON WITH HIS FATHER, FREDDY MUNIEN, MOTHER, SALATCHIE, AND UNCLE LICKY GOVENDER AND AUNTIE PATCH GOVENDER, ON HIS 21ST BIRTHDAY IN OTTAWA) He was born as Gangadharan to Munien and Salatchie Subramoney Govender in Isipingo, to the south of the city of Durban, on 11th of December 1954. He was number six in the family. While still a small boy, our parents moved from Isipingo to settle in Munn Road, Ottawa. Here young Nelson attended the local school and was a real prankster. Climbing up the slinger berry tree and running to the road when he disagreed with his brothers and sisters, became a norm. At the same time, he created very close friends with other youngsters in the village, with whom he used to go fishing in the nearby Ottawa river, looking for guavas in the untamed bushes, fetching coal from the railway line and looking for mushroom at a number of spots on the old road in Ottawa. He also was a regular at the nearby sugar estates of Ottawa and Blackburn, where his ancestors worked as indentured labouers. He also used to join his family members to travel to the nearby sugar town of Mount Edgecombe to watch Tamil movies at the local temple hall. He also specialised in singing and became well-known at local like weddings and prayer functions in the village of Ottawa.

(NELSON WITH HIS BROTHERS - SADHA, NANDA AND SYDNEY) While still in his teens Nelson started work in Durban for the South African Railways.

(NELSON WITH HIS WIFE, MALA, AND HIS BROTHERS - SADHA, NANDA AND SYDNEY AND SISTER-IN-LAWS, THYNA, AND VASANTHA) In the early 1970s, Nelson joined his family when they moved to re-settle in Lotusville in the next town of Verulam. Here Nelson concentrated on his work but also at the same time continued with his pranks with his sister-in-laws – teasing, joking and laughing with them. While living in Lotusville, Nelson became very close to his nephews and nieces. Nelson never forget his roots in Ottawa and every Saturday evening he used to join his friends in a game of cards. Before long Nelson was introduced to Mala of Tongaat and they settled here in Belvedere after tying the knot some 35 years ago. Their marriage produced three children – Charmaine, Selina and Shiven.

(NELSON WITH SOME FAMILY FRIENDS AT HIS HOME IN BELVEDERE, TONGAAT, IN 2017) Nelson will be missed not only by Mala and his three adult children but also by five grand-children – Mykyala, Deolin, Keeval, Junaid and Samuel. Nelson will also be missed very dearly by his surviving siblings – Ambiga, Sadha, Nanda, Sydney, Kistamma Violet and Natchthramma Childie, sister-in-laws – Thyna, Devi and Vasantha, one brother-in-law – Sunny Kumarasamy Chetty – and 15 nephews and nieces. One of his nieces – Vanisha Cookie Govender – who is now settled in Perth, Australia with her family was taken aback when she was informed of Nelson’s passing yesterday. In a message to the family, she wrote: “I will always remember Nelson Mamha for the fun-loving person he was. Always smiling, no matter what adversity he was going through. May his soul rest in peace. Om Nama Shivaya.” One of the nephews, Michael “Henry” Kumarasamy, who is settled in New Zealand also sent a message of condolences to the entire family. Another nephew, Vivian “Mamba” Subramoney, who is now settled at Sun City, north of Pretoria, sent this message: “Very saddened by the passing of Uncle Nelson. Massive loss to the Subramoney family. Prayers and thoughts are with all the family members during this trying time. Please pass our condolences to Auntie Mala and the rest of the family. Jai Sai Raam.” Similar messages were sent by extended members of the Muniamma family, Mrs Paddy White, who is now settled in England; and Mrs Aveshnie Moodley, who is now settled in Germany with her family. One of Nelson’s very close extended family members, Ms Aster Reddy, who was unable to attend the funeral because she was recuperating in hospital, also sent a message to the family.

(SISTER KISTAMMA VIOLET WITH NELSON AND ASTER) NELSON'S SISTER, KISTAMMA VIOLET AND HER HUSBAND, SUNNY KUMARASAMY CHETTY, ALSO RENDERED TAMIL CHRISTIAN SONGS AS THEIR WAY OF REMEMBERING THEIR BROTHER. Nelson’s sad passing has come at a time when the Subramoney family along with other members of the extended Muniamma family is busy finalising arrangements for the launch of the Family’s History Book on Saturday, April 28. Nelson was looking forward to the launch and recently when we visited him he had requested that we must set aside at least seven places for his family to attend. He will be missed at the launch of our Family History Book. In closing my tribute to our dear brother, who was also a husband, father and grand-father, I want to say that Nelson will always be part of us. The following phrase by American author, Helen Keller, aptly applies to Nelson: “What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes part of us.” Finally, on behalf of the Subramoney family, I want to express our sincere and deepest gratitude to Mala for being there with Nelson at all times. I also want to thank neighbours who were like one big family to Nelson. Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com