KISTA “POLICE” REDDY – OTTAWA PIONEER FAMILY HISTORY

 

                                                  (Kista "Police" Reddy and his wife.)

 

 

A POLICE OFFICER WHO WAS HIGHLY-RESPECTED FOR HIS COMMITMENT TO LAW AND ORDER

 

By Subry Govender

In the early days in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s one resident in the little village of Ottawa, north of Durban,  who became almost a celebrity was Kista Reddy, well-known as Kista Police.

A policeman by profession, he and his large family lived in a wood and iron house right next door to the huge and modern building, S V Centre,  built on the site of the t-room that was run by fat-man Harry.

Kista Reddy was based at the Verulam Police Station and as a person of the law, he wielded tremendous influence in the village. All the young boys and adults who indulged in social activities such as ganga, excessive alcohol and gambling made sure that they did not cross paths with him in any way.

In those days, the people showed their appreciation to policemen and women because they did not tolerate lawlessness of any kind.

Kista Reddy was one of the police officers who was highly appreciated for his commitment to his work.

Who was this Ottawa stalwart who was not feared but respected by the entire village and residents in the neighbouring town of Verulam?

Kista Reddy was born in the Ottawa Sugar Estate along with nine other siblings – five brothers and four sisters. His father, Thesan Reddy, was a first-generation descendant of indentured labourers who were recruited in the South Indian city of Madras (now Chennai) to work in sugar estates in the former Natal Colony.

He was born in the Ottawa estate where his father worked in the sugar cane fields as a labourer.

Thesan Reddy also worked in the sugar cane fields from a young age as schooling was non-existent in those early days. Within a matter of a decade or so, Thesan Reddy was promoted to the position of Sardar or supervisor.

He was given this job because he could interact easily with the sugar bosses in English and with the sugar cane labourers in the Tamil language.

It was only a matter of time before his parents introduced him to a young woman, Salamma, who worked as a fellow labourer. They were married in the Ottawa sugar estate in the early 1930s.

It was here in the Ottawa estate that Kista Reddy and a few other children were born.

Sometime in the 1940s, Thesan Reddy, and his wife moved to Ottawa village where they stayed in a wood and iron house on the Main Road in Ottawa. The house was situated near where Buddha and his brothers and sisters stayed in a tin house on the Main Road.

It was here in Ottawa that Kista Reddy went to primary school and managed to complete his standard six. This was sometime in the 1950s. His father advised him that their family was not financially strong to send him to high school and that he must find a job.

Kista Reddy did odd jobs as a labourer where he displayed a sense of intelligence and hard work, higher than his fellow workers and friends. It was only a matter of time before a family friend spoke to him about joining the police force and introduced him to the station commander at Verulam.

(Kista Reddy at the wedding of one of his sons)

After an initial interview, Kista Reddy was employed as a new police constable. It was in this capacity he displayed commitment to his work and established himself as a policeman who took action against all forms of criminality. The  elements who participated in illegal activities in Verulam, Ottawa, Mount Vernon, Grange, Umdloti Drift, Canelands and other areas made sure that they did not cross paths with Kista Reddy.

The community leaders at that time such as Y S Chinsamy, Ismail Kathrada, S S Maharaj, R Lutchman and others soon came to know of Kista Reddy and acknowledged him as a policeman they could rely on to maintain law and order in Verulam and surrounding areas.

The Verulam Police Station Commander and other senior officers also recognised Kista Reddy’s commitment and within a matter of few years promoted him to the position of a CID.

Kista Police soon consolidated his life and built a house for himself next to where his father and siblings lived in Ottawa.

In my drive to collect historical information on the Kista Reddy family, I spoke to one of his brothers, Danny Thesan, who was born in Ottawa on October 31 1952.

Danny Thesan, who is the number 10 in the Reddy clan, worked at SAPREF Shell and BP Refineries in the Isipingo/Merewent area for 42 years. He moved out of Ottawa in 1980 after he got married and lived in Reservoir Hills in Durban. Five years later in 1985 he bought a house in Woodview where he still lives.

The other siblings are Janaki Pillay, who is now late, lived in Inanda until the riots in 1985; Venketamah Pillay, who is late, lived in Chakaskraal on the North Coast; Moonsamy Reddy (Ken), who is now late was a policeman at Bellair. He lived in Chatsworth until his passing; Muniamma Gounden, now late, lived in Ottawa and then moved to Phoenix;  Poonsamy Thesan, worked at Flash Clothing and then at a number of clothing factories in Durban. He is currently living in Chatsworth; Chinsamy Thesan, now late, was co-owner of Dick’s Lounge in Stanger; Balakisten Reddy, now late, was co-owner of Dick’s Lounge and also Reddy’s Funeral Services in Stanger; and Neela Nair, now late, also lived in Inanda until the riots. She now lives in Phoenix.

According to Danny Thesan, whose surname was registered as Thesan by the Department of Home Affairs in those days, his brother, Kista Reddy, who was affectionately called Kista Police by the residents of Ottawa,  lived all his life in his house on the Main Road in Ottawa. He passed away in Ottawa in 1999.

Kista Reddy had two sons and four daughters. Two of his sons are late along with two of his daughters.

For the Reddy family, Ottawa was a home town that was second to none. It was a village where the residents – whatever their language or cultural backgrounds – treated one another as members of one huge family.

“We grew up as a family and Ottawa people were very united. You did not need an invitation to a wedding or function, everybody knew each other and you were welcome to any house,” Mr Thesan Reddy recalled life in Ottawa when he and other members of his family were growing up.

One of the memories that would live on was the fact that Ottawa was a place where residents excelled in music and sport.

“I can recall that one of our finest musicians was P G Pillay, who was born in Ottawa Estate. We used to wait patiently and listen to PG and his band whenever they sang and played their music on Sunday mornings at the Durban SABC.

“There were two (Western) bands in Ottawa and a number of boys played in the band. They included  Don, Ronnie, and Danny.”

In addition to football, Karate was also an attraction for the youth of Ottawa. He recalled that he and Kidd Muthen trained at Shihon Karate Dojo under A K Ismail. Both Kidd and he were karate instructors at the Verulam Dojo, and also opened the first karate Dojo at Ottawa Estate.

Despite the tough conditions under which they grew up in Ottawa and thereafter, members of the Kista Reddy extended family have made advances in their lives by entering various professions. Some of the third and fourth generation descendants are teachers, Optometrists, policemen and business people.

“We have all made great progress in our lives despite our parents working on the sugar estates and their children as labourers and clerks. Our parents have taught us that education is the most important achievement and that is why they also participated in the building of the new Ottawa Primary School.” Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com  (Oct 5 2022) June 7 2024