(The Lil Ruthan Gobindar Sirkar family members celebrating their father's 57th birthday at their home in Uplands, Ottawa, in 1967.)
M0ST OF THE LILRUTHAN BOYS AND GIRLS EXCELLED IN SPORT
KANTHI LIL RUTHAN WAS ONE OF THE TOP ATHLETES IN THE THEN NATAL PROVINCE AT THAT TIME
By Subry Govender
One of the families that was blessed with some top-ranking athletes in the 1960s and 1970s was the Lil-Ruthans who lived in the Uplands area of Ottawa.
Mr Lil-Ruthan Gobindar Sirkar and his wife Basmathi, lived in a large wood and iron house in an area we used to call Uplands. The area comprised the territory between Kissoon Road, Main Road and the Gazard Road.
Mr Lil Ruthan and Basmathi were children of indentured labourers who arrived from a village in the state of Bihar in North India to work on sugar estates in and around Durban. They settled in Effingham after serving their indentureships.
It was here that Mr Lil-Ruthan was born and grew up.
I spoke to Gayapersad Lil Ruthan, popularly known as Gay Ruthan, a third generation descendant about their family history.
Their father, Mr Lil-Ruthan, worked in the sugar cane fields during his early days before entering the building industry.
After his father married his wife, Basmathi, who was from the Sheodass family of Sea Cow Lake, they moved to Ottawa in the 1940s. Here he became famous as a builder and to all his customers he was known as “Tommy Builder”.
(The six Lil Ruthan daughters - (L to R) -Githa, Roshni, Kanthi, Gungamani, Umawathi and Sonamathi)
Mr Lil-Ruthan and Basmathi had a large family of 10 children. They were four sons - Sewsunker “Titty Boy” (Teddy); Balwanth (Roy); Gayapersad (Gay) and Nirmal (Navin); and six daughters – Sonamathi(Sharon); Umawathi; Gangamoney; Kanthi(Shama), Roshni and Githa.
The senior children attended the old Jhugroo primary school in the 1950s and early 1960s, while the younger children attended the new Jhugroo primary school and Verulam and Mount Edgecombe high schools.
(Sewsunker - the eldest son)
After completing his primary and high school, the eldest, Sewsunker, was one of the first children of Ottawa to qualify as a teacher. Sewsunker, who is now late, taught at various nearby schools. He was well-known for guiding and helping his brothers and sisters and other young people of Ottawa.
(Balwanth - the second eldest son)
The second eldest, Balwanth, entered the building trade like his father and was a sought-after builder in Ottawa, Verulam and other nearby towns and villages. He was known to have built a huge house for his own family in Tinley Manor.
Balwanth took a keen interest in community welfare in Ottawa and was one of the senior officials of the Flash Angling Club and Ashik Angling Club. Balwanth passed on, on September 10 2012.
(Members and officials of the Flash Angling Club. Balwanth is seen seated second from right. His younger brother, Gayapersad, is also seen in the photo - fourth from left standing.)
The Lil-Ruthan children who became famous for their prowess as athletes were Kanthi, Gangamoney, Gayapersad, Githa and Navin. In fact Kanthi earned provincial honours as a speedster in the 100 metre and 200 metre events.
All the girls married early in their lives and settled in several parts of the province. Sonamathi settled in Howick; Umawathi in Silverglen; Kanthi in Umzinto; Roshni in Candice Drive, Ottawa; and Githa in Park Rynie.
(Gayapersad in a photo of Class 2 at the old Jhugroo Primary School in 1957. He is seen standing back row - 4th from left. The teacher seated right is Mr D S Maharaj.)
According Gayapersad, who worked as an Accountant for Durban Metro Water and as Chief Financial Officer for the Harding Municipality. The Lil-Ruthan family now exceeds more than 150 descendants and runs into five generations. While most of the family members live here in South Africa, some have emigrated to USA, Canada and New Zealand.
He recalls that all their brothers and sisters cherished the early days, growing up in Ottawa. Their primary school days were special because of the exciting times they enjoyed as young pupils and the commitment by teachers. They excelled both in the classroom and in the sports fields. There were also special trips that their teacher, Ms K. Baijnath, used to take them to Durban.
Gayapersad attended the Verulam High School where he completed his matriculation in 1967.
(Gayapersad is seen here (third from right standing) in this Standard 7 R photo in 1964 with some local friends from Ottawa. The school teacher here is Mr Ken Rajoo, who also taught at the new Jhugroo Primary School in his early teaching career.)
Gayapersad, who presently lives in Mungal Road, Ottawa, recalls that the residents of Ottawa lived in harmony, were peaceful and united.
He also worked in the sugar plantations of the Ottawa Sugar Estate during his school holidays. He remembers the culture of hard work, friendliness of the other plantation workers and being given rations as payment.
Gayapersad was also a keen sportsman and excelled in soccer, fishing and snooker. He was also a member of the Flash and Ashik angling clubs with Balwanth and others - including Mr Dicky Maharaj, Mike Govender, Boya Munsamy, and Buddah Ponnen.
His most recent and notable achievement was winning the 2023/24 Natal Blackball Grandmasters singles competition in pool and being selected to represent Natal in the SA National Blackball pool tournament.
“It was an exciting and wonderful experience. I miss the old days and would like to turn back the clock.”
He used to do regular reports on Radio Lotus as a Fishing Correspondent in the 1980s and 1990s
Gayapersad or Gay has been responsible for setting up the Ottawa social media group on What’s Up a few years ago with former resident Navin Maharaj, who is now settled in Canada. A well-attended and successful Ottawa Reunion was held in 2023 at Mumbai Dreams in Verulam. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all those who attended. Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com (Oct 14 2022 Re-edited Feb 18 2024) March 4 2024 
