BAIJNATH SINGH FAMILY HISTORY
BORN AND BRED IN OTTAWA, BAIJNATH SINGH WORKED AT THE LOCAL OTTAWA SUGAR ESTATE FOR MORE THAN 55 YEARS.
(BY SUBRY GOVENDER)
(This article was made possible through the information and photos supplied by Sunjith Singh - the eldest son of Mr Baijnath Singh.)
A second-generation descendant
of indentured labourers, who was born and lived all his life in the Ottawa
village, has left a legacy of not only hard work and self-reliance but also a
commitment to spiritual development.
Mr Baijnath Singh, who was born in 1922 in a property below the old
railway line, worked at the Ottawa Sugar Estate for more than 55 years and was
a member and senior official of the Ottawa Estate Temple Society all his senior
life.
He lived with his three brothers, three sisters and parents - Goordin Singh and Sunhai - in a simple wood and iron house in an area
where there were other families whose
members also worked at the nearby Ottawa Sugar Estate.
His grand-parents, Bhowani and Sundri Singh, came
down as indentured labourers from the north eastern Indian state of Uttar
Pradesh sometime in the 1880s. Mr Bhowani Singh came from the village of
Soorrmow in the town of Lucknow and Sundri from the village of Sariga in the
district of Ballia in the same state of Uttar Pradesh. When they arrived in the
former Port Natal (Durban) harbour they were recruited by the owners of Ottawa
Sugar estate. After they completed their five-year indentureship, they continued
to work at the Ottawa sugar estate. One of their sons was Goordin Singh who
moved to Ottawa sometime in the early 1900s. Here he married Sunhai who was
also a worker at the Ottawa Sugar Estate.
It was here that Baijnath Singh was born along with
his three brothers and three sisters. He started work as a young boy at the
Ottawa Sugar Estate and over time climbed to the position of a clerk. One of
his brothers also worked with him at the sugar estate while one worked for the South
African Railways and another in the Printing industry.
While in his early 20s, Baijnath was introduced to a
young lady, Poolmathie, and they married sometime in the 1940s.
After their marriage, Baijnath bought a property at
the end of the Old Main Road in the Uplands area where he built a wood and iron
house. The house was across the railway line from the old house where he was
born.
This property is now known as 94 On the Main where
one of his sons operates a sporting centre and his daughter-in-law has her
attorney’s office.
Baijnath Singh and his wife moved to their new home
to start their side of the extended Singh family. Here their eight children - Shanti
Devi, Chinta, Sunjith, Romilla, Geetanjali, Hannieruth (Bunny), Roy and
Nundcoomar (Jay) were born.
(Poolmathie Singh celebrating her elder age birthday with her daughters at her home in 94 Old Main Road, Ottawa. From L to R: Romila, Shanti, Mrs Singh, Gita and Chinta - who is now late.)
I interacted with Mr Baijnath’s eldest son, Sunjith, about the history of their family and their lives in Ottawa.
Like all other parents in Ottawa during the early
years, Mr Baijnath Singh and his wife, Poolmathie, emphasised the importance of attaining a
decent education to their children.
It was for this reason that Mr Baijnath committed
himself to his work so that he could provide the necessary assistance for all
their children to attend both primary and high schools.
Mr Singh started to work as a Shunter in his early
teens after completing standard four at the Umdloti Primary School in Verulam.
While driving a locomotive the young Singh injured his hand and was forced to
move out of this job. He was then transferred to the Irrigation Department. For
a brief period, he moved out of the sugar estate and worked for the South
African Railways.
According to Sunjith, his father was recalled to work
for the Natal Estates at Flanders and Blackburn.
When he first started to work, Mr Singh used to walk
from his home to the sugar estate about five kilometres away.
But after a few years, Mr Singh purchased a bicycle
to ride to the sugar estate. The bicycle became Mr Singh’s main mode of
transport to work and to carry out other chores for the family. By riding the
bicycle to and from work made him a legendary figure in Ottawa estate and in
the Ottawa village.
He only stopped using the bicycle two years before he
retired sometime in the 1980s when he bought himself a VW Beetle 1200. The
Beetle cost him no more than R3 000 at that time.
While working for the sugar estate, Mr Singh earned
himself the name “Umabhalane” because he was their clerk in the Estate. Some of
his working colleagues were K C Moonisami, Munusamy - who was known as “Bombo”, Nadas,
Poonsamy and Munsamy Raman, the father of Kidd Muthen and other siblings, who
was the local blacksmith.
Mr Singh’s association with the Ottawa Estate Temple Society earned him
the respect of the estate people and he served as secretary of the organisation
for more than two decades. He served in this position until his retirement. He
was also a member of Development Services Board Advisory Committee.
