PIONEER DUTTOO FAMILY HISTORY OF MUNN ROAD IN THE VILLAGE OTTAWA, NORTH OF DURBAN
(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. However, their actions always drew swift reactions from an
elderly lady who owned and lived with her husband and large family on the plantation.
This grandmother, fondly called Aajia by her
grandchildren, who was in her 60s at that time and always dressed in a sari,
was Mrs Bhugwanie Duttoo (maiden surname Budhai).
Her husband was Mr Duttoo Dujai, who arrived as a free immigrant in June 1911 from the village of Bulla in the District of Pertabgurh in the state of Bihar in India. He found a job as a labourer at the Natal Government Railways and lived in and around the Port of Durban. When he married Bhugwanie Budhai, he moved to Ottawa in the early 1930s and settled on a large piece of land in Munn Road (present day 16-18 Munn Road). This property, Mr Duttoo and his wife developed into a productive mango farm.
In 1965, they
moved further down the road to 49 Munn Road.
They had four children: Dheokali, Indurjeeth, Dilraj, and Ranee.
(Mrs Bhugwanie Duttoo - seated right - with her four children: L to R standing: Indurjeeth, Ranee, Dilraj, and seated Dheokali.)
They also raised their grandson, Amarnath, who was popularly known as Bobby, from a little boy after his mother, Ranee, passed away soon after giving birth to him.
Mr Indurjeeth married Basmathie Sewnarain from
Verulam and had four children: Jay (Kandialall), Lalitha, Sharitha and Usha.
Mr Dilraj married Chitraika Badasar from Welbedacht and had five children: Ramolli (Molly), Athmanundh (Atom), Hemendhra (Hemi/Mingols), Pretham, and Ravishankar.
Mr Dilraj and Mr Indurjeeth were blessed with 20 grandchildren
Sadly, two of the Duttoo grandchildren, Bobby and Sharitha, passed away early at the ages of 40 and 13 years, respectively. Recently a great grandson, Avishkar, (Pretham’s son) passed on, aged 29. Currently, the Duttoo dynasty has expanded by 14 great-great-grandchildren.
When the construction of the new Jhugroo Primary School commenced in the late 1950s, both Mr Indurjeeth and Mr Dilraj became active in the building of the historical school.
(Mr Dilraj addressing volunteer builders at the school in the early days.)
Mr Indurjeeth,
being a builder by trade, volunteered his services every weekend until the
Jhugroo School was completed. Both Mr Inderjeeth and Mr Dilraj, as well as Bobby,
Atom and Jay, played a major role in the construction of additional units at the school in later years.
Mr Dilraj Duttoo was also involved in the running of the school by serving as the Grantee of Jhugroo School and Chairperson/member of the Jhugroo State Aided Indian School Trust.
Mr Dilraj Duttoo completed his studies part time and went on
to become a bookkeeper and later the Secretary of The Furniture and Allied
Workers Union. Despite trying to meet the demands of his work and family, he
was committed to serving the community. As a Commissioner of Oaths, he would
offer his services free of charge, often till late at night.
Many of the second and third generation descendants
have followed in the footsteps of Mr Dilraj Duttoo and Mr Indurjeeth Duttoo by involving
themselves in cultural, community, religious, educational, social and sporting
organisations.
In addition to the construction and management of
Jhugroo School, other organisations Mr Dilraj Duttoo, Mr Indurjeeth Duttoo and their
descendants were or are currently involved in the Jhugroo State Aided
Indian School Trust, Child Welfare Society, Friends of the Sick
Association (FOSA), Ottawa Indian Ratepayers Association, Development and Services Board, Divine Life Society, Ottawa Sathsung, Jhugroo
School Governing Body, Ottawa Civic Association, Ottawa United Football Club,
Silverstar Sporting and Social Club, Ashik Angling Club, North Coast Anglers
Association, Ottawa Environmental Forum and many ad hoc committees, including
the Ottawa Reunion Committee. Often, they served in senior
leadership roles as Chairperson/Vice-Chairperson or Secretary.
The Duttoo descendants are spearheading the next major public project in Ottawa, the first fully public temple and cultural centre in Ottawa. The Ottawa Hindu Cultural Centre, as it will be named, will be built at 16 School Road on a 2000 square metre of land which the Ottawa Sathsung Trust has purchased.
Atom, chairperson of the Ottawa Sathsung Trust with
the other two trustees, Shaun Madho (Molly’s son) and Dayanundh (Danes)
Ramsuran (Dheokali’s grandson), as well as Molly, Ashika (Shaun’s wife) and
Surekha (Hemi’s wife) are members the Ottawa Sathsung Management Committee. They are
the major driving force behind this project, which is expected to commence in
mid-2024.
The family excelled at sports, particularly fishing,
soccer, road running and swimming.
(Mr Indurjeeth Duttoo with the biggest garrick that he had caught during one of his fishing trips.)
Mr Indurjeeth Duttoo caught many notably sized fish, the biggest being a garrick from back in the days when he rode to the beach on his bicycle. He was also an excellent thunee player and won many competitions.
(Atom Dilraj with his trophies he won as runners-up angler with Durban and District Angling Club in 2017)
Mr Dilraj Duttoo joined Ashik Angling Club and won many trophies. Atom was the runner-up angler with Durban and District Angling Club in
2017 and on one occasion caught three garricks, totalling 34kg in one day.
