Ottawa Pioneer Residents

                                                                      (Mr Harripersadh Badri Maharaj at his home in Essendene Road in Overport in Durban) (Mr Maharaj - right - in his early years walking in Durban's former West Street with a friend.) By Subry Govender   A second-generation descendant of a pioneer indentured family of Ottawa – north of Durban - who dedicated his life to education, culture and spirituality - has entered the ripe-old age of 100. Mr Harripersadh Badri Maharaj, who was born  on February 2 1925  in what is now Kissoon Road in the former sugar cane village, now lives in his family home in Essendene Road in Overport in Durban. (Mr Maharaj seen here with his son, Naresh, 69. Naresh assisted this correspondent in the interview with his dad.) I had the opportunity of talking to Mr Maharaj about his life with the assistance of one of his sons, Naresh, recently on Good Friday, March 29 (2024). Although he has entered his 100 th  year, Mr Maharaj rec

        (Mrs Bugwanie Dutto, who moved with her first generation husband, Mr Dutto Dujai, to Munn Road in the village of Ottawa in the 1930s. Here they became owners of a huge fruit plantation - rich in long and round mangoes.)          (The information and photos in this article were provided largely by Dr Atom Dilraj, one of the grandchildren.)    The Duttoo family, like other pioneer residents, has a rich history, played an important role in the development of the Ottawa village and continues to contribute extensively to the community. In the 1950s and 1960s, when you walked or drove down Munn Road in the Tin Town area of Ottawa, you would always be attracted by a huge mango plantation on your right. This mango plantation, during the harvesting season, was always abundant and rich in round and long mangoes. Many of the youth who lived near the plantation never thought twice about crossing into the plantation and climbing some of the trees to help themselves to the ripe mangoes.