Mr Baijnath Singh also had a close relationship with several other
residents with whom he used to play card games, Thunee and Rummy, every
Saturday evening. At these social gatherings, Mr Singh and his friends used to
discuss the events of the week while helping themselves to hard drinks. Some of
his friends at these Saturday events included "Box Maker" Stylish
h/ware - Ram's father; Hoosen Hans, Bully Maharaj; Harold - Taxi driver; Latiff;
Shaik; Trolley's big brother; Gamsom Munn; Parthab; S S Maharaj; Dickey Maharaj;
and Freddy Govender, driving school owner and instructor.
Mr Baijnath Singh was also involved in the Ottawa branch of the South
African Red Cross Society with local people such as Mr Dicky Maharaj and Mr
Moses.
Because of Mr Singh’s hard work and toil, the third and fourth
generation descendants of their indentured ancestors, have made tremendous
progress in their lives.
Sunjith Singh became the first batch of citizens of
Indian-origin to be employed by the then Post and Telegraph Departments as a telephone
operator. He thereafter became a Diploma Telecommunication Technician and
retired as a Network Specialist in Transmission. Together with his wife, he was
involved in retail clothing, Fitment Centre, and Food Processing businesses till
the outbreak of Covid in 2020.
Sunjith’s eldest daughter, Yulesha, is a Chemical
Engineer with Sasol; son Neishal was a heavy duty Auto Electrician with Grinaker and now a technician
for a Fleet management company; second daughter, Kimera Kimone, works as a Business
Analyst.
Mr Baijnath Singh’s second son, Hannieruth (Bunny),
is a building contractor and runs his own business under the name Stainco
Projects. His wife, Beena Devi, has risen from an Educator to become a
successful attorney under the name BD Singh and Associates.
Their eldest son, Yakeen, who has obtained B Teck in
IT, operates with his wife, the Shakaya Sports-Astro indoor soccer centre at 94
Old Main Road. Their second son, Shrey, who has a Diploma in Marketing, joined
his dad, Bunny, in Stainco Projects.
Mr Baijnath’s third son, Roy, runs a TC Electronic
company with his son, Tyron. The company is involved in all aspects of
security.
The fourth son, Nundcoomar (Jay), works at the Dept of Correctional Services. His eldest daughter, Shenece, is a Payroll Administrator for a Global International Company. His second daughter, Shenel, who is an Audiologist, is working for a team of Audiologists in Cape Town.
Baijnath Singh, in addition to hard work and commitment
to social development, also infused the idea of his children involving
themselves in sporting activities and development in the Ottawa village.
It was because of this inspiration that Sunjith and his
brother, Bunny, took an active part in football, road races and karate.
In the 1980s, Sunjith was vice-chairman of the Ottawa
United F C and was head of the club’s Disciplinary Committee. He was also
involved in negotiations when Ottawa United joined with D’Alberton Callies.
This led to the emergence of Ottawa Callies which competed in the Super League.
Sunjith was also a member of the Silver Star Sporting
Club.
Bunny Singh, for his part, was involved with the Mustang Athletic Club and participated in a number of
road races in Durban and other parts of KZN. Bunny also achieved a brown belt
in karate as a member of the Shotokan Karate Club. He also was the
administrator of their local gym in Verulam.
The involvement of Baijnath Singh in numerous
activities in Ottawa village and the Ottawa Sugar Estate and the participation
of his children in sporting and other programmes made them realise that Ottawa
was no ordinary community but “where everyone around was a family”.
“Ottawa was a very close-knit community,” says
Sunjith. “Everybody knew each other and we were very united. The community of
Ottawa also enjoyed the practice of communal living at that time.
“The people also supported our local soccer team
where ever they played.”
Sunjith
says their father, Baijnath Singh, passed on in 1999 and mother, Poolmathie,
passed on in 2005. Like their parents, he also had a great deal of respect for
many local activists in Ottawa. They
included people of the calibre of Dilraj Duttoo, Gamson
Munn, and H R Singh.
“These are some of the gentlemen that I can remember
were with me in Ottawa School Trust Board.”
All the sons of Baijnath Singh still live in Ottawa
while the sisters are settled in suburbs in Durban.
According to Sunjith, the descendants of their
great-grand parents have now reached six generations and their numbers have
reached more than 100.
The descendants have drawn up their family tree and
have visited India several times. But they have not been successful in finding
the villages from where their ancestors came from.
“Our ancestors sacrificed their lives when they
arrived in the former Port Natal colony to work as indentured labourers and
later settled in our village of Ottawa. The Ottawa they settled in and
developed over the years until the early 1990s is something that we will never
forget.
“Peace, tranquility and the togetherness as a family was the culture of the community at that time. This will always be in our memory.”
(This is another photo of Mr Baijnath Singh (right) with Mr January Naidoo of Verulam and a Munn Road youngster during a visit to the former Lourenzo Marques (now Maputo) in the early 1970s.)
Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com
Dec 9 2022 Updated Dec 7 2023
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