Jay and Pretham were outstanding football players
with Ottawa United in the Super League with Jay being a deadly striker. Pretham
represented Verulam and District in the Southern Natal Competition from age 19
for 10 years. He was set to join Berea United Football Club to play
in the Federation Professional League but withdrew because of family
commitments. Atom and Hemi played in the senior league and Ravi was outstanding
in the junior league, having reached the Clover Cup final in one season. Ravi
also represented the North Coast Zone in athletics, soccer, cricket and
volleyball.
(Mr Dilraj Duttoo - seated 3rd from left - as manager of this young Ottawa Football Club in the late 1950s. Jay, one of the team members, is seen third from left - standing. Atom is standing first from left.))
The girls were not to be sidelined: Lalitha is still
remembered to this day as an unbeatable sprinter during her high school days
and Molly is the reigning queen of Silver Star Sporting and Social
Club. Molly, the only daughter of Mr Dilraj,
married Dan Madho Ramnanan. She is very active in community service.
“The Jhugroo School ground was the only sports ground
in Ottawa and soccer was played there several times a week, including regular
five-a-side and thunee competitions. The calibre of players that emerged from
this soccer ground was such that Ottawa United competed in the Southern Natal
Soccer Association for several years and the exciting matches and crowds that
we attracted remains a talking point to this day”.
The soccer and athletics achievements continued into
the next generation with Yashveer, Atom’s son, being awarded the Junior
Sportsman of the Year in the Verulam Soccer Association in 2010. He also represented
the Verulam Association in the Southern Natal Competition and was voted the
outstanding player of the tournament. Unfortunately, he suffered a severe knee
injury in a senior match and his dreams of turning professional were shattered.
Kiran, Atom’s eldest son, represented the North Coast
zone as a sprinter. Riven Paladh (Lalitha’s eldest son) was an outstanding
goalkeeper and played up to semi-professional level.
From a sprinter at school, Atom became an endurance
athlete in his later years and completed three Comrades Marathons (90km) in
2006, 2007 and 2010 and swam three Midmar Miles (1.6km) in 2009,
2010 and 2011). He competed the last one with his son, Yashveer. Atom also earned a
biathlon medal for completing the 2010 Comrades Marathon and 2011 Midmar Mile
back to back. Pretham has recently developed a new passion – golf - and
featured 4th in a field of 85 golfers in his first major
tournament.
“The Jhugroo school is a heritage site to us as it
was built by volunteer labour and the school motto was aptly worded ‘By labour
we progress’.
“It is with the strong foundational knowledge that we
received from here that has seen many becoming successful academics and
professional people.”
Among the Duttoo grandchildren, Jay went on to become a Civil Engineer, Dr Athmanundh Dilraj obtained a PhD in Medical Sciences by conducting the largest aerosol measles vaccination trial in the world and became a Senior Specialist Scientist at the Medical Research Council and subsequently a Science Writer. He published numerous articles in international and local journals and presented his research at various international and local conferences.
Atom was fortunate that during his career, he met with Nelson Mandela in 2003 to brief him and obtain his support for the initiation of the first HIV vaccine trial in this country (photo 23).
Molly became a Librarian at Durban University of
Technology and served this institution for 30 years. Hemi was the first Indian
computer technician at ICL and became an Associate Computer Engineer and later
a Site Supervisor for civil engineering. Pretham was a Chemical Technician initially and later a
Sales Account Manager, and Ravi a Senior Pharmacist.
The great grandchildren also completed their primary
schooling at Jhugroo and many went on to become high achievers. Notably Shaun
became a Chemical Engineer and went on to complete an MSc in Chemical
Engineering and an MBA. He is currently an Operations Specialist at Illovo
Sugar Africa and President of the South African Sugar Technologists
Association. Saeoma (Jay’s daughter) is a Lawyer and Bhavna (Pretham’s
daughter) is writing the board exam to become a Charted Accountant. Shivand
Gowpal (Usha’s son) is a Civil Engineer and Arven Paladh (Lalitha’s son) is a
Business Acquisitions Specialist. Yajneel (Ravi’s son) matriculated in the Top
10 and is studying Actuarial Sciences at Wits University. Kairav (Hemi’s son)
graduated in Human Resources Management. Atom’s two elder sons moved abroad five years ago: Kiran is teaching English in Taiwan and Yashveer is a
Marketing Strategist in Dubai.
For the Duttoo family, the Ottawa they grew up in
“housed residents who were amicable, approachable and treated family and
friends as part of each other’s family”.
“Everyone held open-door policies and showed love and
respect. The environment was safe, happy and warm. As we were among the first
families in our road to own a colour TV, our lounge used to be packed with our
friends from Munn Road to watch popular shows such as Bonanza and High
Chaparral.”
“The Ohlanga river that flows behind where Atom
presently lives provided the necessities of life as was experienced in our
early days. We had no access to taps and therefore fetched water from the river
with pails carried on our shoulders using split bamboo poles (bhanga). The
women also washed clothes on large rocks placed in the clean flowing water.
Sporting activities were also provided by the river as fishing was good and its
beautiful banks served as a ground for football and other games. At the huge fig
tree on the clean banks, our Aajia also conducted the annual community Inder
Pooja for the area to be blessed with rain. Swimming was also enjoyable in the
cool waters of the pool which was created by the falls below the present R102.”
“Dilraj and Indurjeeth Duttoo have been the backbone
of the Duttoo dynasty, and our family is proud to be a significant part of the
Ottawa history.” – ends subrygovender@gmail.com April 7 2024
More photos of the Duttoo family members:
,Indranee,Sunny,Velloo%20and%20my%20parents%20seated.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment